Will Ospreay 'terrified' of surgery after AEW Forbidden Door: 'I'm not ready to let go'

Will Ospreay enters Sunday's AEW Forbidden Door pay-per-view in a perilous 10-man "Lights Out" steel cage match. The margin for error is slim, but the chaos doesn't scare him. It's surgery and the unknown that does.

Ospreay revealed last month that he has two herniated discs in his back. Widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers alive, he hasn't competed since AEW's July 12 record-setting All: Texas event. Forbidden Door will be his final appearance, fittingly in his hometown of London, before surgery and a lengthy recovery.

"I'm anxious. I'm scared. Generally, I'm terrified," Ospreay told CBS Sports. "Not about the match, but just about afterwards. I don't know what it looks like afterwards, because for the first time in my life, I have been disqualified from doing the thing that I love doing."

Ospreay, 32, has never faced such a severe injury, remarkable given the physical and daredevil style he wrestles. Previous setbacks only sidelined him one or two months. This time, he could be gone for at least a year.

"I've never had anybody cut into me. I've never had surgery," Ospreay said. "I've never broken a bone, other than my nose, which everyone can tell, because it looks like I've been hit by a frying pan."

Ospreay's interview was the last of a virtual media day promoting Forbidden Door. You could sense he was ready to move on from the gloomy topic, but he indulged it with grace and a surprising amount of humor. 

"If I think too much about it, I'll f---ing cry," Ospreay said. "I think humor is honestly the best way I can lighten the mood in this type of situation. For the first time in my life, I have to realize that this is something serious and I don't know how to navigate those emotions."

Fans are appropriately concerned for Ospreay's health. While you can never be completely sure in pro wrestling, where fact and fiction are blurred, backstage reports indicate Ospreay's injury is legitimate. Ospreay insists AEW brass and medics are mindful in their decision to permit him one last match.

"I understand they're worried," Ospreay said. "They hear this type of shit, and they're going, 'This sounds bad!' But what people need to remember is that I've been doing this for 10 months now at the highest level. Nobody can tell me that I haven't been doing this at the highest level. I've been working at my best. 

"I know what I'm capable of. I know what I can do. I know what I can't do. Most importantly, the medics know what I can and can't do. The surgeon knows what I can and can't do. And the most important thing is that my safety is utmost guaranteed. I can guarantee my safety in this. I'll make it through."

Some theorize that Ospreay's inclusion in the match is a safety net. Having nine other participants means Ospreay can share the physical load. That's probably true, but Ospreay refuses to phone in what's likely his last appearance for some time. He'll carefully straddle the line between responsible action and peak performance. His pride won't allow otherwise. Surgery is a daunting wildcard, and Ospreay intends to give one last masterclass.

"When I heard what procedure I'll be doing, I heard other wrestlers have had this, and they haven't come back the same," Ospreay said. "So if there's even the smallest chance that I'm not going to be the same after this match and after the surgery, then I need to, for myself, for my pride, I need to go out there and be me."

Ospreay doesn't shoulder the invasive burden of surgery alone. He credited a unified AEW locker room for supporting him, and specifically named Adam Copeland (formerly WWE's Edge) as his confidant. Copeland overcame a career-ending neck injury that kept him sidelined for nine years.

"He said, 'The hardest things are not the surgery, it's the mental stuff that comes afterwards. Just know that I've been here and I've done it. So any time that you want to talk and bullshit, here's my number,'" Ospreay said.

Forbidden Door isn't just another match; it's Ospreay's love letter to himself. If this is the self-proclaimed Billy G.O.A.T.'s last uncompromised performance, he's determined to make it count.

"I have that stubborn pride about myself that I would love to come back in the ring and continue doing what I was doing," Ospreay said. "But I feel like that's what's happened, and that's the reason why I've gone down this route...

"I might have to kiss this part of my high-flying offense goodbye now. It's something that I'm not ready to let go. I'll be honest with you, I'm not ready to let go of that side of me because I think that should be done on my terms. I don't know if that's on the card. So I've got to hope that after this, I can still pick up where I left off. But if not, all the greats have done it. Justin Thunder Liger's done it. AJ Styles has done it. I call myself the Billy G.O.A.T. for a reason. I think I can adapt."