Featured image by @my_place12
If there’s anything we can agree on, it’s that Will Ospreay’s a dickhead. Of course for those keeping up with the wrestling news, there’s the Speaking Out allegations. This has been the shadow hanging over Ospreay’s current run in New Japan. When a fellow wrestler accused his friend of rape, Ospreay went out of his way to have the accuser blacklisted which essentially ran her out of the industry. That’s a shitty thing to do and I don’t think Ospreay’s ever had to suffer any real consequences from that action and he certainly hasn’t apologized in any substantial way either.
But all that aside, he’s exceptionally unlikable in the ring. Once you put aside all the actions of Will Ospreay the man and you’re left with Will Ospreay the pro wrestling character, what you’re left with is someone who’s as grossly despicable and showy as The Young Bucks were in 2010 but without the self-awareness to recognize that it’s an act meant to go anywhere.
I don’t hate Will Ospreay because he does flips. I hate Will Ospreay because his flips have come to mean nothing. The Ospreay we’re seeing now isn’t even the same Ospreay that we saw at the Dome in January let alone the Ospreay that won over so many accolades in 2019 as one of the best wrestlers in the world. While it might be said that there’s no reason to expect too much of a G1 block match against Yujiro Takahashi, there’s no reason for Ospreay to have been so drab in his match against nerdbait king Ishii or here against Shingo.
Ospreay is easily the worst part of this match. That’s been consistent across both the matches these two have had. I was one of about four people didn’t love the BOSJ finals match last year. Even some of the harsher critics in my circle hold that one up as one of Ospreay’s better bouts and it’s one that’s remained out of my reach. I didn’t like it at all seeing at the time. It felt one note. Fast paced and spectacular, sure, but without any actual dynamics to give it any actual depth beneath its bloated runtime and eye catching offense.
In contrast, this match actually has far more sag and drag than the first one and yet I think it’s decidedly better. And the reason for that is that unlike in 2019, this match isn’t actually about. It’s about Shingo Takagi.
Will Ospreay isn’t a real character in this match. Despite his douchey persona and eye roll worthy taunting through the match, he’s not an actual entity with any personality outside of “GET OFF MY SCREEN.” He’s just a wrestler who has a set arsenal and he’s going to go through every move in varying order until one of them finally drops you. That’s all that Ospreay knows how to do this year. Where he had some semblance of match narrative and structure in 2019, this Will Ospreay knows only moving forward and running through his moves.
Luckily for us, Shingo Takagi is a far more interesting and dynamic wrestler than Ospreay has ever been. He survives Ospreay’s offensive bursts in so many different ways. He strikes his way out, he catches Ospreay in quick pinfalls, he endures and pushes through the pain. Shingo Takagi puts in such an excellent performance here that shines so much stronger when placed next to the vacuous emptiness of Will Ospreay and his new “attitude.”
This match shines better than the BOSJ final because it recognizes these two wrestlers for who they truly are. Ospreay is unlikable, all flash and losing substance by the minute, and Shingo Takagi’s the real deal and seeing him push back against and eventually winning against this empty shell of a performer is something so easy to empathize with and route for.
This match shines better because the right man wins.
