During a recent interview with NJPW1972.com, Will Ospreay commented on the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 16 event, if he’d rather face Shingo Takagi or Kazuchika Okada, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On Shingo Takagi’s IWGP World Heavyweight title reign: “I would like to say, take the belt aside, Shingo has done a phenomenal job of carrying the company and carrying the flag for NJPW. You can’t take away his effort and fighting spirit. He deserved the (Tokyo Sports) MVP, absolutely. Especially considering I was only in Japan for five months. But that makes it all the sweeter, whether it’s him or Okada on the fifth, to let the world know I am the one true MVP and the one true champion.”
On how he would rate Kazuchika Okada’s recent performances in NJPW: “Okada is Okada. Every time he’s in a big match scenario, you want to be there and you want to watch. You can’t argue with his aura and presence, and he has been the standard bearer for NJPW for a long time now. Did he have a slow start this year? Maybe. But wrestling is a marathon and not a sprint. This year has been a marathon for so many of us on a lot of levels. It’s all been stop and start, there’s been worry and uncertainty. But he came through the G1, and fair play to him. If I was there he wouldn’t have had a chance, but he is the G1 Champion, and I look forward to seeing if he can deliver at Wrestle Kingdom.”
On facing either Shingo or Okada on Wrestle Kingdom 16 on January 5: “There’s a fire in [Shingo]. I made him mad, I pissed him off when I called him the interim champion and that’s what I wanted, because then he’ll make mistakes. I’m walking round calling myself the real champion and it’s made him mad because I’m not wrong. Nobody has beaten me. That riles him up. What was his record in the G1? So he had the belt in that tournament and lost two matches, went to one double countout. I’ve lost one singles match this whole year. That’s why this is so interesting. If it’s Shingo on January 5, he gets a chance at revenge on me. If it’s Okada, I get the chance at revenge on him.”
On whether he prefers a match against Okada over Shingo: “Yes and no. I would love to erase that loss from January 4. It caused a rift in the United Empire- we all talked a big game. But we bounced back and we’ve been unstoppable ever since. That made us stronger. So I would like to make that right, erase that loss. But then again, I know I can beat Shingo. I know I can play that game. And as much as I want revenge, it’s more important that I walk away as champion, so I would say that Shingo is the easier option.”
