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"There's this rumor that I'm afraid of the grind"

Promo

Promo Data

Title:

Worker(s):

Will Ospreay, Renee Paquette

Date:

10.04.2024

Promotion:

All Elite Wrestling

Event:

AEW Dynamite #236 (Card with guide)

YouTube:

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Promo

[Renee Paquette conducts this interview Will Ospreay at the entrance ramp in Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia, during AEW Dynamite. Bryan Danielson had cut a promo about Ospreay earlier in the show, ahead of their forthcoming match at AEW Dynamite.]

Renee Paquette: "Will, so great to see you out here tonight. I understand that you wanted to get some things off your chest. What's going on?"

Will Ospreay: Yeah, I've been thinking about this all week, and I've only just seen that Bryan interview, so I need to respond to that as well. So, [to the audience] my apologies guys, I just want to talk, I asked Tony [Khan], he said 'You've got five minutes. TV time's expensive!'

So there's this rumor going around, right? There's this rumor that... I'm afraid of the grind [see Note 1]. [audience boos] And, I'll be honest with you, I've got no idea where this conversation has come from, because, I'm one of the only guys that is traveling every single week to the UK and America, eight [to] ten-hour flights every single week, and I am delivering... [audience cheers]
Oh, you hear that? I am delivering some of the best professional wrestling matches this world has ever seen, bruv! And normally, right, normally I wouldn't rise to this type of bait, but seeing as the guy that said it is only in the position he's in because he was grinding on the boss' daughter, [audience oohs] you are in no position to tell me what the grind is all about, my friend, because you have no idea what I fight for! So let this be a painful little jab back and a gentle reminder that you do not throw stones at an assassin with a machine gun.

Now, Bryan, after seeing what you said there, my friend, and you said I'm stronger than you, which I am; I'm faster than you, which I am; and the only way you have a chance at beating me is if you can ground the aerial assassin. Now I say this with every bit of respect under the sun, sunshine, but healthier men have tried and failed. Younger men have tried and failed. And better men have tried and failed. But yet, yet, you are Bryan Danielson [Ospreay points to the camera]! You are a living legend in this game, son! And I cannot say anymore, I cannot call myself the best wrestler in the world, until after Dynasty. Until after I pin you in that ring, because these people have paid a lot of money to see the best wrestlers go at it [Ospreay points to the crowd]. This, this is AEW: where the best wrestle! And it's my time, it's my time, Mr. Danielson, to show every single person what I'm about, what I bring to the table, and why I am the ace of All Elite Wrestling! Bryan Danielson, you'll find out Sunday, the 21st of April, why my name is Will Ospreay, and I am on another level!"

Notes

- Credit: Thanks to inmate colinmcev for this transcription.

- Note 1: Will Ospreay responds to remarks made by WWE's head of creative, Triple H, during an episode in the Pat McAfee Show. He claimed that wrestlers who were not willing to work through 'the grind' had no business in the WWE. Many observers, including Ospreay himself, believed the remarks were aimed at Ospreay.

5.45

Current Total Rating (?)

Valid votes: 50

Number of comments: 23

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Average rating: 5.44 [50]

Average rating in 2025: 6.00 [9]

Average rating in 2024: 5.32 [41]

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Latest comments of the CAGEMATCH inmates

kirbystarwarrior wrote on 09.01.2025:

[8.0] "A solid way to hype up his match against Danielson that really emphasized why they were feuding. Bryan Danielson stood on top as the best wrestler in the world, and as such, is a vital wall to overcome in Ospreay's own personal journey. Add on a funny jab at Triple H (which being honest, was more potent that the Punk footage they aired on the same night) and it makes for a strong promo"

GoodVsBadGuys wrote on 18.12.2024:

[8.0] "I have heard people go back and forth pro and con about responding to Triple H's jab, but it seemed important to Will to address, so let him address it. A major appeal of Will Ospreay is how real and vulnerable and RAW he is. I like that Will was able to smoothly transition from there into his program with Bryan Danielson."

darkflame4527 wrote on 02.11.2024:

[3.0] "Delusion from Ospreay. Not sure how he didn't "go through the grind" and thought Triple HHH's comments were directed at him. This made him seem really off-putting. Besdies that, he just tells Danielson that he's a main-event player and that "AEW is where the best wrestle." Oh brother."

jajt1989 wrote on 15.09.2024:

[2.0] "So AEW thought it was a good idea to show the Footage that apparently was meant to show that CM Punk was that bad guy when it indeed showed what he said was true all along and then have Ospreay go out and try to bury HHH but instead make a damn fool out of himself in the process. If this episode didnt show that TK is more concerned with trying to take digs at WWE in hopes that fans will tune in and not more concerned with actually producing a good tv show and getting in proper viewers then i dont know what else to say"

JTI wrote on 16.05.2024:

