Rush vies for MJF’s AEW World Championship. Plus, former partners collide when Kevin Knight defends the TNT Championship against Mike Bailey. 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.
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AEW World Championship match: Maxwell Jacob Friedman (c) vs. “El Toro Blanco” Rush
Maxwell Jacob Friedman only went five weeks without being the AEW World Champion before regaining the title at Double or Nothing on May 24 where he defeated Darby Allin to win the championship for a third time. If MJF had forgotten what it was like to be hunted when you’re the man on top, he was reminded in a hurry on last Wednesday night’s Dynamite. The champion might be different, but the desire for the title hasn’t changed in the slightest.
While Friedman attempted to celebrate his championship, it was interrupted by Mark Briscoe. Briscoe and MJF’s enmity goes back some time and there’s certainly still no love lost between the two men. Briscoe reminded Friedman that the last time the two saw each other, Briscoe left MJF in a pool of blood, defeating him in a Tacks ‘n’ Tables match last September in Toronto at All Out. Briscoe wanted a title match, but unsurprisingly, MJF blew him off and left the ring.
He didn’t get far before Rush arrived on the scene. The former ROH World Champion once again reiterated his desire for a shot at the title and MJF...accepted? Shockingly, Friedman granted Rush a match this week on Dynamite. The thing about MJF is that he’s always working an angle, except this time, it’s not at all clear what it is. On the surface, this looks like a potential disaster for the champion.
Since returning to AEW in March after a four-month injury absence, “El Toro Blanco” has been a wrecking ball. Rush has won eight of his nine singles matches with the lone loss coming in a no-countout match against Allin on the Mar. 25 edition of Dynamite. Most recently, Rush defeated Brian Cage, Orange Cassidy and Lio Rush in a four-way match on last Wednesday night’s show.
The reason why Rush is chomping at the bit the way he is is understandable. Wednesday night’s match will be his first shot at the AEW World Championship in nearly four years. On the July 7, 2022 edition of Dynamite, Rush was put to bed with a Death Rider as Jon Moxley defeated him to hold on to his Interim AEW World Championship. That was the last time Rush has vied for the world title.
Does MJF know what he’s doing here or will Rush take the world title back to La Faccion Ingobernable?
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TNT Championship match: “The Jet” Kevin Knight (c) vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
While it’s not quite the Mega Powers exploding, few saw the quick dissolution of JetSpeed only a few weeks ago. But much has changed in recent days, though, and Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey are no longer aligned. Much of that is do to the shocking actions of Knight.
At the conclusion of the Double or Nothing main event late last month, MJF was ready to add some insult to injury after taking Darby Allin’s world title. As Allin was being stretchered out of the ring, Friedman was ready to attack again, only to be chased off by Knight. But Knight wasn’t there to save Allin. He was there to add the insult him.
With Allin about to be wheeled up the ramp, Knight delivered a UFO Splash to him before dumping the stretcher on the ground. The crowd in New York was aghast at what they had just seen. Surveying his work, a pleased Knight made his way to the back.
This past Wednesday night on Dynamite, Knight explained his actions over the booing and chanting from a crowd that adored him only days previous. Knight claimed that Allin failed to get the job done against MJF, a man he beat himself only a few short weeks ago. He said he was sick of waiting in line and wanted everything for himself.
This brought out Bailey, who was attempting to make sense of his partner’s actions. Bailey told Knight that he made a big mistake, but it wasn’t too late to correct it. All he needed to do was apologize.
Bailey offered a handshake, but he was brushed off by Knight who headed out of the ring...or at least he was about to. Instead, he popped Bailey in the head with the microphone and then put him down with a big uranage. JetSpeed was officially dead and buried.
Later on the show, an irate Bailey demanded a match with his former partner and now on Wednesday night, Knight will put his TNT Championship on the line against Speedball. The match on Dynamite will the fourth singles match between the two men over their careers, but only their second in an AEW ring. Interestingly enough, Bailey has won all three of their previous encounters.
Their lone AEW match was last winter during the Continental Classic. During Gold League competition from Cardiff on the Dec. 13 edition of Collision, the two men had a back-and-forth match with Knight and Bailey trading near falls. Bailey would pull out the win, though, pinning Knight after a Rubik’s Cube.
