When Tony Schiavone helped to announce that Will Ospreay was set to leave New Japan Pro Wrestling to become a full-time member of AEW in February of 2024 at Full Gear, it got fans hyped.

Suddenly, after adding plenty of new talent to the roster in 2023 but no unquestioned superstars, Tony Khan secured a legitimate main event-caliber player in free agency, marking a legitimate change to the World Championship picture in a way not seen since CM Punk announced his return to wrestling to a packed United Center house in Chicago.

And yet, while discussing the signing at the post-Full Gear media scrum, Chris Jericho noted that, in his opinion, Osprey isn't a fully formed star ready to put AEW on his back and become the new face of the promotion just yet. No, in “Le Champion's” not-so-humble opinion, Ospreay has one area of his game that needs to be worked on in order to become a fully-formed main eventer: Character.

“I’m really glad that Will signed with us. I was kind of hoping that he was going to, we had been talking about it… I talked to Will on the phone about it maybe a year and a half ago, two years ago,” Chris Jericho told reporters via Fightful. “The Wembley match we had was one of my favorites of the year and one of the best matches on the show, if not the best match. That’s what Will does. I think this is one of the greatest career years for any professional wrestler ever. The thing I like about Will that he’s just tapping into, that we kind of got into before our match, is character. He has a character that is very believable and I think that’s something he’s really going to get to focus on in AEW that you don’t get a chance to in New Japan because of the communication gap. I think this is the right place for him. I think we know what to do with Will Ospreay. There are a lot of huge matches he can have here and t do the style he wants to do for as long as he wants to do it. To me, he’s one of the most valuable players in the world and one of the biggest gets AEW can acquire, so I’m excited about that.”

While few fans of NJPW would say that the promotion doesn't commit time to the character work of their main roster stars, as the promotion did create the Bullet Club and turned Jay White into a performer worthy of a main event feud with MJF, Jericho is correct that Ospreay is being afforded a chance to become a fixture of weekly television for the first time in his career, with a chance to elevate himself from a spectacle big match wrestler to a legitimate leading man just over the horizon. If Ospreay can make it work, he has a chance to become recognized as the legitimate best wrestler in the world, which is something very few performers have been able to say.

Will Ospreay explains his statements about wrestling for TNA.

Later in his media scrum, Will Ospreay was asked about his comments about wanting to wrestle for TNA, as that was the promotion he loved to watch as a child.

While Ospreay would still like to step foot in a TNA ring and may try to do so in January when the name change becomes official, it sure doesn't sound like they were ever a serious contender for his services.

“The TNA thing, TNA was wonderful and incredible, but it was a case of, I wanted to hear everybody out. I wanted to do what was best for my family. I can’t tell you enough, my life has completely changed ever since that woman has walked into my life. Responsibility has placed itself in front of me. I’m one of the most irresponsible people sometimes. Something has changed within me. I get it now. I understand the responsibility. I see AEW, and I see the talent here and I see everything that made me fall in love with pro wrestling,” Will Ospreay said via Fightful.

“I followed everything. The good, the bad, I followed everything, and I believe in this place. There was a promo Moxley did ages ago, ‘It’s time to be a legend.’ At that point, I was like, ‘I want this. I want to go here,’ and while I’m here I’m going to give everything I’ve got to this place. Not just for myself, because I want to see if I’m that good, I want to give back. I’ve had this mad anxiety coming to America, this huge anxiety coming over here, and I’m willing to face that now and I’m willing to try my best now. It’s an amazing journey I’ve been on, and I’m so grateful. I’m looking forward to it.”

Would it be cool to see Ospreay get in a TNA ring? You bet, especially if it marks match three of his current feud with “Speedball” Mike Bailey, but hey, either way, AEW was the goal, AEW is the landing spot, and AEW is in Will's future moving forward, which, in the end, is all that really matters.