Will Ospreay meets Vancouver’s ELP. Plus, Swerve Strickland takes on Daniel Garcia and Zack Sabre Jr. is in action against Jack Perry. 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.
“The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo
Only days before his showdown with Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door, Will Ospreay takes on a blast from his past New Japan Pro-Wrestling days in Vancouver’s El Phantasmo. The former IWGP World Tag Team Champion and NJPW World Television Champion is making a rare appearance in AEW. Wednesday night’s match will be ELP’s Dynamite debut and just his third appearance on AEW television.
While most of Ospreay and ELP’s previous encounters were tag-team and multi-man matches, the two men have met in singles action on numerous occasions. Their rivalry actually predates their Japan days. Ospreay and Phantasmo met for the first time back in 2018 in London at RevPro’s Epic Encounter with Ospreay picking up the victory. In seven previous singles matches, including two in the G1, Ospreay holds a 5-2 mark against the Canadian.
But Wednesday won’t necessarily be about wins and losses. Ospreay’s match on Sunday with Strickland is for a spot in the AEW World Championship match at All In in August at Wembley Stadium. Ospreay isn’t out to do anything to jeopardize that. Still, he’s a proud man and knows that Strickland is also in action on Wednesday night. He will use the match to send a message to his old friend-turned-foe.
As for ELP, it’s his first AEW match since Forbidden Door 2024 when he unsuccessfully challenged for the then-vacant TNT Championship in a ladder match. A spectacular performer who battled back from a cancer diagnosis in 2024, Phantasmo will be out to put on a show and demonstrate to AEW fans the kind of performance he’s capable of on a regular basis. Phantasmo is 2-0 in his previous two AEW singles matches.
Will Ospreay keeping rolling towards Wembley or will ELP slow down his momentum?
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Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) vs. Daniel Garcia
When Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay met face-to-face last week on Dynamite ahead of their high-stakes match at Forbidden Door, the theme was changes. Longtime friends, both men accused the other of being very different than the man the other knows. Of particular concern for Strickland was Ospreay’s association with the Death Riders.
Strickland pointed out that last summer he and Ospreay banded together to help “Hangman” Adam Page wrest control of AEW away from Jon Moxley and the Death Riders. So to see Ospreay pal around with them now, Strickland says, makes him feel like 2025 was a complete waste of his time and all for nothing. Ospreay assured Strickland he knew what he was doing, but things quickly broke down and almost turned physical until the Death Riders showed up to back up Ospreay. A disgusted Strickland left the ring.
On Wednesday, Strickland will have his shot to take some aggression out on the Death Riders when he goes one-on-one with Daniel Garcia. It was Garcia who elicited a strong reaction out of Ospreay last week when he asked why he allowed Strickland to get into his head. Moxley eventually talked an irate Ospreay down from the ledge, but Garcia was put off by the whole encounter and wouldn’t mind a fight with Strickland, either.
Strickland and Garcia have only met in singles competition once before and not all that recently. On the Jan. 3, 2024 edition of Dynamite, the two men faced off with Strickland getting the better of things. He put Garcia away with a House Call followed by Big Pressure. A man with a long memory, Garcia is likely still well aware of how that match went for him.
Can Strickland keep pace with Ospreay or will Garcia show the former AEW World Champion why he avoid running afoul of the Death Riders?
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The Death Riders (AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler YUTA) vs. CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion and CMLL World Trios Champion Místico and Brodido (ROH World Champion Bandido and “Big, Bad” Brody King)
Last week on Dynamite, the Death Riders team of Jon Moxley and Daniel Garcia and Brodido (Bandido and Brody King) beat the holy hell out of one another. Bandido appeared to have Moxley ready for the 21-Plex, but interference from Marina Shafir made sure that didn’t happen. The match eventually broke down into a Pier-6 brawl with the ROH World Champion pulling out the victory with a 21-Plex on Garcia.
The win over the Death Riders earned Bandido the chance to become a double champion once again. At Forbidden Door, Bandido will face off with Moxley for the AEW Continental Championship. Because of Continental Championship rules, the bout will truly be one-on-one.
But before Sunday’s PPV, the Death Riders and Brodido face off again, this time in trios action, as Mox drafts in Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler YUTA in place of the otherwise-occupied Garcia to take on Bandido, King and CMLL icon Místico. Místico is also in action at Forbidden Door when he and El Sky Team stablemate meet the Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) and Unbound Co.’s Shingo Takagi and Titán in a three-way dance. Wednesday night’s match will mark the second time in just over three months that Místico has met the Death Riders in a trios match.
