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Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland faced off ahead of the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament finals at All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 28.
The winner will earn an AEW World Championship shot at All In at Wembley Stadium. Ospreay has promised to finally wrap the top AEW title around his waist. Strickland hopes to get a taste of gold again, as he has been on as hot a streak as Ospreay.
Strickland said he didn’t like what he’s seeing from Ospreay, adding that Ospreay has changed. Ospreay said something changed in Strickland.
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Will Ospreay competes in the ring during AEW Dynamite at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., 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 talk about something” Ospreay asked.
Strickland recalled that he and Ospreay battled The Death Riders, and now Ospreay is loosely aligned with the faction to get back into shape. He demanded an explanation as to why Ospreay surrounded himself with that team.
Ospreay maintained that he has not forgiven or forgotten what The Death Riders did to him. Ospreay said the likes of Kenny Omega, The Opps and Darby Allin tried to get him out of the cage as The Death Riders laid their assault on him, but Strickland was injured and nowhere to be found.
Ospreay said he was going to help Adam Page get the AEW World Championship at All In: Texas before he got injured. But he saw Strickland had Pages back.
“Where were you and why didn’t you help me?” asked Ospreay Strickland.
Before Strickland could respond, Ospreay knocked the mic out of 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 bigger than any explanation Strickland could offer.
Referee Aubrey Edwards raises his hand to Swerve Strickland after he defeated 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 match away from achieving his dream and that Strickland was standing in his way.
Strickland said he wasn’t going to let anyone step over him to get the championship – not even Ospreay. He said that Ospreay has never been able to beat him and that things would not change at the Forbidden Door.
Ospreay hit Strickland with a forearm and sent him to the mat. Strickland was handed a chain and he began whipping it across the ring. Then The Death Riders came out and seemed to have Ospreays back.
“You’re wrong, Will. You really have changed,” Strickland said, getting the last word.
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MJF, Mark Briscoe picks their team
Maxwell Jacob Friedman prepares for a match at AEW Revolution on March 15, 2026. (AEW)
AEW World Champion MJF opened “Dynamite” and ripped the potential challengers to his title, including Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega. He then turned his attention to Mark Brisoe, who he will lead a team against in a 12-man tag team steel cage match at the Forbidden Door.
“You know what the difference is between you and everyone I just mentioned on this list? Everyone I just mentioned is a top act, a star. You’re not,” MJF said. “They love you, Mark. Do you want to know what they love about you? They feel sorry for you because your brother died. That’s a terrible man.
“To be honest, that’s not why I feel sorry for you. I feel sorry for you because you’re actually delusional enough to think you have a prayer to achieve 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 that’s ever existed.”
Don Callis then named the members of his faction who will support MJF for the match: Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada and Andrade El Idolo.
Andrade seemed upset that he was chosen to be included.
Later, Briscoe responded
“I heard what you said. You said I wasn’t fit to be world champion. Well, I’ve heard it before, Max,” Briscoe said. “People say, Mark Briscoe, you have a glass ceiling. Well, that gives me all the more motivation to go right through that thing.”
Briscoe said he will stick with Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, Konosuke Takeshita and Darby Allin.
If Briscoe’s team wins at the Forbidden Door, he will earn a title shot against MJF.
Mercedes Moné punches her ticket to the Owen Cup final
Mercedes Mone Varnado wrestles in the first match of AEW at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 16, 2025. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Mercedes Moné burst back onto the AEW scene as a wild card in 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 topped Hazuki to become the first person in the women’s final. Moné is a skilled wrestler but has never held the AEW Women’s World Championship.
She is the longest reigning TBS Champion and has been one of the biggest stars in the business for several years. Adding the AEW Women’s World Championship to her list of accomplishments would place her in another stratosphere among women’s professional wrestlers.
Moné will face the winner of Maya World and Athena in the final. The winner gets the shot at the Women’s World Championship at the Forbidden Door.
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“Dynamite” match results:
- Kenny Omega def. Tony Nese
- 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.
