Will Ospreay has broken Mistahura Misawa’s record for the most 5+ star matches in wrestling history.
The English star registered his 26th five-star match on that scale at Forbidden Door, when he beat Kenny Omega in a match rated 6-stars by Dave Meltzer.
Ospreay achieved this record at aged just 30. This certainly puts him in contention for the role as one of the best wrestlers of all time, and has decades left to add to his immense tally.
It wasn’t long ago that he took the record for the most five-star matches out of any non-Japanese wrestler, raking in 20 5 or more star rated matches in his short career so far.
Not content to rest on his laurels, the English superstar put on some more classic matches without rest.
He lost in the final of the G1 Climax last week, falling to Kazuchika Okada in a classic that was rated 5.75 stars by Dave Meltzer. This brought his total up to 21, but he wrestled in 3 more incredible matches in just the past week, with two of them getting the Dave Meltzer 5 Star Rating.
Will Ospreay 5 Star Matches
The list of the twenty-nine matches rated five stars awarded by Dave Meltzer to Will Ospreay over his career are as follows;
- Will Ospreay vs Yota Tsuji
- Will Ospreay vs Shingo Takagi
- Will Ospreay vs Tetsuya Naito
- Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega (6 Stars)
- Will Ospreay vs Kenny Omega (6.25 stars)
- Will Ospreay & Aussie Open vs PAC, Rey Fenix and Penta Obscuro
- Will Ospreay vs Ricky Knight Jr
- Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay
- Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- Michael Oku vs. Will Ospreay
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
- Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay (6 Stars)
- Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay
- Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
- Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay
- Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
- Kota Ibushi vs. Will Ospreay
- Dragon Lee vs. Will Ospreay
- Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay
- Bandido vs. Will Ospreay
- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi
- Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay
- KUSHIDA vs. Will Ospreay
- Adam Cole, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Matt Sydal, Ricochet & Will Ospreay
His first 5 star match this week was his singles match against Ricky Knight Jr in Rev Pro. Ospreay had held the British Heavyweight Championship for nearly three years and was considered one of the greatest champions the promotion ever had. He defended the title at Rev Pro’s Ten Year Anniversary – Night 2 show, against one of the best up-and-coming British talents in Ricky Knight Jr.
Knight Jr is part of the legendary Knight family, a British wrestling institution from Norwich in England. They are most famous his sister Saraya Knight, also known as former WWE Divas Champion Paige. Ricky is the younger brother of Saraya and has joined the family business by becoming a pro wrestler.
At the show on August 21st 2022, Will Ospreay vs Ricky Knight Jr was awarded 5 stars by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer. Knight defeated Ospreay in an incredible match and completed his multi-year build to become the new top star in the promotion. Despite being a top star in New Japan, Ospreay was happy to put over the young star and put on a hell of a performance while doing it.
Will Ospreay’s second five star match came on the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite in the main event of the show on August 24, 2022. He teamed with United Empire teammates Aussie Open to take on Death Triangle, the trio of top AEW stars PAC, Rey Fenix and Penta Obscuro.
It was an incredible match. The bout was fast paced and featured some incredible sequences, especially between PAC and Will Ospreay. It teased a future Will Ospreay vs PAC match, in a fight that could be over the AEW All-Atlantic Championship. United Empire picked up the victory and gave Ospreay his 23rd five star match of his career despite being only 29 years old.
His 23 5 star (or more) matches place Will Ospreay joint second on the most 5 star or higher matches of all time. He is tied with the legendary Kenta Kobashi and NJPW’s top star Kazuchika Okada on the list, with only Mitsuharu Misawa (25) ahead of all three men.
With Okada and Ospreay still in their prime, it is likely the will leapfrog Misawa soon enough and establish themselves as two of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Okada already has his claim as NJPW’s greatest ever wrestler and his English rival seems to want to take that mantle for himself.
The list of the most five star matches ever are as follows;
- Mitsuharu Misawa – 25
- Kazuchika Okada – 23
- Kenta Kobashi – 23
- Will Ospreay – 23
- Toshiaki Kawada – 21
- Kenny Omega – 19
- Hiroshi Tanahashi – 15
- Akira Taue – 15
- Shingo Tagaki – 15
- Kota Ibushi – 13
- Minami Toyoto – 13
- Ric Flair – 12
- The Young Bucks – 9
Will Ospreay is 29 years old, so has more thane enough time to overtake Misawa and confirm himself as being the best in-ring wrestler of all time and the greatest British wrestler of all time.
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