5-Star Match Reviews: Will Ospreay vs. Pac – AEW All Out 2024

I tuned in to WWE’s first RAW on Netflix hoping to see something really new and ended up disappointed, mainly because the entrances and breaks between segments have become way too goddamn long, like everyone has started fetishizing The Undertaker for his entrances. As a result, I decided to look elsewhere for something a bit more exciting and…oh look, a Will Ospreay match. This might be wild and ludicrous but at least my time watching will be spent watching movement and not useless entrances.

The Story

Will Ospreay was involved in a short feud with MJF that saw the title change hands and also change names. It was called the International title when Ospreay held it and the American title when MJF held it. Great, it’s not enough for AEW to muddy its own waters with more belts than a department store, but they also thought it wise to change existing title names for…reasons. This isn’t a tapestry of storytelling, it’s a patchwork at best. Anyway, Ospreay regained his title just in time for Pac to win a four-way match to become #1 contender for it. And with that a special sort of ~DREAM MATCH~ was put together. This was the first time Ospreay and Pac faced off in five years, with their last match taking place in the UK and ending in a 30-minute draw. This time though there had to be a winner. But who would end up on top: the original high-flyer from the British Isles, or the younger, faster, crazier daredevil who did everything at breakneck speed and threw caution to the wind?

The Match

This took place on September 7, 2024. It was rated *****1/2 by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

The bell rings and both guys get a standing ovation. And they say Punk’s the one with the cult of personality. Anyways Pac stalls for a bit and then we get a typical headlock tie-up to start things off. Ospreay flips out of some early holds and poses for the crowd who are absolutely in love with him. Pac takes him down but Ospreay gets right back up and then we get a typical Ospreay flippy counter exchange. Pac tries a headscissor but again Ospreay lands on his feet. Frustrated, Pac kicks Ospreay’s gut, dumps him ringside, climbs the top turnbuckle, and dives onto Ospreay with a corkscrew body press.

Pac throws Ospreay back into the ring and goes for a springboard but Ospreay dropkicks him out of the air. This time the roles are reversed as Ospreay land the same corkscrew press. In the ring Pac dodges a springboard dropkick and then both guys hit simultaneous big boots. They both sit up and trade slaps, then get to their feet and trade forearms. Ospreay answers with chops, Pac with kicks. Pac overtakes Ospreay with boots to the athletic tape on Ospreay’s neck and launches him into the barricade.

Pac hits a high-angle superplex and covers for a two-count. Ospreay fights to his feet to escape a chinlock and then we get another reversal/counter sequence. Pac bails to ringside and tries to send Ospreay into the barricade but this time Ospreay jumps onto it, hits back and lands a springboard clothesline. Ospreay goes back into the ring and lands a Sasuke Special.

Back in the ring Ospreay lands a counter handspring enzuigiri for a one-count and goes to the top rope but Pac cuts him off. Ospreay blocks another superplex and tries his Cheeky Nandos kick but Pac kicks him first. Pac goes for a springboard quebrada. Ospreay catches him on one shoulder and goes for a powerslam. Wait, no, Pac counters with a tornado DDT. Ligerbomb by Pac. Two-count. Ospreay rolls out of range for a dive so Pac springboards into the ring for a running attack…which Ospreay counters with a standing Spanish Fly. One, two, Pac kicks out.

Ospreay attempts an Os-Cutter. Pac blocks and they trade Tombstone attempts. Ospreay launches him with a facebuster. Pac ducks a Hidden Blade, lands a back kick, and attempts a deadlift German suplex. Ospreay elbows out. Pac hits back and tries another German. Ospreay lands on his feet and connects with an Os-Cutter for two. Pac hits back with a stiff forearm but Ospreay puts his arms behind his back and asks for more. Pac obliges but then Ospreay fires back with two hook kicks, one in the ring and one on the apron. Ospreay goes for a post-assisted Os-Cutter. Pac catches him and lands a deadlift German on the apron. But wait, there’s more. Poisoned Frankensteiner on the apron as well. Pac tosses Ospreay into the ring and locks in his Brutalizer submission hold. Ospreay gets a ropebreak so Pac lands a corner yakuza kick. Black Arrow connects…with Ospreay’s knees. Ospreay cradles Pac for two and pulls off his elbow pad. Hidden Blade is countered with a backslide for two. Pac bounces off the ropes but Ospreay hits a step-up enzuigiri. Ospreay charges. Pac sidesteps and drops him with another German. Pac charges and Ospreay flips over into a powerbomb and – no, Pac counters with a Frankensteiner for two. Thousands of fans jump to their feet in unison.

