Will Ospreay returned to NJPW at Saturday’s Resurgence event and declared himself the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
In a promo, Ospreay said that he was medically cleared to return, but that he would not be returning to the main NJPW unit or participating in the 2021 G1 Climax tournament.
Instead, Ospreay said, he will be appearing on NJPW Strong and defending the IWGP title on that show. Ospreay said he was never pinned and never submitted, therefore he is still the rightful IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
Ospreay said that he broke his neck for NJPW, and all he needed was four months away to rest up, but the company decided to strip him of his title. He said that when Jon Moxley could not defend the IWGP US title due to travel issues, NJPW showed favoritism and refused to strip Moxley, but they stripped him the first chance they had.
Ospreay’s Resurgence return marks his first NJPW appearance since May 4, when he successfully defended the IWGP World title against Shingo Takagi on night two of Wrestling Donatku. NJPW announced on May 20 that Ospreay was vacating the title due to a neck injury and returning to the UK.