The first step toward the Ospreay Dynasty

Hello NoDQ.com fans it’s your boy Wrestle G and I am back once again to run the rule over pro wrestling.

So sorry I’ve had to take a bit more of a break from column writing, I have so many ideas every week. But real life just continues to impede! But I’m back today and I have lots to say.  I promise I will try to get more consistent with these columns. Maybe I just need to quit my full-time job finally! Haha.

First off WrestleMania is right around the corner, and I know the booking has not been the best, the build has been a bit lukewarm. But boy oh boy am I stoked for night 2 with Lesnar and Oba Femi and the main event of Punk and Roman. Punk and Roman have me invested that they hate each other, and Punk will finally put to bed any suggestion he hasn’t main evented when he does it at night 2. This could be an all timer if they click in there.

Elsewhere I hope that Cody and Orton have some kind of good booking lined up for their match because what should have been a simple master and apprentice story has been muddled with the TKO special guest celebrity list. Look, I’m not against a celebrity involvement in a WrestleMania, hell the whole event was built on them. But they need to be done in the correct places. Muhammad Ali as a special referee? Great! Even having special attraction matches like Mayweather and Big Show I’m fine with. But these shoehorned in last minute additions feel forced, because they are forced. I have faith though in Orton and Cody to overcome any bad booking when that bell rings. Unless Travis Scott comes back that is……

But I love Mania season it makes me feel like a kid again, mania just always has that different feel with the outdoor atmosphere and big entrances. I will be putting all my misgivings aside for that weekend and just let the entertainment come at me. For at least one weekend of the year let us all be wrestling fans instead of critics.

But until then I fancy being a bit of a critic/analyst and I have some thoughts about the man I consider to be the best Bell to Bell wrestler in the industry currently…..

The Summer of Ospreay

All In will be returning to Wembley Stadium this summer and the lasting memory of the last visit was Daniel Bryan defeating Swerve Strickland in what was an emotionally charged and hugely entertaining bout. The scene of ticker tape raining down while final countdown played was the perfect end to a huge event. But it also comes with its own issue. How do you possibly top that?

I’m not professing to act like this is a brand new or even innovative idea. But it is the most simple and crucially, the most effective route to have Will Ospreay win his first North American World championship in the Capital City of his home country. I can’t see many other routes for the main event of All In that would be satisfying. The chasing pack of Title challengers don’t to me have enough time to build anything meaningful.

Darby Allin

Swerve Strickland

Hangman Page

Brody King

Kenny Omega

Jon Moxley

These would be the other people in the conversation. But they are either heels which wouldn’t make sense with MJF currently, or they have either recently feuded or are currently feuding with the champ. The only one I could make a compelling case for would be Darby, but the crowd support for him just isn’t currently there, although there is time to change that and his language recently suggests they are going to tease it.

When assessing the field Ospreay just keeps coming up as the natural choice. He can have his Bulldog Wembley moment. The Owen Hart tournament is coming up and a series of Matches through that to build Will as the number one contender.

There is also history between him and MJF with Ospreay besting the champ the last time they faced off, which ironically was the last All In. This would add a lot of unpredictability for the match as MJF is very rarely on the losing side of a feud multiple times. There would be a chance that MJF is given the win to leave All In on a high much like he did at the very first Wembley event.

I also worry that there is a temptation to have Callum Newman and Ospreay have an all-star British banger in London. And I could see the temptation to go that way, have the youngest IWGP heavyweight champion yearn to show his mentor that he is better than him, for him to want to raise his Title high at Wembley and show that he has achieved more at his age than Ospreay ever did. I love that story, and I am convinced that Newman and the United Empire turn on Ospreay at dynasty this Sunday. But I’m hopeful that Tony Khan saying there is a Forbidden Door event in the summer this year they give us the Newman and Ospreay match there as a palate cleanser before Ospreay goes for the belt at All In.

But I truly hope Tony Khan doesn’t go that way, and we get MJF and Will Ospreay in the main event. To see a British wrestler get that sort of spotlight at Wembley would pop me huge. Especially with Ospreay whom I hadn’t seen a whole lot of up until his debut in AEW. But the match against Jericho at the first All In had me absolutely sold on him. I don’t think I’ve seen many wrestlers as smooth as he is between the ropes who also commands excellent timing, I do think sometimes he goes too self-indulgent with some of his matches, but I think that self-indulgence comes from a place of sheer joy in Ospreays heart  that he is a professional wrestler, and he would rather leave it all in the ring for each match than hold something back he would later regret. I respect that, but I think sometimes some of his matches would be better served by holding back slightly so that the crowd gets the 3 count at the optimum time for the pop.

But I digress. Ultimately Ospreay is my favourite in ring performer at the moment, and I think he would make a fantastic ambassador for AEW as champion. I think the image and moment of him at Wembley would be an all timer visual for the company. I really hope that Tony Khan and AEW agree with me.

But what do you guys think? Is Ospreay going to have a summer of being THE guy? Do you want to see someone else, have I missed out a potential option? Let me know in the comments below!

Also, if you guys want to follow my opinions and wrestling content as always, I can be found on X via: @Wrestle_G or TikTok via: @wrestleg

I would love to connect with more of you as we roll into WrestleMania weekend.

Until Next time,

Cheers,

G