Major name who Will Ospreay wanted to see in AEW unlikely to join the company, claims legend
AEW has signed several popular pro wrestlers, but the young promotion has also hired a few veteran wrestling executives to help run the company behind the scenes. Will Ospreay recently pitched a big hire to help Tony Khan, but new information has revealed why that signing likely will not happen any time soon.
Scott D'Amore has been involved in pro wrestling since 1991. He was controversially fired from his role as President of TNA earlier this year after disagreements with parent company Anthem over the direction of the company. The former Team Canada leader wanted to expand TNA Wrestling and even offered to buy the promotion for $10 million. Ospreay recently had major praise for D'Amore. The AEW International Champion suggested Tony Khan hire the former WCW Power Plant trainee, perhaps to run ROH.
Rhino has a special connection to Scott. The 29-year veteran was trained by D'Amore at the Can-Am Wrestling School in Ontario, and they later reunited in TNA. The former ECW World Champion recently did a virtual signing for K&S WrestleFest, during which he was asked about his longtime friend. The wrestling legend referenced Ospreay's recent comments and revealed that D'Amore is being paid to sit at home, likely under a non-compete with Anthem.
"Someone said... I read online they [AEW] should get Scott D'Amore to run Ring of Honor. It would ease the burden on some of the talent, but Scott's at home getting paid for... I think 'til next February, and he's never not worked, you know? Or never gotten paid to not work," Rhino said. [H/T POST Wrestling]
D'Amore is apparently planning projects for the future as he recently filed to trademark Maple Leaf Wrestling. The 49-year-old has also scheduled his next Border City Wrestling show for Saturday, June 15 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Will Ospreay hypes AEW International Championship match
Will Ospreay is still on a 12-match singles winning streak in AEW. Since capturing the International Championship from Roderick Strong at Double Or Nothing, Ospreay has made one successful defense - the win over Kyle O'Reilly on last week's Collision.
The Aerial Assassin will defend his title against Rey Fenix on this week's Dynamite from Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. Ospreay took to X/Twitter to hype the match and his Forbidden Door bout against Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship.
"Looking forward to wrestling in Iowa for the first time in my career. Myself & Fenix are extremely familiar with one another. But momentum is key going into Forbidden Door. 2 Belts Billy GOAT," Will Ospreay wrote.
Fenix and Ospreay have wrestled three singles matches in the past. Ospreay won all three - at PWG in 2016, RevPro in 2017, and FCP in 2019. They also worked a multi-man match on Dynamite in 2022 as Ospreay, Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher defeated Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo, and PAC.