Wrestling daredevil, 32, feels like ‘death is constantly on my doorstep’

AEW wrestler Will Ospreay has admitted age has made him more scared of his own death defying stunts.

The 32-year-old Essex-born star, who is the poster boy for WWE rival All Elite Wrestling’s Forbidden Door event at The O2 arena in London this summer, made waves earlier this year with a thrill seeking dive from the top of a steel cage.

Asked if the fear ever creeps in, he exclusively told Metro: ‘A lot of times, especially now that I’m older. I’m 32 … I’m an old boy now, I’m not rubber anymore. It’s creeping up on me that death is on my doorstep constantly.’

Decorated champion Will, who admitted he got into a lot of trouble from his partner and fellow wrestler Alex Windsor for the cage stunt, is still determined to ‘push’ himself to his limits.

‘I do think about [death]. And main thing that I always say to myself is, like, I want to make sure that I’m safe. I want to make sure I can get on that plane at home,’ he said.

‘But I’ve made a deal with the devil – one of these days it might not happen. Until that day comes, I do need to push myself and to find out where that limit is.

Will Ospreay is known for his thrill seeking style in the ring (Picture: AEW/Lee South) He was ‘freaking out’ before his dive from the cage at AEW Revolution (Picture: AEW/Lee South)

‘I haven’t found it yet, and I’ve jumped off of a cage, so I can only imagine how far it goes. But, you know, death is a funny thing. And when I do die, the only thing that I can say, looking back on this, I had a good laugh.’

In the moment with that terrifying cage dive, Will can still recall looking don’t at ‘a bunch of real famous people’ on the front row, with fans’ phones all pointing up at him, and one man in particular silently begging him not to die.

‘It was crazy being up there, because I’m wearing white gear. So instantly I’m thinking, don’t s*** yourself,’ he laughed.

‘I was freaking out there. But after it was done, there was like, this surge of adrenaline of just like, “I am f****** indestructible, mate.”‘

Ospreay is known as the Aerial Assassin (Picture: AEW/Lee South) The Essex-born star has already conquered Wembley Stadium (Picture: AEW/Lee South)

Fans might be wondering what Ospreay will do next, as he looks ahead to AEW’s first show at London’s O2 for Forbidden Door, following two big All In events at Wembley Stadium in 2023 and 2024.

‘I remember I was at a WWE SmackDown taping years ago [at The O2], and we was up in section 417, the nosebleed seats,’ he recalled.

‘If you would have told me that I’d have been the face of a wrestling show that’s happening at The O2 but it’s not WWE? It’s madness.’

Will can still remember some of the matches, with Hall of Famer The Undertaker taking on Big Show (‘the finish was dogs**t’), Randy Orton facing Triple H in a Steel Cage (‘it was sick’), and now-AEW star Matt Sydal against British wrestler Paul Burchill.

He’ll take centre stage at The O2 this summer (Picture: AEW) Ospreay grew up watching wrestling at the iconic venue (Picture: AEW/Ricky Havlik)

Years later, Will is being talked about as one of the absolute best wrestlers in the world, and he insisted above all else, it comes down to ‘heart’.

‘When you’re in a match or you’ve got a microphone in your hand, you can tell if someone’s going through the motions,’ he explained.

He pointed to the example of the late ‘Mad’ Kurt Chapman, who died in December 2023 aged 26, and the connection he had with fans across the UK.

He added: ‘Kurt didn’t have an ounce of muscle. If I’d have said, “Kurtis, where’s your deltoids?” he would say, “Is that a video game character from Minecraft?”

‘But he had a connection with the audience, and people wanted to see him succeed. Everyone misses that little t*at.’

Ospreay had some kind words for his late friend Kurtis Chapman (Picture: Revolution Pro) He admitted not everyone can have a connection with the fans (Picture: AEW/Lee South)

Wrestling truly is a space for everyone, and Will is glad that AEW and New Japan’s Forbidden Door events can make diversity a normality in the business.

‘I feel like now with we’re starting to get into a place where we’re understanding that so many of us are different shapes, different sizes, different colors, different ethnicities,’ he smiled.

‘I love wrestling because it celebrates all of that. I say this quite a lot about the Forbidden Door pay-per-view – it’s not even a “forbidden door” anymore, because anyone could have walked through.

‘For me, Forbidden Door is celebrating the culture of professional wrestling.’

AEW returns to the UK for Dynamite & Collision at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro (August 24) and Forbidden Door (Aug 24). Tickets go on general sale on Friday, May 2 at 10am.

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