Rainham’s World Champion Will Ospreay Returns Home With Wife Alex Windsor – And Reveals the Dedication Behind His Incredible Journey.

7th September 20267th September 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments AEW, Will Ospreay, World Champion, Wrestling min read

Will and Sue Ospreay are two people Havering can be not just proud but extremely proud of. Sue we know as our former People’s Mayor. A much-loved local councillor who is always ready to help others and really is a community legend. Her son Will is not only a world-famous wrestler, he is a world champion with his wife Alex, who is also an exceptional wrestler.

Alex, Sue and Will back home in Rainham.

The Havering Daily had an exclusive interview with them as they visited Rainham to spend time with Sue.

Both Will and Alex are two genuinely nice people who the AEW wrestling industry can be enormously proud of, and two people whose commitment and dedication has got them where they are now.

Will recently made history at Wembley Stadium, defeating Kenny Omega to claim the AEW World Championship in front of more than 40,000 spectators.

But long before Wembley, world titles and international fame, there was a young boy from Rainham who simply loved wrestling.

Will remembers his parents buying him a wrestling ring for his 14th birthday.

“I can’t specifically remember the year, but I remember my mum and dad bought me a wrestling ring when I was 14 years old for my birthday.”

It was not necessarily the easiest gift for the neighbours.

“It was very unconventional. It made us loved by the neighbours! We were deemed the neighbours from hell because of all the noise from a wrestling ring, because we were throwing each other onto steel and wood.”

Will began wrestling professionally in about 2012.

“A long time with ladders in your back and beams and steel,” he joked.

Alex began wrestling in 2009 and, despite taking a four-year break, has now spent around 11 or 12 years in the industry.

For both, wrestling has been a huge commitment.

Will reflected on returning to the community where his journey began and how much Rainham has changed since he was a child.

“Rainham has changed quite a lot since I was a kid.”

“There is nothing too bad about it, but it just feels different. It feels like there is an energy around it that is intimidating, and there have been a lot of bad things happening on our streets.”

But despite those changes, Will still sees something very important in his home community.

“But as a community, it feels connected. It feels like it is all connected with one another.”

And that connection is particularly important when Will thinks about young people growing up in Rainham today.

We asked both Will and Alex what message they would give to young people who may have their own ambitious dreams and perhaps want to follow a career in wrestling.

Alex’s answer was simple: dedication.

“I think you have to be prepared to be dedicated to it. I don’t think anyone could do it. There has to be a certain level of dedication.”

She also believes young people need to understand that wrestling comes with challenges which are not always visible from the outside.

“A lot of people, myself included, probably didn’t realise the downsides of wrestling, such as the injuries and the toll it takes on your body.”

But she believes those who are prepared to work hard should never be afraid to try.

“But if you are dedicated to it and willing to push through those things, then the sky’s the limit.”

“With wrestling, there is no one path to go down. You have so many options and avenues to explore, and so many ways to be successful.”

“I don’t see any reason why, if there is someone who wants to give it a go, they shouldn’t. It is definitely an adventure that we have both taken in life. If you’re dedicated to it, absolutely.”

Will agreed.

For him, dedication has been one of the defining ingredients in his journey from Rainham to the very top of professional wrestling.

“Dedication would definitely be the thing I’d say as well. We put hours into this while a lot of our friends were probably out at nightclubs or enjoying the town a little more.”

Those weekends were spent travelling.

“Our weekends were mostly spent travelling up the M25 to wrestle in small community halls, school halls or gentlemen’s clubs.”

And that is something Will wants people to understand.

The glamorous images of Wembley Stadium and huge crowds do not tell the whole story.

“It’s not as glamorous as you might think when you see somewhere like Wembley Stadium. We started by wrestling in front of 15 people. I loved it, though. Those are some of my favourite memories.”

“You had a sense of drive and purpose because it was something you imagined as a kid.”

Will says his love of wrestling started at a very young age.

“I was enthralled by it. I wanted to know the ins and outs and the backstage drama.”

“I loved the pageantry and athleticism. I love the fact that we can tell stories using our bodies. I honestly think what we do is an art form.”

