Will Ospreay is adapting in his return to the ring since double neck fusion surgery and understands that some sacrifices are necessary after such a major operation.
The AEW talent was interviewed by Forbes contributor Rob Wolkenbrod and shared one move that is retired from his repertoire.
There are so many things where I just don’t feel comfortable doing certain tricks anymore, so I’ve kind of knocked them on the head. For example, I won’t do a shooting star press anymore because that required me to really put my head back and get a good arch, and I just can’t do it anymore.
Ospreay said his neck had been troubling him for nearly a year, but last May, “it started f—ing destroying me”. He went through the summer and had one final match at Forbidden Door in August before surgery the next month.
In the interview, he mentioned leaning on Adam Copeland for advice throughout the process and others in the AEW locker room who have undergone similar neck issues.
When speaking about his time in NJPW, Ospreay reflected on the year he felt he was at his best while being part of the United Empire:
In 2019, I felt like at that time I was the best in the world. I felt like I was at my peak in a weird way. But I do believe my peak was probably during the COVID era, which f****** sucks.
In 2020, it was me, O-Khan, Jeff and Henare, and I just remember when I first started getting attraction from the wrestling crowd, it was alongside my boys. Those guys were alongside me as I rode that wave. We were just a great team.
Ospreay returned from neck surgery this past March and has wrestled nine matches between AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling. This past Monday, he won the NEVER Openweight Six-Man tag titles with HENARE & Great O-Khan at Wrestling Dontaku.
