Will Ospreay reportedly signs official deal with New Japan

Will Ospreay, the 22 year old British wrestler who was high on many fan's wish lists for NXT and the upcoming Global Cruiserweight Series (GCS) tournament on WWE Network, has signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), according to PWTorch. The signing was reported by Dave Meltzer earlier this year and by the company when they announced the return of the Super J Cup, but the new report claims that was a handshake deal done, essentially, on an event-by-event basis.

As recently discussed by Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows on Talk is Jericho, it's not uncommon for foreign workers to be contracted week-by-week by Japanese promotions.

New Japan brought him in for a match against IWGP Junior Heavyweight champ KUSHIDA at their Invasion Attack show, and promoted that appearance by allying him with then-IWGP Heavyweight champ Kazuchika Okada's CHAOS stable. His performance in a loss to KUSHIDA was extremely well received, and reports were he'd been offered a longer, formal contract. Sean Radican at the Torch is reporting Ospreay has agreed to that deal.

The free agent, who made his name worked on British independents now allied with WWE like Revolution Pro and Progress, also worked with EVOLVE and TNA earlier this year. MLW Tweeted that, in addition to WWE, two other companies were interested in signing Ospreay.

Regardless of whether or not this is re-heated news, it's interesting to think of the possibilities. With Ospreay and Ricochet seemingly off the table, the GCS may be largely built on guys already in the WWE fold.

Given how closely Ring of Honor (ROH) works with NJPW, there are a lot of possibilities for the Brit to make a splash in the States via their shows and television here, likely making him even more attractive for WWE down the road.

Exciting times.