Both guys get up and then Pac lands another Poisoned Frankensteiner for another near-fall so he reapplies the Brutalizer. But this time Ospreay somehow lifts himself up with Pac still holding on with his submission hold. Pac tries a third poisoned Frankensteiner but this time Ospreay throws him off and spikes him with one of his own. Ospreay staggers over and lands a Hidden Blade. Both men collapse on top of each other and almost get a double pin. “Fight Forever” chants fill the arena. Ospreay tries a double-jump top-rope Os-cutter. Pac cuts him off and goes for an avalanche Poisoned Frankensteiner…except Ospreay lands on his feet. Ospreay charges back with another Hidden Blade. Jackknife cover. Two-count. Top-rope Os-Cutter connects. But Ospreay isn’t finished. He goes for the Stormbreaker. Pac counters with a Frankensteiner. Two-count and Ospreay rolls through into a Styles Clash. Then another Hidden Blade connects with the back of Pac’s head. One, two, and three! Ospreay retains!

Winner and STILL AEW International Champion after 20:36: Will Ospreay

Review

I wanted to like this match, really I did. I went into this with an open mind, with the notion that Ospreay, with the right opponent and the right style, can indeed live up to the stratospheric hype that surrounds him. But he didn’t. Despite Pac’s best efforts at besting Ospreay at his own game, this match wasn’t at all what it was hyped up to be. It was your typical robotic Ospreay performance with another different opponent, except this one happened to be a closer match to Ospreay’s distinct style. It was hyped up as a dream match between a well-respected world-traveled high-flyer and the ultimate jack-of-all-trades who had taken the wrestling world by storm. Instead, it was a by-the-numbers Ospreay performance with the same structure we’ve all seen before. This doesn’t make it a bad match by any means, just a disappointing and underwhelming one.

What should’ve been a story built around Pac out-flying Ospreay and out-doing him at all the acrobatic flippy stuff (let’s not forget that PAC was the original adored indy highspot guy before Ospreay came along) was another robotic Ospreay performance that copied his same formula as seen in nearly other matches. As athletically skilled as he is, with each passing falsely-praised epic it becomes clearer that he doesn’t really deviate from a specific structure and it’s really starting to wear thin. The high-flying, which is what most people wanted to see out of Ospreay versus Pac, was limited to a short exchange of dives setup in a phony, hamfisted sort of way. There was no organic flow from spot to spot until the final ten minutes which came about with all the wild counters split-second turnarounds. If that very particular and niche aspect of pro-wrestling is your thing then I’m sure you’ll love this. But for anyone looking for Ospreay – this heralded visionary of the future of pro-wrestling – to do something a bit different or even showcase more of the actual high-flying stuff that first got him attention, then you’re out of luck here.

The only really exciting and compelling parts were at the end when both guys traded ludicrous head spikes. There were a few close moments especially when Pac locked in his submission hold after planting Ospreay on his head like he owed Pac money. But once Ospreay survived that one hold it was academic. It became a waiting game as to when Ospreay would win and with how many big flashy moves. I’ve read some comments in some corners of the internet describing this sort of wrestling as “masturbatory” and honestly that’s a fair assessment. They just went into overkill territory, not selling anything consistently and reducing what were once killer moves into mere transitional moves with no significant meaning. I know this argument might sound old and dated especially since it has come up time and again over the decades but it still rings true all the same. How can anyone care about all these flashy moves when they’re all kicked out of and just get a momentary pop and nothing more? As flashy and exciting as this sort of wrestling is it’s also a tad excessive and destructive: how can anyone top this sort of stuff and how can wrestling evolve when stuff like this leaves nothing for the future, be it short-term or long?

Final Rating: ***1/4

I’ll give credit where it’s due: this kind of wrestling takes plenty of skill, practice, preparation, and perfect timing to pull off properly. It’s high on athletics and physically demanding to push yourself to do these kinds of things and land such crazy moves on another person. But let’s not kid ourselves: this was far from a classic, and not even the best Ospreay match of the calendar year. I went into this hoping Ospreay facing a fellow cruiserweight would be something different from his usual fare. Sadly I was disappointed and Ospreay gave all of us the same performance but with 301 finishers at the end instead of the usual 300.

I know by now I probably shouldn’t revisit him since, based on recent reviews, I’m clearly not his target audience. And yet despite my continuous disappointment I still have faith that, sooner or later, SOMEONE out there will actually pull another classic out of him and I won’t have to turn the clock all the way back to 2018 to see him at his best.

Thanks for reading.