In a shocking surprise angle midway through NJPW Resurgence, the music of former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay was hit. He was not expected to be back in a NJPW ring for several more months, after suffering a serious injury in a title defense against Shingo Takagi. Shingo would go on to claim the vacant championship, but Ospreay doesn’t recognize that victory. He still claims to be the true world champion.
Will Ospreay Has His Own IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Ospreay was forced to vacate the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship after just his first defense due to injury. This was a hard choice to make, seeing as he was just the second man to hold this version of NJPW’s top championship, having beaten Kota Ibushi shortly before. He was set to face Kazuchika Okada in the Tokyo Dome, but things had to change in a hurry.
After being stripped of his championship, he went back to the UK to rehab his injury. Four months later, he’s cleared from what looked like a career ending injury. In his eyes, he gave his neck for NJPW and they gave him nothing. They took his belt away for not defending, while Jon Moxley did that for months on end.
In his eyes, he is the real IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. He’s not going back to Japan, but will defend against anyone in America. Endearing himself to the fans and talent of NJPW Strong, he’d call out the trainees of Shibata, anyone who trained at the L.A Dojo including Bryan Danielson, before being driven off by Karl Fredericks & TJP.
Not Going To Be In The G1 Climax?
On crucial piece of news coming from this is that we can not expect Will Ospreay in the 2021 G1 Climax. He said as much in his promo tonight, and seemingly is set to focus on making NJPW Strong a major show. This means he will join Jay White & Juice Robinson as top recognizable talents for this brand as they get infront of crowds this fall. The G1 Climax is now missing a major element, and The United Empire are without their leader.
However, building up two IWGP World Heavyweight Champions, both men with a claim to the belt might be a smart move through the fall. Fans already didn’t expect to see Ospreay in the tournament, so not much has changed. Shingo can run through the field there and name Ospreay as his challenger, or NJPW can pull a slow burn on this angle.
Do you think Will Ospreay has a proper claim to being the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion? Will NJPW recognize his self proclaimed reign? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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