If you’ve watched any of Will Ospreay’s matches over the years, you know that the AEW International Champion is one of the best wrestlers on the planet. Heading into this three-way match where he’ll defend his title against the up-and-coming Konosuke Takeshita and seasoned veteran Ricochet at WrestleDream, the British high-flyer not only has more five-star matches than anyone who’s ever stepped into the ring but also more than WWE has received in more than 40 years.
In the leadup to the AEW pay-per-view, which will be headlined by Ospreay’s Dynasty opponent AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson defending his belt against Jon Moxley, I told the world-traveled wrestler that the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer has awarded him 42 five-star (or above) matches throughout his 12-year career, which was news to him.
I did not know that I had 42. That’s so funny. … I don’t know when I first heard about the Five-Star Meltzer thing, because I feel like I got one and I just didn’t know what it was. And, it was only when [Kazuchika] Okada and Kenny Omega had their one at WresleKingdom and it was like six stars and people were losing their minds about it. And I was just like what the fuck is this? But it's just like, I don't say like, ignore it. Does it keep me up at night or anything like that? No, of course not. Like I've got a 5-year-old, you know what I mean? I've gotta find out what these dinosaurs are.
But all jokes aside, Ospreay, who has become a fan-favorite due to his in-ring work and championing mental health, doesn’t want to dismiss the five-star ratings because he doesn’t want to “ignore any community or fanbase” when it comes to wrestling.
We should cater to everybody. And clearly, I cater to that audience and I'm trying my best to cater to a TV audience and I'm trying to cater to an internet audience because I feel like wrestling is generally for everybody. So why should we ignore any type of fanbase if someone's actually saying something positive about wrestling? Like, fuck me, but my God, someone's talking like giving compliments about wrestling Jesus Christ. Unheard of these days.
Ospreay’s 42 five-or-higher-star matches put him in the same conversation as contemporaries like Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega, but also legendary squared circle figures like Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshaki Kawada. And again, wrestling is a subjective artform where one man’s treasure is another’s trash, but Ospreay’s run in promotions like NJPW, AEW, and even smaller federations like RevPro and PWG, is nothing short of historic.
And what will Ospreay do if he ever reaches the 50-mark? Well, he would have Dave Meltzer make him a cake or a stack of pancakes:
Ah, Dave’s gotta pay for my pancake orders from now on if I get 50 five-star matches.
With his upcoming match against Konosuke Takeshita and Ricochet, with whom he has quite the history, we could see Ospreay be one step closer to that monumental achievement very soon.
If you want to see Will Ospreay and other AEW wrestlers like Chris Jericho, the Young Bucks, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Katsuyori Shibata in action, make sure to order WrestleDream at 8 p.m. ET this Saturday on TrillerTV, YouTube, and traditional cable and satellite providers.