[3.0] "So the last half is fine; Will Ospreay is great when he's fired up and hyping a big upcoming match, and obviously it lived up to the hype. But that first half? Woof. First of all, why even are you going on TV and trying to clap back at some offhand comment Triple H made on a podcast? Who fucking cares? You're burning precious minutes on your flagship TV show to whine about petty internet bullshit that maybe 10% of the people watching actually know about but 0% really care about. Such fucking pettiness. And yeah I'm real sorry for Will Ospreay to have to sleep through his 8- to 10-hour weekly flights in first class. Must be a horrible grind. You can't be the best wrestler in the world and also a thin-skinned little baby, sorry. Secondly, you really gonna try to pull the "hurr durr he married da boss's daughter" card in 2024? Bruv, that joke is a quarter century old now. And the implication that Triple H basically slept his way to the top is just as ludicrous now as it was back in 1999. By all accounts HHH and Stephanie genuinely love each other, and on top of all of that, HHH was already a 2- or 3-time champion by the time he and Stephanie started dating, so it's not like he wasn't doing well all by himself before she came along. Anyway, it's fucking dumb and inappropriate and juvenile and just helps Ospreay show his own ass. Let the competition (or, let's just say "the other guys" because let's be real, AEW isn't coming close to actually competing with WWE) say what they want, and just focus on making Good Fucking Wrestling so I don't have to keep seeing memes about half-empty stadiums."

veroon wrote on 07.05.2024:

[4.0] "I understand why Will had to bite back at HHH for his subtle dig thrown at him at the Pat McAfee Show, but man this just stank. If all parties purely just focused onto the dream match between Ospreay and Danielson at Dynasty, this could've been so much more cooler."

Trombek Kushinika wrote on 06.05.2024:

[7.0] "Its only cos Will Ospreay is so hot at the moment that this felt like it actually landed well. Obviously had been instructed to cut the sly digs to the competition in the promo and he didnt look 100% comfortable in doing it but as always his delivery, likability and cheekiness as a babyface got this over."

colinmcev wrote on 29.04.2024:

[8.0] "I know this promo was polarizing and some have criticized Will Ospreay for it. I may be biased because I'm such a fan of his (though I'm also a big fan of Triple H, so I think it's a bit of a wash), but I think he was perfectly justified in responding to Triple H's comments. And these kind of public remarks and responses are pretty commonplace in professional wrestling, so I don't think it would REALLY be seen as that big a deal if it hadn't happened the same night AEW aired the CM Punk/Jack Perry footage. Having them run not only in the same episode, but literally back-to-back, definitely gave the impression that AEW was too focused on taking shots at WWE than taking care of its own business, which was a bad look. If Ospreay had cut this promo on an episode without all that other nonsense, I think the response to it might have been different. Regardless, though, if you judge the promo on its own merits... it was fire, IMO. (Also, Renee was just acting, people. She wasnt really reacting negatively to the promo. Shes a professional, she cant and she wouldnt be visibly disapproving on-camera except when in character)"

Raditz Flair wrote on 26.04.2024:

[9.0] "Ospreay gives a receipt for a snide comment elsewhere (which was code for "I'm mad because he didn't sign"), and he's dragged for it. Low hanging fruit is still ripe and sweet. Never forget that."

cbaus wrote on 25.04.2024:

[0.0] "This sucked. This was so petty and so, so weak. This was whiny, this was cringe, this did not hit the mark. Anybody can spend half an hour talking about Wills ability in ring but since making the switch over to AEW wow, his promos have been so incredibly weak. He comes across much better in interviews where he can be more organic and true to himself. This was a forced, eye roll worthy segment that really does absolutely nothing to help develop Will as a character or AEW as a whole. Let Will and for that matter, let a majority of the stars stick to more organic promos and AEW will be better for it. These weak rebuttals to WWE they need to stop."

FBI Psyop wrote on 25.04.2024:

[2.0] "I love Will, but this promo was pretty cringe. Of all the ways to "clap back", he picks the lowest hanging fruit and it just makes him and AEW look petty. Not to mention the All In footage that was also shown, which completely backfired on them, this was a pretty bad week for AEW."

Mr Bungle wrote on 24.04.2024:

[8.0] "I think tribalism in wrestling is completely stupid, but when someone from another promotion insults you, I'm more than okay with a wrestler sticking up for himself and firing back. You don't want to start needless beefs, but at the same time, you don't want to allow yourself to be a whipping boy either. Ospreay has improved on promos so much in recent years and a fun little promo like this allows him to show off a different facet of his personality: the confident, charismatic leader who is not just a good wrestler."

shuji wrote on 24.04.2024:

"One of the worst promos that i ever heard. I don't think that it hurt him as a wrestler, but definitely kinda changed my opinion about him. This promo is the description of AEW right now, they need to stop making shots at WWE and watch at their own project."

