Last night, Will Ospreay wrestled his final singles match in NJPW against Kazuchika Okada at Battle in the Valley. Okada won the match after hitting a Rainmaker on Ospreay.
After the match, Bullet Club War Dogs came to the ring and attacked Ospreay and Okada. Eddie Kingston and United Empire then came to Ospreay and Okada’s aid.
Will Ospreay then grabbed a mic and thanked fans.
On a serious note, thank you guys, it’s been a really fun eight years. It’s weird. I came into New Japan when I was 22 years old and didn’t know much about myself. I found a lot about myself on the way around there, and New Japan gave me the opportunity to be a young, immature man and allowed me to make mistakes and face every single one of you guys eye-to-eye and grow from it.
There’s so many things that I could say about Okada, he is literally the best wrestler ever. There’s so many words I generally would love to say to you, but I feel like I’ll save it for backstage. I cannot express the gratitude that I have to be able to perform in front of you guys for my last singles match in New Japan.
I cannot believe the journey that I’ve had. I am so thankful and so blessed to have been able to grow up and to be able to perform under this lion mark. I’m so grateful that I have people looking out for me like the United Empire, who have been my boys since day one when we formed. This is going to be my new home from now on for the next couple of years. We are gonna get to know each other very well. This chapter is unfortunately closing and a new chapter is beginning, but before I close this book, I got one more day, February 11th in Osaka for the first time in front of a live crowd, we’re bringing a f—king steel cage to New Japan Pro Wrestling. I’ve done the 30-minute singles matches, I’ve done the 45-minute singles matches, but believe me or not, I was a backyard wrestler when I started. I’m bringing that sh-t to New Japan Pro Wrestling. I’ll give you a fair warning, if you don’t like violence if you don’t like blood if you don’t like the sound of breaking bones, the attendance maybe don’t watch, but if you sick little f—k like I am, let’s take that p-ss a-s Bullet Club and f—king bury it.
Will Ospreay said the following backstage:
I guess this is kind of just a message to Okada, I’m sorry for what happened. I feel like back in 2020, I was so vengeful and excited on trying to be like you, but maybe even trying to be bigger than you/better than you. Instead of filling it with competition, it kind of filled me with like vengeance. Just animosity and anger, there’s part of me that doesn’t regret that G1 where I turned my back on you because I felt like I couldn’t have been the man I am now standing by your side. I feel like I needed to be opposite you to learn and to push myself and to try and overcome the obstacles and become the wrestler that I am now. What I do regret is I’m really sad that we that I threw away what we had. I can’t tell you enough the type of person Okada is. I have so many examples of your kindness and your generosity.
My first tour with New Japan, my bank card got shut down for some strange reason, and I couldn’t get my card operated [on] while I was in Japan and being who I am an idiot over in Japan. It f—king panicked me and I couldn’t get any money out, and you looked after me the entire tour, never asked for any money back, just took care of me. Every single haircut that I’ve ever got you looked after it as well. Every time I want to dye my hair a stupid color, you always looked after me in that retrospect. Even my partner previously, when we were out living in Japan, had a medical issue, and being two guys in over in Japan, it’s scary because we don’t really know who to talk to and where to go. So I contacted you, and not only did you sort out, a doctor near us who sorted out, a doctor that was also a woman that spoke English, and if the roles were reversed, I couldn’t have done that for you. I have no idea how to pull those type of strings or to fall make that possible, but your kindness and your generosity showed, and maybe this is because I’m now in a position where I’m a parent and everything I’m doing as a man is to try and teach this little dude that’s surrounding me all the time, and I can’t help but feel like everything I’m teaching him is stuff that you taught me without even realizing it. I’ve spent eight years of my life in Japan, where there were certain things that should have been taught to me by my parents, and they weren’t there, not that they weren’t there but it was just they couldn’t teach me those things. You taught me that. I’m thankful that I knew you. I’m like, I’m grateful that I had my time with you.