Ladies and gentlemen, the International Champion himself, Will Ospreay, has fully embraced his superstar status in AEW. Like a fine wine adapting to a new glass, he’s settled into the wild world of live American television with style and grace. Yet, even the mightiest must contend with the dreaded beast known as television ratings. AEW’s recent encounter with this ferocious foe saw a record low for “AEW Dynamite” on June 19, averaging a meager 502,000 viewers – the lowest turnout in the show’s history on a Wednesday night. Ouch!
While ratings might not be the ultimate decider of greatness (after all, even the best jokes sometimes fall flat), the low numbers were a bit of a gut punch for our valiant hero, Ospreay. “That one did suck to see when it came out because, for me, that was a home run Dynamite,” Ospreay revealed in a chat with CBS Sports. “It was an excellent show. There weren’t any down points in it for me.” Despite the disheartening digits, Ospreay didn’t retreat to a corner to nurse his wounds. Instead, he took it as a challenge – a gauntlet thrown down by the wrestling gods themselves.
“I’m not someone who ignores that type of s**t. I see it and I take note of it. I put it in the checkbook and I make sure whatever we do next week, we come back swinging,” Ospreay declared with the fervor of a motivational speaker at a hot dog eating contest. “We shouldn’t ignore criticism or shy away from it. We’re still a five-year company and we’re still hitting the ropes with these things. For me, AEW still has lots of growing pains to go through.”
Drawing a parallel to WWE’s own rocky road, Ospreay pointed out that even the behemoth of sports entertainment had its dark days. “The WWE of 2019 is a far cry from the WWE of 2024,” he mused, highlighting the importance of hard work and perseverance. AEW’s journey is just beginning, and if Ospreay has anything to say about it, they’ll be body-slamming those growing pains right into oblivion.