Last Wednesday at AEW Dynamite: Beach Break, Kenny Omega challenged MJF for his AEW Men’s World Title in a high-stakes match with a stipulation that mandated that if he lost, he would never be able to compete for the belt ever again. Big Hebrew intended to subject The Cleaner to the same fate as Hangman Page by once again trying to cheat his way to victory. However, before he could put his Dynamite Diamond Ring to its usual use against his opponent, Friedman was foiled by Will Ospreay, who snatched the ring away from him in the nick of time.
MJF still managed to land a low-blow on Kenny before bashing him on the head with his “Triple B”- but none of that was enough to keep The Best Bout Machine down. Omega persevered, and after hitting multiple V-Triggers, he planted The Devil with the One Winged Angel to pin him and become the new AEW World Champion. Omega is now set to defend the World Title against Ospreay, the winner of the 2026 Owen Hart Cup, at All In: London, in a long-anticipated rematch.
Within a day of Kenny becoming champion, AEW reportedly sold over a thousand tickets for All In 2026, a fact that has reignited discussions of Omega being one of the Tony Khan-led company’s biggest and most reliable draws. While a case can be made for him retaining at Wembley and staying on as World Champion for a while longer, there are several compelling reasons why The God of Professional Wrestling should get dethroned by The Aerial Assassin in London next month.
Let us explore three of these reasons in some length below.
#1. Will Ospreay needs to even his competitive score against Kenny Omega
The first time Kenny Omega shared the ring with Will Ospreay was at the 2015 PWG All Star Weekend in Reseda, California, where The Cleaner emerged victorious against his then-22-year-old opponent. The two stars crossed paths numerous times afterwards in tag team action in 2016, 2017 and 2018, especially in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and in Ring of Honor, with Kenny usually representing the Bullet Club and Will representing CHAOS.
A lot changed in the intervening years before Omega and Ospreay locked horns again in singles action. Their mutual animosity at the time culminated in an acclaimed IWGP US Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, where the Elite member unseated the United Empire founder. Months later, at Forbidden Door 2023, The Commonwealth Kingpin, thanks to help from Don Callis, regained the IWGP US Title from Kenny in a hard-hitting, bloody showdown.
Omega and Ospreay made peace with each other and joined forces against the Don Callis Family last year. Their relationship has since blossomed into a close friendship, evidenced by Ospreay repeatedly encouraging Omega to not give up on his AEW World Title aspirations earlier this year.
Although Kenny and Will are seemingly on great terms heading into All In 2026, the fact remains that the newly crowned AEW World Champion holds a 2-1 career advantage over the 2026 Owen Cup winner in singles competition- a record Ospreay must balance to establish himself as a legitimate successor to Omega.
#2. Kenny Omega is approaching the end of his career as a top guy in AEW
Kenny Omega has been wrestling almost every year for around 27 years now. After cutting his teeth on the Canadian independents, he soon established himself to greater prominence in promotions such as Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and DDT Pro-Wrestling. The Canadian grappler’s rise to stardom was accelerated in NJPW when he joined the Bullet Club in 2014, and eventually ejected AJ Styles as the group’s new leader in 2016.
Kenny’s New Japan run catapulted him to global renown, especially courtesy of his iconic series of matches against Kazuchika Okada. During his NJPW tenure he was also involved in storylines with his Elite stable-mates, The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Adam Page, as well as with his Golden Lovers tag partner Kota Ibushi. Omega, along with Matt and Nick Jackson, The American Nightmare, and The Hangman, later became one of the founding figures of AEW in 2019.
The Best Bout Machine has been consistently presented as a top name in the Jacksonville-based company. He was booked as a dominant heel World Champion from late 2020 till late 2021, has enjoyed reigns with the AEW World Tag Team and Trios Titles, and even held the International Championship briefly before losing it to Okada in a long-anticipated rematch with The Rainmaker at All In: Texas last year.
A huge section of the fanbase has criticized All Elite Wrestling for booking Kenny in infrequent multi-person matches and repetitive feuds with the Don Callis Family and The Death Riders over the past couple of years. Viewers called out the promotion for under-utilizing the star as a main event level draw, especially in light of him missing a year of action in 2024 due to his battle with diverticulitis.
Last week at Dynamite: Beach Break, however, Omega regained the AEW Men’s World Title from MJF. In his post-match promo, he admitted that he is closer to the end of his pro-wrestling career than the beginning, but promised to be a fighting champion that fans can be proud of nonetheless. The 42-year-old might hold on to the belt through the rest of July, successfully retain it at Redemption 2026, and maybe defend it again in August before his All In 2026 bout against Will Ospreay.
AEW is seemingly set to present Omega as its ace for the next month and a half. The company should consider not stretching this timeline past All In: London, where the veteran should pass the torch to Ospreay by dropping the World Championship to the latter. Such an outcome would set The Sky King up as the promotion’s next top guy, and give Kenny the chance to once more show off his caliber on the biggest stage AEW has, before he settles into a part-time role.
#3. Will Ospreay must win to kickstart the next chapter of his story with Jon Moxley
Last year at Forbidden Door, Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi and The Golden Lovers defeated The Death Riders and The Young Bucks in a Lights Out Steel Cage Match. After the bout, the “Billy Goat” was ambushed by Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley, and the latter proceeded to deliver a steel-chair assisted stomp to the high-flyer’s neck, writing him off ahead of his neck surgery.
Ospreay returned at Revolution 2026, immediately going after The One True King. He called Mox out to a Continental Title match at Dynasty 2026, and vowed to break the champion’s neck at the pay-per-view. Moxley defeated Will at Dynasty, however, after compromising his challenger’s neck by dropping him with a piledriver on the ringside steel steps.
Later on Dynamite, Ospreay lost a match to Mark Davis via referee stoppage due to the damage sustained by his surgically-repaired neck. Thankfully for Will, Mox and The Death Riders showed up to rescue him from a post-match assault from Dunkzilla. Moxley then extended to Ospreay the offer to train with his crew, strengthen his neck and fortify his mind to become the greatest weapon the pro-wrestling industry has ever seen.
Ospreay has been working with The Death Riders for the past couple of months. His training with the group paid off, as he beat Samoa Joe and Mark Davis in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the 2026 Owen Hart Cup. The violent faction even came to the former International Champion’s aid against The Opps and the Don Callis Family, and were at ringside cheering him on when Will defeated Swerve Strickland in the finals of the Owen Hart Tournament at Forbidden Door 2026.
Ospreay had already teamed with The Death Riders before the inter-promotional PPV last month. After Forbidden Door, he was officially offered a spot in the stable by Jon Moxley. The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion’s alliance with Mox and his crew may have proven quite successful already- nonetheless, Will was cautioned multiple times by Kenny Omega to watch his back while rolling with the faction.
This past Saturday on AEW Collision, Moxley insinuated that The God of Professional Wrestling will not stand a chance against Ospreay at All In: London. Notably, fans have been speculating on potential storyline reasons behind the Death Riders leader’s investment in Will’s career. In fact, some viewers believe that Mox may simply be using Ospreay to get closer to the World Title, intending to turn on the latter if he successfully unseats Kenny Omega at All In 2026.
AEW thus needs to book Ospreay to dethrone Omega in Wembley Stadium next month, to kickstart the much-anticipated next chapter of his story with Jon Moxley. The Purveyor of Violence could betray The Aerial Assassin after his victory at All In to call his shot as the latter’s first AEW World Title challenger. Alternatively, Ospreay could go heel, turn on Mox as well as Kenny alongside the rest of The Death Riders, and reveal himself to be the new leader of the group.
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Edited by Aziel Karthak