The 'aerial assassin' who overcame a serious injury to reach his wrestling dream

He's the "aerial assassin" who's widely seen as the best pro wrestler of the last decade, but Will Ospreay is keen to point out that it's not come from him.

"It's a statement that's been given to me by guys that I have the utmost respect for," he says.

"But you know me, I don't like tooting my own trumpet too much."

The professional wrestler from Essex started his career in the UK before making his name in Asia with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

He also wrestled in the US before signing for All Elite Wrestling - or AEW - which is what brings him back home to the UK this weekend.

Ospreay's got the chance to win the men's World Championship for the first time as he headlines AEW's main event at Wembley Stadium on Sunday night.

But he tells BBC Newsbeat he's overcome plenty of challenges - including a serious neck injury - to reach the biggest moment of his career.

Ospreay says it's a "crazy feeling" to be competing "for one of the most important championships in pro wrestling" at Wembley.

It's American promoters AEW's third time holding a big event in the UK, but the 33-year-old almost didn't make it to the ring.

He was having "weird feelings" in his hand for a while but wrestled through the pain - until May last year when it got worse.

"It got unbearable to the point where I'd be driving my car with my son in the back and my arm would completely die," he says.

"It was scary, man, and then to find out how bad and how severe it was..."

Ospreay underwent double-fusion neck surgery to stop his discs pressing into his spinal cord, and is aware he's lucky to have "been given a second chance".

"I've had so many different jobs where I've just failed because all my time was spent idolising and thinking if I could ever be a wrestler," he says.

"And I'm literally at touching distance of one of the biggest moments of my life and I've had to battle through so much adversity to get there."

Ospreay was spotted by NJPW when he was wrestling on the UK independent scene and credits his time in Japan for teaching him how to "apply yourself in the trade of what pro wrestling is".

"They understood that I was a 22-year-old excited kid that didn't realise I had ADHD at the time," he says.

"I was just very hyperactive and they were just super-patient with me and I got dropped in to learn the trade."

Like lots of people, Ospreay has received an ADHD diagnosis later in life.

For him it was when he was 27 and struggling with his emotions in Japan.

"At first I thought I was depressed and that's the first route we actually went down," he says.

Ospreay credits his diagnosis with giving him clarity and perspective but says he's still learning how to deal with it.

"Every now and again I put my foot in it and I make mistakes," he says.

"I wish I could take them back but it's just who I am as a person and I'm learning every single day how to work around this."

Ospreay's ring nickname comes from his love of video game series Assassin's Creed, and admits he effectively "ripped off" elements for his wrestling.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the main character of the first entries in the series, inspired the outfits and high-flying style of his "aerial assassin" persona.

"I loved the way he moved and I loved the outfit with the big jackets and hood," he says.

"And I decided to put that into my wrestling ability because I was very aerially gifted - I knew which way up and down is."

Ospreay thinks Auditore "could be an amazing wrestler" in real-life.

And he says he can see a link between what he does for a living and gaming.

"I think it's escapism," he says.

"Wrestling has always been able to take a break from reality and to give people enjoyment, hope and storytelling and I think that's the same thing as gaming.

"It's just an art form, it's a way of telling stories through either combat or through visuals and pictures."

Ospreay hopes his career gives young wrestlers hope that you can make it without moving straight to the US.

"I spent eight years of my life in Japan applying the trade," he says.

"It came with a lot of sacrifice, it came with a lot of hard work. I'm glad that I'm able to present that as an option for British talent going forward."

He's confident AEW's latest London show is going to "present wrestling in a way that hasn't been shown before".

Ospreay, unsurprisingly, says it'll be an unforgettable night.

And although he doesn't see himself as a trailblazer, he does want to be remembered as someone that charted a course for others after him.

"I hope that my legacy in wrestling was I was a bit of an idiot but I had a heart of gold," he says.

"I was never about keeping people down, I was more about elevating and bringing people up around me."

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