Will Ospreay Bids Farewell To NJPW After Steel Cage War

Written by Craig Ballantyne • Published Feb 11, 2024 10:54 EST
Will Ospreay waves goodbye to NJPW fans

Will Ospreay has competed in his final match under an NJPW contract.

Over the past few months, the rivalry between Ospreay’s United Empire and David Finlay’s Bullet Club War Dogs has become more and more violent. The feud continued after Will Ospreay announced he would be leaving NJPW for AEW, and The Assassin revealed that things would come to a head in his last match for the promotion.

The stage was set for a ‘Dog Pound’ Steel Cage match between the two sides at The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11th. Similar to a WarGames match, the bout would start with Ospreay and Finlay in the cage, with alternating members of each team entering every two minutes.

The hour-long match was just as brutal as it had promised to be, with chairs, barbed wire, and broken tables everywhere while nobody on either side escaped without spilling blood on the mat. Eventually, the War Dogs got the upper hand by chaining some of their opponents to the cage itself. Francesco Akira put in a brave performance towards the end, overcoming his fear of the War Dogs to brutalise Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney with a fork before hanging Connors over the top rope with a dog collar.

Unfortunately for the Fireball, his triumph was cut short by Alex Coghlin and Gabe Kidd, who took him down with a Hijack Piledriver. Before they could do worse, a beaten and battered Ospreay returned to the ring and dragged his teammate out of harms way. He then made a final stand against the War Dogs, who ended his time in NJPW with a Drive By and Overkill for Finlay to get the pinfall.

Will Ospreay Says Goodbye To NJPW

After the match, Ospreay and the United Empire were able to recover enough to get back in the ring for the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion’s farewell. As the crowd chanted “thank you Ospreay,” he took the mic and thanked them for their support over his eight years in the company.

He also reiterated that his AEW contract allows for him to return, and promised to do just that, although he has no idea when he will be able to. The United Empire then embraced one last time before heading to the back.