For years now, AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling have had a strong working relationship, highlighted by their annual Forbidden Show every year. That doesn’t mean the partnership hasn’t been immune to criticism at times, even from people within New Japan and AEW, with some wondering what exactly either promotion gains from working together.
In that sense, AEW star and New Japan guest star Will Ospreay has the answer. In an interview with Forbes, Ospreay highlighted two ways AEW and New Japan benefit from working together. The first is the ability for stars to work both promotions, with Ospreay pointing out that AEW talent like himself, Andrade El Idolo, and Konosuke Takeshita frequently worked New Japan shows, helping to bolster business.
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The second benefit was more from an AEW perspective, with Ospreay pointing out that because of New Japan’s touring schedule, wrestlers, especially younger ones, are able to get more ring time and develop at a faster rate. Ospreay feels that would allow AEW talent to garner more experience, something that isn’t always available to them due to AEW only having a limited amount of TV time per week.
“It’s one of those things where I always feel bad for certain talent because there are so many super talented people in AEW, and we’re all fighting for four hours a week of television,” Ospreay said. “Although that seems like a lot, it really isn’t. For me, there are opportunities to send talent over to Japan to learn and assist New Japan’s house shows. I think there’s a lot of talent in AEW, but I also feel like there are a lot of people who could learn a lot more by stepping outside their comfort zone and going somewhere where you have to play as a team.”
Read more: AEW Stars: Meet Their Spouses & Partners
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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.
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