-- Will Ospreay was revealed last night at AEW's Full Gear PPV as the company's new blockbuster signing, agreeing to a multi-year contract that will keep him in AEW until 2027. The deal with AEW was signed despite Ospreay's NJPW agreement running through January 24. Fightfulselect.com reports that Ospreay had told NJPW that he wouldn't be re-signing with them and so the Japanese promotion gave him "their blessing" to pursue a deal with AEW, a company that they have a good working relationship with for a number of years. It is due to this relationship that enabled AEW to sign and announce the Ospreay signing and he will still be able to work dates for NJPW while signed to AEW.
-- Contract talks between Ospreay and AEW reportedly progressed in the early part of fall with Tony Khan and company showing significant optimism that they would be able to land him. While Ospreay had previously indicated that he was not looking to move out of the UK, he later softened his stance and left open that possibility. The fightful report adds that as part of his new contract with AEW, he will be able to stay in the UK.
-- Meanwhile, it's no secret that WWE was also interested in Ospreay's services and they had made contact to his representatives informally to gauge whether he had any intentions or considerations to signing with them, focusing mainly on what sort of schedule and relocation requirements Ospreay woud have. Because of the informal nature of the conversation, Ospreay never actually let WWE know what his decision was going to be but by last week, internally it was assumed that he would be headed to AEW. Furthermore, IMPACT/TNA was also interested.