And while talent clearly matters, Will believes dedication can make an enormous difference.

“I’ve seen guys who were way better than I would ever be who, unfortunately, weren’t as dedicated and therefore haven’t reached some of the heights others have.”

His message is powerful for any young person with a dream.

Talent may open a door, but commitment, hard work and perseverance can determine how far someone goes.

The journey has certainly required enormous commitment from Will and Alex.

Their working lives involve international travel, wrestling, training and very little time to recover before they are back on a plane again.

Alex explained that maintaining fitness is another important part of their lives.

“You feel the difference between when you’re on it and when you’re not. That is part of the dedication as well.”

“When you’re not wrestling and you’re at home, you still have to maintain yourself. You’re using your body in wrestling, but then you also have to keep fit and healthy.”

But she is also keen to stress that nobody can be perfect all the time.

“You don’t have to be perfect all the time. You’re only human. You want to dedicate yourself, but you don’t want to push yourself so far that you burn out. You have to find a balance between everything.”

Will and Alex have also had to find a balance between their professional careers and being parents.

“We’ve found a really good peace between being a family and being in the business. We have worked out a formula, but it didn’t come overnight. It takes practice, week in and week out.”

And then there is the travelling.

It is something Will believes people seriously underestimate.

“I think people really underestimate our travel situation and how it affects us.”

Their normal week can involve flying thousands of miles simply to wrestle one show before immediately travelling home.

“We mostly fly on Tuesday and land on Tuesday evening. We wrestle on Wednesday, then fly on Thursday and land on Friday morning. That is our usual weekly schedule, and a lot of the time that is travelling to America.”

Their recent trip to Texas demonstrated just how relentless that schedule can be.

“We did Texas this week in a day and a half.”

“We were in Texas for ten hours. We left Heathrow at nine, landed in Texas at one, the show started at seven, we got on the plane at 11pm and got back to England at 2pm the next day.”

It is an extraordinary schedule for anyone, let alone professional athletes who are expected to perform at the highest possible level.

Will admitted there are times when the lack of sleep and constant travel takes its toll.

“Trust me when I say there are days when we’re both cranky because we barely got any sleep on the plane and our bodies are hurting.”

Yet despite everything, Will is proud of the way he and Alex have managed to balance their careers and family life.

“All in all, I feel we do a fantastic job as parents. For what we are involved in, I think our fitness is amazing.”

“It could be way better on both of our parts, but if you take the travel schedule into account, I’m incredibly proud of how we have maintained our muscle mass and kept our bodies in good condition.”

That achievement becomes even more remarkable when considering the serious injury Will suffered and the cervical neck-fusion surgery he underwent in 2025.

The operation could have had a profound impact on his wrestling career.

Instead, Will fought his way through a lengthy recovery.

“I’m saying that after cervical neck-fusion surgery. I’m happy that I went through that surgery because, ten years ago, it would have been a career-ending operation for me.”

“I went through it and I’m still able to pick up 200 kilos in a deadlift.”

From a young Rainham boy practising in a wrestling ring in his family home, to wrestling in front of just 15 people, to travelling the M25 to small halls, Will Ospreay has now reached the very top of his profession.

And he has done it with his wife Alex by his side.

Alex is an exceptional wrestler in her own right, and together they have built a life around a profession that demands extraordinary levels of dedication, physical strength and resilience.

For Havering, there is something particularly special about seeing one of its own return home as a world champion.

Will Ospreay is not simply a world-famous wrestler.

He is a Rainham-born young man who had a dream, worked incredibly hard, endured the injuries, travelled the miles, kept going when things were difficult and eventually reached the biggest stage of them all.

And standing beside him is Alex, who has made her own remarkable journey in professional wrestling and shares that same commitment to the sport.

And then there is Sue.

Our former People’s Mayor, a much-loved local councillor who is always ready to help others and really is a community legend.

Her son has now become a world champion.

There is no doubt that Will and Sue Ospreay are two people Havering can be extremely proud of.

And after spending time with Will and Alex, it is clear that the wrestling world can be proud of them too.

Because behind the championship belt, the bright lights and the huge crowds are two genuinely nice people who have never forgotten where their journey began.

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