The fallout from AEW Forbidden Door took centre stage on this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite as MJF defended the AEW World Championship against Mark Briscoe, Kenny Omega made a huge challenge, and Will Ospreay found himself at the centre of a surprising alliance with Jon Moxley.
The show also featured Kevin Knight defending the TNT Championship, a chaotic confrontation between Jericho and Tommaso Ciampa, and the latest developments involving The Don Callis Family as the road to All In continued.
AEW Dynamite opened with Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Nigel McGuinness welcoming viewers before attention turned to the fallout from Forbidden Door.
Renee Paquette interviewed Will Ospreay and Alex Windsor following Ospreay’s victory in the Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament final. The celebration was interrupted by Jon Moxley, who expanded on comments he had previously made about Ospreay.
When Ospreay asked what Moxley meant by saying he was beginning to “see it” in him, Moxley admitted it was difficult to explain. Instead, he said becoming “the real thing” required living and breathing professional wrestling every day.
Moxley warned that while AEW had the potential to become something truly special, the wrestling business was filled with people with questionable motives. He insisted it was up to wrestlers like himself and Ospreay to protect professional wrestling before presenting Ospreay with a Death Riders patch, telling him he would always have a place alongside the group whenever he needed it.
Moments later, Kenny Omega approached Ospreay and reminded him that he was still looking out for him despite recent events. Ospreay replied that just because Omega had given up on him did not mean he had given up on himself.
MJF then walked into the conversation. Omega reminded the AEW World Champion that he had his sights firmly set on the title, while MJF briefly exchanged words with Ospreay before promising they would meet again at Wembley Stadium.
AEW World Title Match: MJF (c) vs. Mark Briscoe
Mark Briscoe was the first man to make his entrance for the night’s opening contest before AEW World Champion MJF followed.
The champion immediately attempted to catch Briscoe off guard, planting him with a piledriver moments after the opening bell. Briscoe survived the early assault despite MJF targeting him aggressively with eye rakes, biting and repeated attacks to the back.
Briscoe gradually fought his way back into the contest with a series of clotheslines, a suplex and a Death Valley Driver before sending MJF to the outside. Using a chair as a launch pad, Briscoe launched himself over the top rope with a spectacular Tope Con Hilo before introducing a table into the match.
The challenger attempted to finish matters from the top rope, but MJF narrowly escaped before Briscoe crashed into the ring apron.
Following the commercial break, the physical battle continued, with Briscoe repeatedly coming close to capturing the championship. MJF countered by exposing the ringside concrete and drove Briscoe onto the unforgiving surface with a back body drop.
Briscoe refused to stay down. He delivered another Death Valley Driver before launching himself from the barricade with a blockbuster. Moments later, he crashed through a table with a Froggy Bow, then followed it up with another Froggy Bow inside the ring and a devastating J-Driller.
Despite the punishment, MJF somehow kicked out.
With Briscoe sensing victory, MJF resorted to desperation. After raking Briscoe’s eyes, the champion delivered an Alabama Slam before connecting with the Heat Seeker to secure the three-count and retain the AEW World Championship.
Winner: MJF
Following the match, MJF slid on the Dynamite Diamond Ring and struck Briscoe with it before preparing to deliver another blow.
Kenny Omega rushed to the ring before the second shot could land.
Omega reminded MJF that he had promised to confront him if he retained the title and challenged him to defend the championship immediately. MJF refused, pointing out that he had already defeated Omega.
The champion eventually agreed to defend the title next week at Beach Break, but only under one condition. If Omega failed to win the AEW World Championship, he would never again be allowed to challenge for the title.
Tony Schiavone then introduced Andrade El Idolo to the ring following his dramatic split from The Don Callis Family at Forbidden Door.
Andrade declared that his sights were now firmly set on becoming the next AEW World Champion.
He was unable to say much more before Kevin Knight, Jake Doyle, Brian Cage and Lance Archer stormed the ring and launched a brutal assault.
Cage flattened Andrade with a clothesline before drilling him into the mat with a Drill Claw as Don Callis watched with satisfaction.
Callis instructed his group to remove Andrade from ringside, insisting they had more important business to attend to because Kevin Knight had a TNT Championship defence coming up.
AEW TNT Title Match: Kevin Knight (c) vs. Lio Rush
Lio Rush challenged Kevin Knight for the TNT Championship next.
Before the opening bell, Knight pulled a blackened version of the TNT Championship belt from Rush’s backpack, creating an unusual distraction.
Rush attempted to capitalise with a quick roll-up, but Knight escaped.
After the break, Knight regained control with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before Rush trapped him in a submission hold. Jake Doyle pulled the champion to safety outside the ring, preventing Rush from forcing a submission.
Rush attempted a high-risk dive onto Doyle, but Doyle caught him mid-air before Rush countered, sending him crashing into the ring post.
Knight quickly regained the advantage, knocking Rush from the top rope before following up with a huge clothesline from the ropes and a thunderous uranage to retain the TNT Championship.
Winner: Kevin Knight
Following the match, Knight, Callis and Doyle looked set to continue the attack until Darby Allin interrupted.