EvilWolverine wrote on 24.04.2024:

[0.0] "Absolutely atrocious piece of a promo from a bleak shadow of a wrestler that Will Ospreay once was. I loved the guy in 2020, but now I think he's just an asshole, really. The game didn't mention a single name, but for some reason Will Ospreay took it all personally and proceeded to make personal insults on national television against the executive of another company. Where is this a good promo? Who benefits from it? Ospreay vs Danielson feud was already non-existent at that point, and somehow, Will made it much worse. Bro can't pull up a decent rivalry, but for some reason considers himself one of the best wrestlers... I just can't comprehend how out of touch and unnecessary this promo is. Considering that this took place during the FPOD 2024, I can assume that only TK could bring a little pleasure from this. Happy for him. And for Will too. I didn't enjoy it, didn't like it, and I lost all interest for Will vs Bryan match."

darkblade0914 wrote on 24.04.2024:

[5.0] "I don't mind the content, but the timing was just bad. Another episode it'd be alright, but this was just bad timing. Still hoping great things for Ospreay."

Michael Morbius wrote on 24.04.2024:

[5.0] "This a very controversial promo by Ospreay because of the Triple H reference and, personally, I wasn't a huge fan of it. First of all, I hate how AEW is setting up these interviews lately with the wrestlers giving their backs to the crowd in attendance. They should stop immediately. The promo itself was kinda mid. Ospreay's delivery is good but he really doesn't say much here that we didn't heard or knew before. Not bad but definitely not great, it probably would've been a six out of ten. But the HHH reference brings it down a little. I know Hunter throwed the first rock and Ospreay had every right to respond but I think this was utterly unnecessary. WWE is mentioned way too much on AEW's programing and this reference only took away importance from the match Ospreay tried to hype up in the second part of the promo. It took away the importance of seeing Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay wrestle each other and put it on a stupid controversy that within a couple of weeks would've been over."

TheV2 wrote on 23.04.2024:

[5.0] "Not sure how to rate it. It's a good promo without any context, given Ospreay's great promo skills. It's a fantastic promo, if you, probably like Ospreay himself, watched a little clip of Triple H's remarks and made it bigger news than it actually was. It's a mere cringe promo, when you realize that, real or not, Ospreay asked for these minutes to defend himself. It's an utter cringe promo for someone on the level of Will Ospreay. And it was no promo for his match against Bryan Danielson, because if you weren't sold on the match-up alone, I can't imagine you were sold on some afterthought words."

Rocky7 wrote on 23.04.2024:

[8.0] "This promo came on the same show as a decision to air security camera footage of a wrestler formerly with AEW that's now elsewhere, so it was risky that shortly afterwards, an AEW wrestler decided to go after a major executive from that same promotion. However, Will Ospreay felt justified in doing so, as he felt that his drive and dedication had been questioned, even though he has genuine real life reasons why he chose to go with AEW. Ospreay has since vowed not to go for low hanging fruit going forward, but other than all that, this was another great promo, and very good build to his match with Bryan Danielson at Dynasty."

sarahlicity wrote on 23.04.2024:

[8.0] "In professional wrestling, there is the concept of the "receipt". Wrestling is an art that relies on the mutual trust of the performers, so if you were to, say, sandbag a powerbomb and make your dance partner look stupid, you'd find their next clothesline would be much stiffer. It's in that context that I really cannot begrudge Will for the receipt at all; anybody who has followed Ospreay, especially during the pandemic years, knows that he is one of the hardest workers in the business - there are few wrestlers who could handle a single G1 run, after all, let alone four - and certain corporate suits making snide comments about a man with a young child wanting to raise said child is ignorant at best, and mean-spirited at worst. A joke about said corporate suit shagging his way to the top, however over-worn it was, was the least harmful way for Will to say "message received, return to sender". As far as the rest of the promo goes? It does its job selling the PPV match pretty well, but to be honest, just the words "Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson" sold the PPV for me."

texasyosh wrote on 23.04.2024:

[6.0] "Without discussing elements that could be polarizing, I think Ospreay had some sort of right to defend himself from what was effectively a sneak diss. His specific response is... something I've heard a lot over the years! It's not like it isn't warranted or anything. There's been an impressive career rehabilitation of someone mentioned in the promo. I wonder how it'll affect the ratings :-). Nonetheless, Ospreay's job here is to sell the big match with Danielson -- which already really sold itself -- and he did that pretty effectively. It's promo 101, putting over the opponent while maintaining the elements why Ospreay is better. Pretty basic, though effective structure."

LJRainmaker17 wrote on 23.04.2024:

[0.0] "That promo was si unnessecary. Like AEW needs to focus on their own product and let the others aside. Because by doing this right now, they are acknowledging everything that the other side says when actually the other do not even listen to them. Focus on the product, give us interesting storylines and stop giving tv time to the other company."