MJF defends the AEW World Championship against Mark Briscoe. Plus, a Survival of the Fittest Match will crown a new TBS Champion. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on TSN2, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
AEW World Championship match: Maxwell Jacob Friedman (c) vs. Mark Briscoe
If Maxwell Jacob Friedman were a man who engaged in introspection, then I’m sure he would realize much of the blame for having to defend his AEW World Championship against Mark Briscoe lies on his own shoulders. But MJF is not a man who engages in introspection and will instead look to blame anybody but himself for the predicament he finds himself in on Wednesday night. Kicking off Dynamite will be Friedman putting his title on the line against his longtime foe.
Briscoe earned the title match he’d been seeking for weeks at this past Sunday night’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view in San Jose. The stakes were simple. If Briscoe’s team (himself, Conglomeration stablemates Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy and Kyle O’Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita and Darby Allin) defeated MJF’s team (himself and the Don Callis Family’s Kevin Knight, Kazuchika Okada, Jake Doyle, Kyle Fletcher and Andrade El Idolo) in a cage match, Briscoe would get his shot at the belt.
The match was a bloody, weapon-filled spectacle with Team Briscoe pulling out the win when Briscoe spiked Doyle with a Jay Driller. But that wasn’t the whole story. As the Family attempted to cut corners left and right, Team Briscoe got help from unlikely sources.
Okada attempted to reach into the large hockey bag Strong brought with him to the ring. Unfortunately, he didn’t find any weapons inside. In the bag was “Blackheart” Lio Rush who ran roughshod on the Family much to the surprise of Team Briscoe.
If that weren’t enough trouble for Team MJF, Andrade’s frustrations with the Family and with MJF ducking him for a title shot boiled over. After MJF ordered Andrade to hold up Briscoe so he could nail him with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, Andrade shoved Briscoe out of the way and laid MJF with the spinning back elbow. An incredulous Doyle protested, but Andrade kicked him low and took off his shirt to reveal a different shirt with “F--- DON, F--- MJF” written on it.
It was then that Briscoe was able to take advantage of the prone Doyle to hit the Jay Driller and get the victory. As much as MJF might be angry with Andrade, Rush and even Tony Khan for making the match, he now must once again face off with the former ROH World Champion. As history dictates, MJF has reason to be nervous about Wednesday night.
The match on Dynamite will mark the third singles match between the two men. Friedman won the first, back on the Aug. 6, 2025 edition of Dynamite. In a violent encounter, MJF pinned Briscoe after a Heatseeker, but what the referee missed was that Briscoe had his foot under the ropes. It was a tainted victory for Friedman, yet that, of course, didn’t stop him from gloating.
But Briscoe would get his revenge. At the All Out pay-per-view in Toronto the following month, the two men would meet again in a Tables N’ Tacks match. Both men were a bloody mess by the end of the nearly 20-minute bout. In the closing stages, Briscoe laid out MJF with a pair of Froggy Bows before spiking him with a Jay Driller into a pile of tacks for the victory.
With Wednesday night’s match serving as a rubber match, can MJF hang onto his title or will Briscoe bring another belt back to The Conglomeration?
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Survival of the Fittest Match for the TBS Championship: Maika vs. Harley Cameron vs. Hikaru Shida vs. CMLL World Women’s Champion Persephone vs. Kris Statlander vs. Queen Aminata
When Willow Nightingale was injured in her successful TBS Championship defence over Red Velvet on the May 16 Collision, it quickly became evident that she was set to miss time. The injury was severe enough that she was forced to relinquish her title. Nightingale’s reign ended after nearly five months with 10 defences of her belt.
In order to crown a new champion, AEW booker Tony Khan turned to one of Ring of Honor’s signature matches to be held in an AEW ring for the first time: Survival of the Fittest. First contested on June 24, 2004, “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson outlasted Mark Briscoe, Austin Aries, Colt Cabana, Homicide and Samoa Joe to win the inaugural match. It earned him a shot at Joe’s ROH World Championship. He was ultimately unsuccessful, but a new match type was born.
Since that match, a Survival of the Fittest has been contested on 19 previous occasions. The rules are simple. Six competitors enter and five are eliminated by pin, submission or disqualification. The last person standing is declared the winner.
Looking to claim the vacant title on Wednesday night are a current champion, a former TBS Champion, a former AEW Women’s World Champion, Nightingale’s tag-team partner and a STARDOM performer. One of Maika, Harley Cameron, Hikaru Shida, Persephone, Kris Statlander or Queen Aminata will exit Dynamite the TBS Champion. Who that might be remains to be seen.
Cameron, a former AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champion alongside Nightingale, might be the sentimental favourite. Having defeated Marina Shafir to gain entry in the match, she’s vowed to win the belt to honour her friend. Shida is a former AEW Women’s World Champion and is looking to become just the second woman to hold both women’s singles titles in AEW. The first woman to do that? Statlander, who just happens to be another competitor in the match. The CMLL World Women’s Champion, Persephone has the chance to become a double champion on Wednesday night. Queen Aminata, who recently missed months with injury, is seeking her first championship in AEW. A former World of Stardom Champion, Maika is the only competitor of the sextet to not be a regular AEW performer. She’s trying to take the belt back to Japan.
A new champion must be crowned on Wednesday night - who will it be?
