Will Ospreay’s Pre-Transition Plans Unveiled Before Joining AEW

Will Ospreay previously defeated AEW star Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door back in June 2023. That led to Ospreay becoming the NJPW’s IWGP US Champion. Now, he is set to face off against some fierce opponents ahead of his eventual AEW debut, and that too for an entirely new title.

NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi recently made a statement at a press conference on Monday. In the statement, he clarified that the IWGP UK Championship, which was introduced this summer, confused fans. As an outcome, both the UK and US IWGP Championships will be unified into the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.

“The IWGP US Heavyweight Championship came into being in July 2017 to mark NJPW’s first major event in the United States of America in Long Beach. After its introduction, it became the symbol of NJPW competition in the USA.

In the years that followed, the title would be defended in Japan, becoming familiar to Japanese fans as well. However, with the introduction of the IWGP UK Championship this summer, there was confusion among fans as to the status of the title.

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With that in mind, this new championship combines and adds to the US and UK Championship roles and will be called the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.”

The statement further read that Ospreay is going to be in a match against none other than Jon Moxley and David Finlay, which will decide the fate of who becomes the new IWGP Global Champion. The match is going to take place at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom event on January 4.

“As a result, January 4’s three way at Wrestle Kingdom between Will Ospreay, Jon Moxley and David Finlay will officially determine the first IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion.“

Ospreay recently agreed to the terms he was offered by AEW. At AEW Full Gear, he explained that it was part of his plan to conclude his deal with NJPW before finally transitioning to AEW and that he would likely make an appearance at the Revolution 2024 PPV.

Are you excited to see Will Ospreay take on Jon Moxley and David Finlay at Wrestle Kingdom? Let us know in the comments!