During a recent discussion on his “83 Weeks” podcast, Eric Bischoff reviewed Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II. Bischoff expressed his admiration for Will Ospreay and compared his athleticism, physicality and offense to the legendary WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. He also noted the presence of compelling psychology in Ospreay’s matches, comparing it to the likes of Nick Bockwinkel and Vern Gagne. Bischoff said,
“I was blown away. Ospreay reminds me of a tougher Shawn Michaels. He’s got the look obviously. Wrestling, in terms of his in-ring capabilities, is just otherworldly at this point. It was like the new school, the very athletic, physical, dynamic, incredibly difficult and high-risk type of offense, it had all of that, but it also had Nick Bockwinkel-Vern Gagne-esque psychology. So, the story was there. The psychology was there. The dynamic presentation, the athleticism, the things that people really dig nowadays, that was there in spades. There’s more than enough of that for anybody who loves that style and that presentation, but it still had great psychology in the pacing and the story. “
Bischoff went on to praise the Ospreay vs. Omega match, stating that it was one of the best matches he had ever seen. While acknowledging that Ospreay and Omega may not have the same level of mainstream popularity as The Rock, Bischoff suggested it was perfect for their audience and emphasized the story, action, and believability of the match, which left him thoroughly excited and satisfied as a wrestling fan. He said,
“It was so good. I don’t know that I’ve seen anything better in terms of a match. They don’t have a Rock-like popularity with the audience. Certainly, with that audience they did and that’s why I don’t like comparing, but in terms of the story and the action and the believability, all the things that make me excited to watch a wrestling match, I got overdosed on it and I was there for it. It was awesome.”
