The panorama of All Elite Wrestling has quickly modified in its transient however eventful five-year historical past. Critically acclaimed matches and storylines have been produced and new marquee names have emerged.
AEW’s success is typically unrecognized. Curiosity within the firm has waned since its scorching begin in 2019 but it surely stays the biggest different to WWE since World Championship Wrestling (WCW) folded in 2001. Its flagship present AEW Dynamite is one yr shy of outliving WCW Monday Nitro, continues to promote 1000’s of tickets weekly and pulls sturdy viewership numbers on cable. That being stated, some considerations are legitimate. The June 19 episode of AEW Dynamite registered the bottom ranking within the present’s historical past, in line with Programming Insider.
One of many headliners from that night time was AEW worldwide champion Will Ospreay, who’s slated to problem AEW world champion Swerve Strickland in the principle occasion of the Forbidden Door pay-per-view this weekend. Ospreay spoke with CBS Sports activities this week and mirrored on that alarming ranking.
“That one did suck to see when it got here out as a result of, for me, that was a house run Dynamite,” Ospreay stated. “It was a superb present. There weren’t any down factors in it for me.”
Ospreay is a part of a current wave of top-tier expertise — alongside former Mercedes Mone and Kazuchika Okada — recruited to hold the corporate into the longer term. It is a essential yr for the corporate because it seems to lock down a brand new media rights deal by the top of the yr. Ospreay proudly waves the AEW flag and says it is his mission for the corporate to thrive.
“It sucks that it was such a low ranking but it surely’s simply motivating me and I am certain it is motivating others to try to suppose out of the field and are available again swinging,” Ospreay stated. “I am not somebody who ignores that kind of s—. I see it and I pay attention to it. I put it within the checkbook and I ensure no matter we do subsequent week, we come again swinging. We should not ignore criticism or shrink back from it. We’re nonetheless a five-year firm and we’re nonetheless hitting the ropes with these items. For me, AEW nonetheless has heaps of rising pains to undergo.”
The previous New Japan Professional-Wrestling star views AEW’s present incarnation as a difficult rebuilding part, one thing that is widespread within the business.
“As a wrestler, you end up hitting a plateau 5 years in,” Ospreay stated. “Whether or not that is inside your character or your capacity or attempting to get booked elsewhere. There’s all the time that five-year rising ache. I believe each firm goes by it. If we glance again 5 years to what WWE was doing, they had been at a low. However the way in which they’re thriving proper now’s inspiring to everybody. It ought to be one thing to hit. We have to change the bar and see what we should do to vary issues up. Like I stated, I am not the kind of particular person to shrink back from it. I take pleasure in criticism.”
Struggles apart, there’s nonetheless a lot to be enthusiastic about as an AEW fan or performer. That is very true for Ospreay as he seems forward to the corporate’s All In pay-per-view at Wembley Stadium in London on Aug. 25. Final yr’s present attracted greater than 72,000 followers and this yr’s occasion has reportedly offered greater than 40,000 tickets already. Ospreay defeated Chris Jericho finally yr’s present in his house nation, however this yr marks his first All In as an official AEW star.
“The truth that I get to say that I am going again to Wembley Stadium — even that sentence alone — it is loopy,” Ospreay stated. “The who’s who {of professional} wrestling, a few of them have not even wrestled at Wembley Stadium. It is such a historic venue. It is the biggest venue in the UK.Â
“It is such an unimaginable feeling understanding I get to be an hour away from one of many best venues of all time. Being in there with among the most unimaginable roster ever identified to skilled wrestling, I am unable to imagine how fortunate I’m to reside on this era {of professional} wrestling.”
Forbidden Door 2024 takes place this Sunday on the UBS Enviornment in Elmont, N.Y.