Will Ospreay has paid tribute to Hayabusa a number of times in his career, first in Japan and then again at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024.
Speaking on JJRBTS, Ospreay discussed his connection to Hayabusa, getting the daughter's blessing to don the mask, and helping out Hayabusa's family.
"It was 2022, I really wanted to don the mask. I wanted to wear the mask because it hadn't been donned on a wrestler in Japan for years. It was almost like, 'We don't want to talk about it because it brings up a bad memory.' I sourced out where his daughter was and I found her on Instagram. I said, 'I wrestle for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, your dad inspired me. Could I take you out to dinner?' I took her out for lunch in Japan and I asked for her blessing to wear the mask at one of these big stages. She was honored. She was like, 'No one talks about my dad anymore.' Not only that, she was like, 'Thank you so much.' It got around, and the guy who originally made his mask contacted me and was like, 'Can I please make you one Hayabusa mask to wear?' Goosebumps. He is one of the icons when it comes to high-flying wrestling. His name is the flying assassin, there is a connection because I was the Aerial Assassin, a connection came through that. Obviously, it came from Assassin's Creed, but Hayabusa was the Flying Assassin and I wanted to combine that and pay homage. That's why I went to the daughter first. A lot of wrestlers now will be like, 'Today, I'm cosplaying as this wrestler,' and I feel there might be some dark untold truths where when you pay homage to that, it brings up bad memories. I wanted to ensure it was okay to do that. I sold the mask and all the money I made, I sent over to the family," said Ospreay.
While making the media rounds ahead of AEW Double or Nothing, Ospreay stated he wants to wrestle the new Hayabusa. You can find his full comments here.
The original Hayabusa (Eiji Ezaki) passed away in March 2016.
Fans can find Fightful's coverage of AEW Double or Nothing by clicking here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review here.
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