During last year's WrestleMania weekend, Paul "Triple H" Levesque weighed in on signing independent wrestlers and pointed out that, if they're afraid of "the grind" and only want to work one day a week, WWE isn't a good fit for them.
It was clearly a shot at Will Ospreay after he chose to sign with AEW, but the suggestion he's lazy didn't sit well with the British pro wrestler. In a heated promo on AEW Dynamite, he fired back at Triple H by pointing out he only got to where he is today by "grinding on the boss' daughter."
The joke was tired and cringe-worthy, and Ospreay was widely criticised. Not helping matters was the fact this happened on the same episode of Dynamite as the "reveal" of the All In security footage showcasing CM Punk's altercation with Jack Perry.
Talking to Chris Van Vliet about a wide range of topics, Ospreay reflected on their verbal back-and-forth and revealed he never spoke directly with the WWE Chief Content Officer.
"He was [talking about me]. I've got people that I won't throw under the bus, saying, Yeah, it was about me. I'm not taking it personally like, Oh, that hurt my feelings. It's just kind of like, all right, you take a jab at me, I'll take one back. There's nothing horrible about it. I don't hate the guy. I've never met him. How can I hate someone that I've never even met? [Have you even talked to him?] No, I've never spoken to him, I got an agency talk to everyone."
"I've told everybody about my situation and why I want to remain in the UK, which is why that kind of hurt me a little bit, but not to the point where it keeps me up at night. I was like, Okay, you took a jab at me, I'll take one back, and then that's it. We're done."
"Then someone was at this show that I was doing some stuff for Pro Wrestling Eve, and they do this thing called the Multiverse Rumble, and everybody dresses up as characters, and somebody dresses up as Triple H. I walked in here and I looked, I went I've got to do it now, haven't I? [Why'd you have to do it?] Because it's funny and if anyone doesn't think it's funny, then I can't tell you what your humor is, but my humor is, this is hilarious. I'm going to do it."
While Ospreay is widely considered one of the best wrestlers in the world today. However, there are certain things he does in the ring that have come under fire from fans and pundits alike (the way he "sells" moves, for example).
For Ospreay, he doesn't believe those critics would be saying the same thing if he'd signed a contract with WWE rather than AEW. He also argued that Tony Khan's company doesn't receive the credit it deserves.
"If I've had gone there, they'd be f*cking w*nking into f*cking tissues over me. But it's the same. That's why you have to separate it, otherwise you drive yourself insane. I think if you have something, my wrestling is my passion, it's my job, most importantly. But if you have something that you're passionate about, you really don't care about what people are saying who have never impacted your career in your entire life."
"None of those people, once upon a time, they were big hits that anyone that's ever complained about AEW like the grifters or whatever they're called. I don't know if that's the right term. That's what everyone says. But even if they say something, it's like they're not impacting our show. We're the second most profitable wrestling company of all time. That's not talked about enough, and everyone wants to dig on it."
"I get it, there's things that we could generally improve on and I think it's fair to listen to some criticism. But for me, I don't lose sleep over anyone trying to tell me how to wrestle. Because now, look at me. I'm a f*cking idiot. I know I am, but I've carved out this little lane for myself."
You can watch the full interview with Ospreay in the player below.