Back at CMLL’s Homenaje A Dos Leyendas at Arena Mexico in March, El Sky Team (Místico, Dorada and Neon) put the CMLL World Trios Championships on the line against the Death Riders team of Moxley, YUTA and Garcia. It ended up not being the best of evenings for the Death Riders. Not only were they unable to win the trios titles, Claudio Castagnoli lost the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship to Hechicero later in the evening.
With one eye on Forbidden Door, Moxley will undoubtedly use Wednesday night’s trios match to do what he can’t do on Sunday. Because all forms of interference and outside weaponry are strictly forbidden during Continental Championship matches, Moxley will have to get his extracurricular shots in at Bandido on Wednesday. It will be difficult for Moxley to lose his title if his opponent can’t make it to the pay-per-view.
Can Moxley soften up Bandido ahead of Sunday or will the ROH World Champion give the Death Riders a taste of what’s to come on Wednesday night?
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AEW International Championship match: NJPW World TV Champion “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Ricochet (w/ Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun)
Konosuke Takeshita is running with some different company these days. Gone are the Don Callis Family and in their place is a pair of championships. Already the NJPW World TV Champion, Takeshita became a double champ at last month’s Double or Nothing when he defeated former stablemate Kazuchika Okada for the AEW International Championship, winning the title for a second time. Takeshita’s issues with the Family are from over and will come to a head at Forbidden Door when he is part of the 12-man cage match main event, but the former IWGP World Champion has a more pressing — and annoying — issue in the form of Ricochet.
The inaugural AEW National Champion, Ricochet has decided that it’s time to once again wear solo gold. After holding the title for 113 days, Ricochet dropped the title to rival Jack Perry at March’s Revolution in a Blackjack Battle Royal. The fact that Ricochet was never pinned to lose his title still sticks in his craw. But having finished his enmity with Chris Jericho, Ricochet has turned his focus onto a new title.
Ricochet is no stranger to Takeshita and the two have done battle over this very same title in the past. It was at WrestleDream in 2024 that Takeshita won the International Championship for the first time, beating Ricochet and Will Ospreay in a three-way match. He then successfully defended his title at that November’s Full Gear PPV over Ricochet in a singles match.
Even though Takeshita seems to have Ricochet’s number, he’s going to have to deal with the Gates of Agony (Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun), who are never far from Ricochet’s side. Should the monstrous Liona and Kaun get involved at all, Takeshita will be forced to turn at least some of his focus away from his opponent. That could be just the opening Ricochet needs to spring the upset.
Can Takeshita continue his mastery of Ricochet or will Ricochet bring a championship back to The Demand?
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Survival of the Fittest qualifying match: Queen Aminata vs. ROH Women’s World TV Champion Red Velvet
It was back on the Apr. 8 edition of Dynamite when Queen Aminata made her return to competition following a lengthy absence. The Guinean competitor missed five months with a severe neck injury. On that night in Edmonton, Aminata failed to wrest the TBS Championship away from Willow Nightingale. But on Wednesday night, she can come one step closer to another shot at that title.
The whole reason why there is going to be a Survival of the Fittest match on the July 8 edition of Dynamite is because of what happened on the May 16 episode of Collision. During that show, Nightingale defended her championship against Red Velvet and, while she won the match, she was injured in the process and forced to relinquish the TBS title. To crown a new champion, AEW will hold its first-ever Survival of the Fittest match, a mainstay of Ring of Honor dating back to 2004. A six-woman elimination match, Kris Statlander, Persephone and Hikaru Shida have already punched their tickets to the July 8 bout. One of Velvet or Aminata will join them.
Aminata and Velvet are familiar with one other, both as opponents and teammates, but haven’t shared a ring in nearly two years. Their last singles match came back in the spring of 2024 when Aminata defeated Velvet in the semifinals of the tournament to crown the inaugural ROH Women’s World TV Champion. Aminata would fall in the final to Billie Starkz. In two previous singles matches, each woman has a win.
Having spent most of her return to action in ROH, Aminata is still looking for a signature win in AEW in 2026. A victory over Velvet to earn a berth in Survival of the Fittest would be just that. But Velvet, who regained her ROH Women’s World TV Championship back in December from Mercedes Moné, will do everything in her power to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Which of these two women will advance?
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Survival of the Fittest qualifying match: Harley Cameron vs. “The Problem” Marina Shafir
The July 8 Survival of the Fittest match is a personal one for Harley Cameron. The fan-favourite Aussie is out to win the TBS Championship for her fallen tag-team partner, Willow Nightingale, and bring the title back to the Babes of Wrath. Cameron and Nightingale were the inaugural AEW Women’s World Champions, holding onto the titles for 95 days before dropping them to current champions, Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross).