Emotions will undoubtedly be running high on Wednesday night and there’s no way that won’t play into the match. It’s all a matter of which of the two men can make it work for them. Will Bailey be able to avenge Allin and prove a point to his former partner or will Knight leave another ex-ally in the dust?
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Owen Hart Foundation Cup semifinals match: Will Ospreay vs. AEW National Champion “Dunkzilla” Mark Davis (w/ Don Callis and “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer
Will Ospreay won’t forget his Apr. 22 match against Mark Davis any time soon. In fact, it will be top of mind when the two men face off again, this time in the Owen Hart, on Wednesday night. Ospreay didn’t just lose the match — he got flattened.
Taking on his former United Empire stablemate on Dynamite from Portland, Ospreay appeared to be impervious to whatever Davis could throw at him for 15 minutes. With the power advantage in almost all of his matches, Davis was able to counter Ospreay’s speed with sheer force. Even when Ospreay was able to connect with a Hidden Blade, Davis managed to kick out of the cover. Hitting Ospreay with Close Your Eyes and Count to F--- in the middle of the ring, David attempted a pin of his own only for Ospreay to kick out himself.
But it was when Davis went for a second Close Your Eyes and Count to F--- where everything changed. Instead of hitting it in the middle of the ring, Davis planted Ospreay and his surgically repaired neck with it on the apron. It was a bridge too far for referee Paul Turner, who immediately called the match off and awarded the victory to Davis.
What happened next changed the trajectory of Ospreay’s career and, likely, the Owen Hart itself. As Davis attempted to continue the beating, he was chased off by, of all people, Ospreay’s mortal enemies in the Death Riders. It was their leader, Jon Moxley, who put Ospreay on the shelf and set him to neck surgery last August.
The Death Riders weren’t there to continue their battle. They were there to help. Moxley told Ospreay the only thing keeping him away from the AEW World Championship was killer instinct and he planned to instill it in him. With that, Ospreay has become a disciple of Moxley and the results are showing. Since the loss to Davis, Ospreay has won three straight with wins over Ace Austin, Katsuyori Shibata and Samoa Joe in the first round of the Owen.
Knowing that the winner of this year’s Owen will receive an AEW World Championship shot at All In at Wembley Stadium in August, the allure of winning the world title in his own country is too great to pass up. Ospreay will do anything to win this tournament and he will have the opportunity to demonstrate that on Wednesday night when he rematches with Davis.
While things are very different for Ospreay since that match in April, circumstances have greatly changed for Davis, as well. A tag team specialist for much of his career, the big Aussie is enjoying the most productive singles run of his career right now. Davis defeated Jack Perry on the May 9 Collision to become the AEW National Champion, winning his first singles title in AEW. The Davis Ospreay is set to take on again isn’t the one he knew from New Japan Pro-Wrestling. This Mark Davis is much, much more dangerous.
Can Ospreay keep his Wembley dream alive or will Davis run through him yet again?
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Owen Hart Foundation Cup quarter-finals match: Alex Windsor vs. ?
Like her fiance, Will Ospreay, Alex Windsor has designs on Wembley. To earn herself a shot at the AEW Women’s World Championship in front of her countrymen at All In, Windsor knew that she was going to have win the Owen Hart. And to do that, she was going to have to go through a formidable opponent in the first round in Willow Nightingale, but that’s all changed.
On the May 16 edition of Collision, Nightingale successfully defended her TBS Championship against Red Velvet. Days later, she learned the victory came at a cost. On the following Wednesday night’s Dynamite, Nightingale announced she incurred a significant shoulder injury during the match and would not only be forced into relinquishing her championship, she was also withdrawing from the Owen.
With Nightingale’s absence, AEW booker Tony Khan has granted a wild-card entry to replace her in the tournament. Unfortunately for Windsor, that’s who her opponent will now be on Wednesday night. As difficult a challenge Nightingale would have been, Windsor at least knew for whom she was preparing. Now she has no idea who she’s up against and will be put at an incredible disadvantage on Dynamite.
Can Windsor successfully combat the unknown to move on or will the wild card use the element of surprise to advance?
