Will Ospreay credits Adam Copeland for guiding him through recovery struggles
Will Ospreay disclosed how Adam Copeland and other AEW stars supported him during recovery from neck injury.
In an exclusive interview with Rob Wolkenbrod of Forbes, Ospreay recalled Copeland telling him of his experience with a triple fusion neck surgery. He comforted and encouraged Ospreay to reach out to him if it became mentally challenging. He also cited support from Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong and Bryan Danielson during the trying recovery period.
“Yeah, I spoke with Adam Copeland quite a lot about it, just because I guess he’s kind of the godfather of this surgery. He’s had three of them. I think he’s had a [triple fusion neck surgery]. I remember when I got told how severe it was because I didn’t realize how bad it actually was. I’d been wrestling on it for like 10 months. It only really started getting bad around May, and then it started f****** destroying me.”
“But I spoke to him, and he gave me the whole backstory of when he found out about his surgery and what was going to happen. He gave me his number to keep in contact because he knows it can get really depressing at times. So if I ever needed to vent or bullshit, he was always a great person to call or text about stuff.”
“There were a lot of times he was in London too, so I got to chat with him during good hours. I never felt like I’d text him and have to wait until the next morning because of the time zones. So he was really good.”
“I spoke with Kyle O’Reilly as well. He was great. I spoke with Roddy and Bryan Danielson a little bit, but not much. Everybody’s just been super cool because it really is such a good group of people backstage. I feel like news got around very quickly, and it was one of those things where it was really lovely having the support of my peers and everybody wishing for me to come back.”
Ospreay suffered two herniated discs and was written off AEW TV from August 2025 until his return at Revolution this year. He continued to wrestle through the injury which worsened over time forcing subsequent surgery and time off.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.