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Check out the War of Words Between WWE's Seth Rollins and NJPW's Will Ospreay
June 25, 2019
WWE Universal champion Seth Rollins and New Japan Pro-Wrestling IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion Will Ospreay have gone back and forth on Twitter over the past two days in a debate over who is professional wrestling's true workhorse.
It started Sunday night during Stomping Grounds when Rollins praised the WWE product and gave himself a hat tip for consistently performing at a high level despite WWE's grueling schedule:
Seth Rollins @WWERollinsDoubling down. Best pro wrestling on the planet. See that Cruiserweight Triple Threat? And that’s just one night, one match amongst the many. Find anyone else alive who does what I do as well as I do it as often as I do it. Ya can’t. #WWEStompingGrounds #UniversalChampion @WWE
Ospreay later chimed in and suggested that he should be mentioned in the same breath as Rollins:
In response, The Beast Slayer expressed his belief that Ospreay isn't even on the same level as new United States champion Ricochet:
Ospreay came back with a GIF and then noted that he has actually been a more active wrestler than Rollins this year:
Rollins didn't dispute Ospreay's tweet and instead opted to flex with talk of his hefty WWE contract:
Ospreay closed out the debate by once again asserting that he is Rollins' equal from an in-ring performance perspective:
ᵂⁱˡˡ ᴼˢᵖʳᵉᵃʸ • ウィル・オスプレイ @WillOspreayYou love adding stuff don’t ya. I mean the original question was “Find anyone else alive who does what I do as well as I do it as often as I do it” No talk of money. No talk of Ricochet. You said anyone. Here I am. Just as consistent, just as good. Hope the back heals up. https://t.co/dfwkKVlyR4
ESPN's Marc Raimondi later asked Ospreay about the exchange, and the 26-year-old Brit suggested it was all in good fun:
Earlier this month, Ospreay won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament for the second time in his career and went on to beat Dragon Lee at Dominion to become a three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion.
During the Best of the Super Juniors, Ospreay had the benefit of facing many of the best cruiserweights in the world, which helped contribute to his high success rate in terms of putting on strong matches.
Meanwhile, Rollins has been embroiled in a feud with Baron Corbin. Rollins beat Corbin to retain the Universal title at Stomping Grounds, and at Extreme Rules next month, he will team with real-life girlfriend Becky Lynch to face Corbin and Lacey Evans in a mixed tag team match.
The 33-year-old Rollins has been on WWE's main roster since 2012, and he has been among the company's top singles stars since The Shield broke up in 2014.
While Rollins is a three-time world champion, Ospreay has yet to reach the top of the mountain in New Japan. Given his in-ring ability and the strides he is making toward becoming a heavyweight competitor, however, it may only be a matter of time before he reaches that level.
Until then, it is difficult to argue with the resume Rollins has put together as one of the faces of WWE.
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