Standing in her way will be Marina Shafir of the Death Riders. The former mixed-martial artist has frequently prioritized the good of the Death Riders over her own personal pursuits, so it’s a bit of a rarity to see the ex-Invicta Fighting Championship fighter in a match like this. Over the past four years, Shafir has only wrestled in four singles championship matches in AEW.
Shafir and Cameron have met once before in a one-on-one match and it didn’t end well for the latter. A little over a month ago, Shafir put Cameron to sleep with the Mother’s Milk. The key for Cameron on Wednesday night will be the ability to avoid putting herself into situations where Shafir can lock in any kind of submission hold. That will be the ultimate recipe for disaster for Cameron.
But Cameron is battling for more than herself and will hope that her fighting spirit can carry the day. Despite her relative inexperience, Cameron possesses a fearlessness that can’t be taught and never shies away from a challenge, even when doing so might behoove her. There are very few more irrepressible figures in AEW than Cameron.
Will the underdog continue her pursuit of gold or will Shafir move on?
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The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) vs. The Mighty Don’t Kneel (Mikey Nicholls and Bad Dude Tito)
When Zack Sabre Jr. returned to AEW to answer the challenge of Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door, he didn’t come alone. The former IWGP World Champion had TMDK stablemates, Mikey Nicholls and Bad Dude Tito, in tow. Fortunately for Omega, he had some backup, as well, in the form of his Elite stablemates, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson and Jack Perry.
On Wednesday, the team of the Jackson brothers meet Nicholls and Tito in tag action. Nicholls and Tito are not a regular team. Nicholls normally teams with fellow Aussie, Shane Haste, and the duo are former IWGP World Tag Team Champions. But Haste is out of the picture right now, currently competing in Pro Wrestling NOAH where he is the GHC Heavyweight Champion. Stepping in for Haste is Tito.
Despite being a fellow Southern Californian, Tito Escondido has never crossed path with the Bucks before. A former Major League Wrestling National Openweight Champion, defeating Rickey Shane Page for the title back in 2024, Tito is primarily a singles competitor. On the June 13 edition of Collision, Tito lost to Omega, falling prey to the One-Winged Angel.
Wednesday night’s match for the Bucks comes only days before their highly anticipated three-way match against El Sky Team (Místico and Mascara Dorada) and Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi and Titán) at Forbidden Door. The Jacksons have never shared a ring with Místico before and are looking forward to the opportunity, but it will be somebody else in the match that a bout with TMDK will prepare them for ahead of Sunday. The man in Sunday’s match who is unlike the others is former IWGP World Champion, Takagi. Not a high-flyer, Takagi relies on power, much like Tito does. A match against Escondido only days before the PPV will give them a taste of what “The Dragon” might have in store for them.
Can TMDK pick up a win over one of wrestling’s greatest tag teams or will the Jacksons send Tito and Nicholls back to Japan unhappy?
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Zack Sabre Jr. vs. “Jungle” Jack Perry
The world’s preeminent technical wrestler will prepare for his match on Sunday night with “The Best Bout Machine” by going one-on-one with Kenny Omega’s stablemate from The Elite when Zack Sabre Jr. challenges Jack Perry. Wednesday night’s match is the first-ever meeting between the two. Sabre will certainly hope Omega is watching.
Every year, Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer hands out the Bryan Danielson Award, given to the best technical wrestler in the world. It was renamed after “The American Dragon” when he won it for nine straight years. While Danielson has won it on 12 occasions, ZSJ is right there next to him. Sabre has won it in back-to-back years, taking his haul to nine. He is a technical marvel and will let you know about it.
Much of the talk heading into the ZSJ-Omega match is their encounter during the 2018 G1 in which Omega was victorious. Sabre wants another shot at Omega and Omega wants to test himself against a technician like ZSJ as he prepares for another assault on the AEW World Championship. Sabre hopes to use Wednesday night’s match as something instructional for Omega. What he plans to do to Omega, he will do to Perry on Dynamite.
As for Perry, the former TNT Champion and AEW National Champion knows that he’s not in ZSJ’s league when it comes to technical prowess, but nobody is. Not only does he want to prove he can hang with Sabre, he wants to hand him a loss. With all the focus on Omega, Perry wants to show ZSJ that he should have been worrying about him, too.
Will ZSJ make an example of Perry for Omega or will Perry surprise Sabre?
