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Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland met face-to-face before the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation men’s tournament at All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 28.
The winner will earn a shot at the AEW World Championship at All In at Wembley Stadium. Ospreay vowed to finally wrap AEW’s top title around his waist. Strickland is hoping to rediscover his taste for gold, as he’s had a hot streak like Ospreay.
Strickland said he didn’t like what he saw from Ospreay, adding that Ospreay had changed. Ospreay said something has changed at Strickland.
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Will Ospreay competes in the ring during AEW Dynamite at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 2, 2024. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)
“That’s the way you look at me. Do we have a problem? Do we need to discuss something,” Ospreay asked.
Strickland recalled him and Ospreay fighting against the Death Riders and now Ospreay is loosely aligning with the faction to get back into shape. He demanded an explanation as to why Ospreay surrounded himself with this team.
Ospreay maintained that he had neither forgiven nor forgotten what the Death Riders did to him. Ospreay said the likes of Kenny Omega, The Opps and Darby Allin were trying to get him out of the cage as the Death Riders attacked him, but Strickland was injured and nowhere to be found.
Ospreay said he was going to help Adam Page win the AEW World Championship at All In: Texas before he got injured. But he saw Strickland supporting Page.
“Where have you been and why didn’t you help me?” Ospreay asked Strickland.
Before Strickland could respond, Ospreay snatched the microphone from his hand and said he didn’t need to hear what Strickland had to say. He pointed to the Forbidden Door sign and said it was beyond any explanation Strickland could offer.
Referee Aubrey Edwards raises Swerve Strickland’s hand after defeating Shelton Benjamin during AEW Dynamite at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio on October 30, 2024. Prince Nana celebrates nearby. (Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)
He reminded Strickland of his dream of performing at Wembley Stadium and he was one game away from being able to realize his dream and that Strickland was standing in his way.
Strickland said he wasn’t going to let anyone get past him to win the championship – not even Ospreay. He said that Ospreay was never able to beat him and that things weren’t going to change at Forbidden Door.
Ospreay hit Strickland with a forearm, sending him to the canvas. Strickland was given a chain and he started whipping it around the ring. Then the Death Riders came out and appeared to support Ospreay.
“You’re wrong, Will. You’ve really changed,” Strickland said, getting the last word.
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MJF, Mark Briscoe choose their teams
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is preparing for a fight at AEW Revolution on March 15, 2026. (AEW)
AEW World Champion MJF opened “Dynamite,” snatching potential challengers to his title, including Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega. He then turned his attention to Mark Brisoe, against whom he will lead a team in a 12-man tag team steel cage match at Forbidden Door.
“Do you know what the difference is between you and everyone I just mentioned on this list? Everyone I just mentioned are A-list artists, stars. You’re not,” MJF said. “They love you, Mark. Do you want to know why they love you? They feel bad for you because your brother died. It’s horrible, man.
“To be honest, that’s not why I feel bad for you. I feel bad for you because you’re actually delusional enough to think you have a prayer to get the triple B. Tonight, none of those prayers will be answered but all of ours will be because we’ve put together the most dangerous team to ever exist.”
Don Callis then named his faction members who will support MJF for the match: Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada and Andrade El Idolo.
Andrade seemed upset that he had been singled out for inclusion.
Briscoe later responded
“I heard what you said. You said I wasn’t cut out to be world champion. Well, I heard it before, Max,” Briscoe said. “People say, Mark Briscoe, you have a glass ceiling. Well, that gives me all the more motivation to get through this thing.”
Briscoe said he would team up with Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Konosuke Takeshita and Darby Allin.
If Briscoe’s team wins at Forbidden Door, he will earn a title shot against MJF.
Mercedes Moné wins her ticket to the Owen Cup final
Mercedes Mone Varnado wrestles during the AEW debut match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 16, 2025. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Mercedes Moné returned to the AEW scene as a wildcard for the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament. She defeated Alex Windsor in the first round and faced Hazuki in the semi-finals.
On Wednesday night, Moné defeated Hazuki to become the first person to compete in the women’s final. Moné is an accomplished wrestler but has never held the AEW Women’s World Championship.
She is the longest reigning TBS Champion and one of the biggest stars in the industry for several years. Adding the AEW Women’s World Championship to her list of accomplishments would put her in a different stratosphere among women’s professional wrestlers.
Moné will face the winner of the Maya World and Athena in the final. The winner has a chance to win the women’s world title at Forbidden Door.
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Results of the match “Dynamite”:
- Kenny Omega def. Tony Nesse
- Bandido and Brody King def. Daniel Garcia and Jon Moxley.
- MJF, Kazuchika Okada, Jake Doyle, Kyle Fletcher, Andrade El Idolo and Kevin Knight def. Roderick Strong, Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita, Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin.
