Will Ospreay discusses the origins of his Hidden Blade finishing move.
The Hidden Blade has become one of Will Ospreay's signature moves in the squared circle, and a move that originally fans took some getting used to, as the brutal elbow is something fans don't initially expect from the high flying Ospreay. That being said, the move does have humble beginnings in Ospreay's career.
While speaking to Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Ospreay reflected on the origins of the move and how he came to begin using it, noting it began when he was backyard wrestling.
"I just started doing it when we were backyarding. It was a normal thing. I saw someone on the ground and I was like, ‘I’m going to back elbow them.’ I remember in New Japan and they said, ‘We need something that looks like a knockout.’ For some strange reason, it came to my brain. I thought, ‘I’m gonna give it a go and see what happens.’ It worked. Guy was absolutely fine. A lot of people thought, because New Japan released something, ‘Ibushi got concussed.’ Guys. Angle. Relax. It worked. It suckered so many people in and made people fear this move. I’m glad because it’s not a shooting star press, it’s not an infrared, it’s not a 630. It’s me moving my elbow. I can do that when I’m 50 and shitting my pants in these small 200 seat venues. I’m so happy people love it because I did put a lot of thought and process into, ‘I wonder if I can make this a big move,’ and it’s worked. I’ve always loved the spear, the trouble in paradise, the Busaiku knee, and now I finally carved out my own. I was at a show literally two minutes from my house, a couple of my friends were on it. I walked in towards when the show was ending, and the finish was a back breaker into a hidden blade. He came back and was like, ‘Ah’ and I was like, ‘Ah ha.’ I was blessed and so happy that he used it. It’s infiltrated down to the indies and it’s a cool independent move. I’m flattered when everyone uses my move."
Ospreay is currently scheduled to face off one last time with Kyle Fletcher inside a Steel Cage at AEW Revolution on March 9th.
Elsewhere in the same interview, Ospreay addressed comments made by Triple H he saw as being about him. You can read more about that here.
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