On May 27, 2016, current AEW stars Will Ospreay and Ricochet met in the block stage of that year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Ospreay was on his first tour with NJPW while Ricochet had already won the competition a few years earlier, and even though many fans thought the match between the two men would be entertaining, no one was prepared for what would actually happen.
The match went viral on social media, dividing fans down the middle between those who thought it was ahead of its time, and those who thought it went against everything that wrestling stood for. However, in the 10 years since it took place, the match has been considered as one of the most influential of the modern era despite its critics that remain to this day, and to celebrate a full decade since it took place, Ospreay took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to commemorate the occasion.
10 years ago today was the match that changed everything. It’s crazy how quick time has flown by.
Seeing where me and ricochet are now in our careers makes me smile.
Grateful to have been part of the “flippy shit” generation. pic.twitter.com/4KRXDOVlpF
— Will Ospreay • ウィル・オスプレイ (@WillOspreay) May 27, 2026
“10 years ago today was the match that changed everything,” Ospreay wrote. “It’s crazy how quick time has flown by. Seeing where me and Ricochet are now in our careers makes me smile. Grateful to have been part of the ‘flippy s***’ generation.”
The two men had actually wrestled three times before their now infamous bout in NJPW, and have since crossed paths multiple times all over the world in singles competition, including a rematch in the following year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament that was just as divisive. Their most recent one-on-one encounter took place on the December 21, 2024 episode of “AEW Collision” where Ricochet defeated Ospreay in that year’s Continental Classic tournament. However, the last time Ospreay and Ricochet met in the ring was on the April 9, 2025 episode of “AEW Dynamite” where Ospreay teamed up with Mark Briscoe and JetSpeed to defeat Ricochet, CRU, and The Beast Mortos to win $400,000.
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