Will Ospreay States That IWGP Heavyweight Title Win Was Not What He Expected, Says It Sucked That Fans Weren’t Able To Be Vocal

Will Ospreay reflected on his IWGP Heavyweight Title win.

The newest episode of Marking Out with MVP & Dwayne Swayze featured a sit-down chat with Will Ospreay.

As they were going over Ospreay’s time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Ospreay shared that he broke down in tears when he was told he would be winning the 2021 New Japan Cup tournament and would later be winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Looking back at the title win, Ospreay shared that it was not what he expected because it happened while the COVID-19 fan rules were still in place.

“Oh mate, it was great, but it was also… it was during COVID, and COVID was not a good time for any of us in Japan. I was living there at the time, and I was severely beaten up and they had restrictions… I remember I got told, from Gedo, he was like, ‘You’re winning the New Japan Cup and then you’re gonna win the IWGP Heavyweight Title.’ I remember crying in the boys’ toilets. I was just like, ‘This is my dream,’ and I remember hitting my finish and imagining what the sound was like and I was killing myself during those tours… I remember hitting my finish and it was like, ‘One! Two! Three!’ And they were like, ‘Whoa!’ And they were shocked and then they quickly went back in and I remember I wasn’t allowed to go back and party afterwards. You know, after you have one of those dream performances. You get the boys together, you go out, you get absolutely (trashed). You get on it and honestly, it was, ‘Good job. See you next week.’ I remember sitting in my room. I sent my dad a photo of the belt, and I just thought, man, this isn’t what I wanted at all. I wanted that feeling of just, kind of, the boys… It just f*cking sucked man…”

Ospreay’s reign as IWGP World Heavyweight Champion lasted for 46 days. He had to relinquish the belt after blowing out two discs in his back.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Marking Out with MVP & Dwayne Swayze with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.