Will Ospreay can’t stop having five-star matches.
The Englishman has been on a roll since joining AEW in March this year, having a near-perfect match with Konosuke Takeshita on his debut. He followed it up with additional iconic bouts against Kyle Fletcher, Bryan Danielson and Swerve Strickland, but his recent match with MJF may be the best of them all.
Will Ospreay wrestled MJF on the 250th episode of AEW Dynamite. He put his AEW International title on the line against his American counterpart, with a one-hour time limit for the bout. They used nearly the whole hour, with MJF pinning his after 59 minutes and 58 seconds.
It was one of the longest matches in AEW history, and a testament to both men’s skills. Ospreay’s continued reluctance to use the Tiger Driver ’91 cost him the win, as MJF pushed him into the ref, before knocking Ospreay out with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. It has been hailed as one of the best AEW matches ever, and Dave Meltzer definitely thinks so.
In this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he awarded the match 5.75 stars. With five stars usually signifying an amazing, getting even higher shows just how good the bout was. It was Will Ospreay’s 40th five-star match, more than any other professional wrestler in history.
At the age of just 31, he has a good chance of going down as the greatest wrestler in history. He is already arguably Britain’s best ever wrestler, and wants to cement his legacy even further in the United States.
The full list of Will Ospreay’s five star (or higher) rated matches are:
- vs. Adam Cole, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson – PWG Battle Of Los Angeles 2016
- vs. KUSHIDA – NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXIV
- vs. Marty Scurll – NJPW Sakura Genesis 2018
- vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi – NJPW Road To Tokyo Dome 2019
- vs. Bandido – NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI
- vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXVI
- vs. Dragon Lee – NJPW Dominion 6.9 In Osaka-Jo Hall
- vs. Kota Ibushi – NJPW G1 Climax 2019
- vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW G1 Climax 2019
- vs. Hiromu Takahashi – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 14 In Tokyo Dome
- vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – RevPro High Stakes 2020
- vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW G1 Climax 2020
- vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 In Tokyo Dome
- vs. Michael Oku – RevPro High Stakes 2022
- vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – NJPW New Japan Cup 2022
- vs. Kazuchika Okada – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15 In Tokyo Dome
- vs. Ricky Knight Jr. – RevPro Ten Year Anniversary
- vs. PAC, Rey Fenix and Penta Obscuro – AEW Dynamite 24/8/2022
- vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW Battle Autumn 2022
- vs. Kenny Omega (6.25 stars) – NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 In Tokyo Dome
- vs. Kenny Omega (6 Stars) – AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2023
- vs. Tetsuya Naito – NJPW G1 Climax 33
- vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW Destruction In Kobe 2023
- Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay – RevPro 11 Year Anniversary Show
- vs. Yota Tsuji – NJPW Destruction In Kobe 2023
- vs Zack Sabre Jr – RevPro Royal Quest III
- vs Mike Bailey – TNA Bound For Glory 2023
- vs Shota Umino – NJPW Power Struggle 2023
- vs Kazuchika Okada – NJPW Battle In The Valley 2023
- vs Josh Alexander – TNA Impact 14/1/2024
- vs Michael Oku – RevPro High Stakes 2024
- vs Konsuke Takeshita – AEW Revolution 2024
- vs Kyle Fletcher – AEW Dynamite 6/2/24
- vs Bryan Danielson – AEW Dynasty 2024
- vs Swerve Strickland – AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024
- vs MJF – AEW Dynamite 250
Dave Metlzer also awarded a four-star rating to Tommy Billington, for his match against Konosuke Takeshita on AEW Collision last week.
