Winnipeg’s Kenny Omega celebrates his AEW World Championship win. Plus, Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone face off in trios action. 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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Kenny Omega’s AEW World Championship celebration
For the first time in nearly five years, “The Best Bout Machine” is once again at the top of the mountain in All Elite Wrestling. Kenny Omega defeated Maxwell Jacob Friedman last week on Dynamite to become the AEW World Champion. The Winnipeg native previously held the title for 346 days from the end of 2020 to the fall of 2021.
Omega regaining the title was far from a sure bet. In a physical match with MJF, the defending champion appeared to have the edge. Friedman attempted to use his Dynamite Diamond Ring before Will Ospreay, the man who will challenge for the title at Wembley Stadium at August’s All In, sprinted down to the ring to prevent MJF from doing so. In the ensuing confusion, Omega had the chance to lay MJF out with a belt shot, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He wanted to win the right way.
But Omega’s hesitation was Friedman’s opening. With the referee distracted, MJF hit Omega with both a belt shot and a low blow. He went for the cover, but Omega kicked out at one and the crowd exploded with both Friedman and Ospreay in shock.
That was the end for Friedman. Omega came alive and levelled the champion with a series of V-Triggers before planting him with the One-Winged Angel and getting the three count. Omega was once again world champ.
On Dynamite, Omega will celebrate his championship win and look ahead to his scheduled match against friend and rival Ospreay on Aug. 30. But this is pro wrestling. The chances of this going off without a hitch are slim to none. Somebody will make his presence known. And why not? We are just 10 days away from the Redemption pay-per-view in Montreal and there’s no men’s world title match scheduled.
Somebody will call his shot on Wednesday night, but who will it be?
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Andrade El Idolo vs. Jake Doyle (w/ Don Callis and “The Machine” Brian Cage)
Andrade El Idolo has gone to war with his former faction. The ex-Don Callis Family member has made taking out his ex-stablemates an equal priority to winning gold and that was quite evident last week on Dynamite.
After Kyle Fletcher captured the AEW International Championship from former friend and ex-Family member Konosuke Takeshita, Mick Foley came down to the ring to talk to the new champion. As the Aussie gloated about his victory, he was interrupted by TNT Champion Kevin Knight, who congratulated Fletcher on his title win in the most backhanded way possible. Knight made it clear that even though he already had one belt, he still wanted to be “Jet2Belts” and let MJF and Kenny Omega he’d be coming for the world title.
All that talk of championships prompted an appearance from Andrade. Andrade reminded Callis that he was promised a world title shot and because he never delivered, he planned to take gold from the Family. Callis made him a deal: beat Jake Doyle and he’d get a shot at Mark Davis and his AEW National Championship. Davis just successfully defended his championship this past Saturday night on Collision against “Speedball” Mike Bailey in what was an absolutely sensational match.
Andrade then dared the Family to come find him in the back, but it was a setup. As the Family chased him backstage, they were jumped by a skateboard-wielding Darby Allin, who immediately went after Knight. Doyle and Brian Cage intervened with the latter attempting to nail Allin with his own skateboard. Before he could, it blew up in his face with Andrade revealing a detonator in his hands.
On Wednesday night, Andrade gets his shot at a motivated Doyle. Doyle is on a two-match winning streak in singles action, with victories over Adam Priest and Bailey. He will be a stiff test for Andrade, but Andrade is well aware that he will have to contend with more than just Doyle.
The Family will do whatever it can to ensure Andrade is unsuccessful on Wednesday night. By hook or by crook, they want Doyle to come out on top. With Andrade heading into the match with clear eyes, he’s going to need a plan to counter his former allies.
Can Andrade set up a title match with Davis or will Doyle and the Family prevent that from happening?
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Willow Nightingale, “The It Girl” Maya World and Hyan vs. “The CEO” Mercedes Mone and AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion (“Megasus” Megan Bayne and Lena Kross)
It was a triumphant return for Willow Nightingale last Wednesday night on Dynamite. The former TBS Champion, who was forced to relinquish her title when sidelined with a shoulder injury in May, was victorious in the Casino Gauntlet Match to earn a shot at Thekla’s AEW Women’s World Championship at Redemption. Nightingale won the match with a Babe with the Power Bomb on Thekla’s Triangle of Madness stablemate Julia Hart.
There was no time for celebration, though. With Thekla sitting on commentary for the match, she made her way into the ring and laid Nightingale out with a spear. What Thekla didn’t see, though, was the AEW Women’s World Champions Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross) laying Hart and Skye Blue out on the ramp. That allowed for Mercedes Mone, who had watched the match from the stage, to head to the ring and lay both Thekla and Nightingale out with belt shots from the Owen Hart Cup championship. It was clear the tag champs and Mone, who will face the champion at All In, formed some sort of alliance.
On Collision, Nightingale came to the ring with her Conglomeration stablemates (AEW World Trios Champions Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly) to address what went down on Dynamite. She noted that both Thekla and Mone made a major mistake in crossing her and that at Redemption, she was coming for the title. Later in the back, she was approached by Maya World, who has a score to settle with Mone, and offered the services of herself and Hyan for a trios match against Mone and the champs.
The match goes down on Wednesday night, but how smart is it for Nightingale? Coming off of a major injury, the last thing she needs before facing Thekla in 10 days’ time is some other ailment. If the technical prowess of Mone isn’t enough to inflict damage with a submission move, she must also deal with the sheer power of Bayne and Kross. The potential for disaster is immense.
Can Nightingale’s team make a statement ahead of the PPV or will Mone and the tag champs make her regret taking the match?