Allin challenged Knight to defend the TNT Championship, warning that the events of Forbidden Door would continue if Knight refused.
Knight appeared ready to accept the challenge before Callis grabbed the microphone.
Callis branded Allin a criminal, insisting that the Don Callis Family would never reward his actions with a title opportunity.
Allin refused to back down, telling Knight he had started the conflict and asking how he intended to finish it. As tensions continued to rise, cameras showed “Speedball” Mike Bailey observing the confrontation from the crowd.
Backstage, Renee Paquette attempted to interview Tommaso Ciampa.
Ciampa demanded that Paquette admit he was better than Jericho after Jericho had previously forced Tony Schiavone to make the same statement on Collision.
Before Paquette could answer, Jericho attacked Ciampa with a garbage can, sparking a wild fight outside the arena.
Security rushed to separate the pair, but the brawl quickly spilled through the backstage area. Ciampa attempted to ram Jericho with a shopping trolley, accidentally wiping out one of the security guards before trying to attack Jericho’s eye.
Jericho responded by diving from the back of a production truck with a crossbody onto Ciampa, forcing security to once again intervene before finally separating the rivals.
Elsewhere backstage, Kenny Omega met with The Young Bucks.
Despite everything that had happened earlier that night, Omega made it clear that he intended to challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship next week without any assistance.
The Bucks accepted Omega’s decision as the former world champion prepared for the biggest opportunity of his comeback.
Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley vs. The Swirl (Blake Christian and Lee Johnson)
The night’s final match before the main event segment saw Will Ospreay team with Jon Moxley against Lee Johnson and Blake Christian.
Before the match could properly get underway, chaos erupted as both teams immediately began fighting around ringside.
Ospreay showcased his trademark athleticism by flying over the top rope to wipe out both opponents before Moxley entered the match and imposed his physical style.
Following the commercial break, the Death Riders’ allies became involved, but Marina Shafir neutralised the interference by delivering a suplex to one of the attackers, allowing Moxley to regain control.
Moxley flattened Lee Johnson with a huge clothesline before tagging Ospreay back into the contest.
Ospreay exploded with a series of strikes on both opponents before Moxley planted Johnson with the Paradigm Shift.
With Johnson unable to defend himself, Ospreay followed with the Hidden Blade to secure an emphatic victory for the unlikely partnership.
Winners: Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley
The victory further strengthened the growing connection between Ospreay and Moxley after the Death Riders’ leader had earlier invited the Owen Hart Cup winner to stand alongside his group.
Following Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley’s victory, Lexy Nair caught up with Christian Cage and Adam Copeland backstage.
While Copeland remained focused on the challenges ahead, Christian made it clear that he still did not trust Jay White despite recent events involving The Bang Bang Gang.
With little more to say, Christian walked away, leaving Copeland behind as questions surrounding White’s intentions continued to linger.
Jay White then made his way to the ring alongside Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Juice Robinson and Ace Austin, with The Bang Bang Gang receiving a warm reception from the AEW crowd.
White reflected on finally standing in an AEW ring again after 459 days, telling fans that they had waited a long time to put their signature finger guns in the air together once more.
The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion admitted a great deal had changed during his absence, pointing specifically to Will Ospreay’s growing relationship with Jon Moxley and the Death Riders.
White quickly turned his attention to David Finlay, recalling the pair’s entry into the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Dojo many years earlier.
Although White praised Finlay as one of the most naturally gifted wrestlers he had ever encountered, he accused him of allowing arrogance to consume him. White labelled Finlay a “nepo baby b**** boy” before declaring there was nobody better suited to ending his reign of dominance.
The promo firmly established Finlay as White’s next target as The Bang Bang Gang continue to rebuild their presence in AEW.
AEW TBS Title Survival Of The Fittest Match: Harley Cameron vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Maika vs. Persephone vs. Queen Aminata
With the TBS Championship vacant, six women battled under Survival of the Fittest rules to crown a new champion.
The action erupted as soon as the opening bell sounded, with all six competitors trading strikes across the ring. Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander, Queen Aminata and Maika each enjoyed brief spells of control before Harley Cameron and Persephone began working together to slow the pace and isolate their opponents.
The first elimination came when Persephone caught Cameron with a surprise roll-up, sending her to the back.
Following the break, Shida looked to gain an advantage over Maika with her trademark kendo stick, but Statlander intervened before Persephone dragged Statlander off the apron using the weapon. Shida capitalised on the distraction to eliminate Maika with a roll-up.
Queen Aminata was the next competitor eliminated after an exchange with Shida. As Aminata looked to build momentum from the top rope, Statlander and Persephone disrupted her offence, allowing Persephone to steal the pinfall.
The match was reduced to Statlander, Shida and Persephone, with all three women exchanging near falls during a frantic closing stretch. Statlander appeared to have the match won after connecting with a Michinoku Driver, but Persephone kicked out before eventually being eliminated when Statlander reversed a pinning combination.
That left Shida and Statlander to battle for the vacant championship.
Shida retrieved the TBS Championship belt from ringside and looked to use it as a weapon, but Statlander prevented her from doing so. Moments later, Persephone returned to ringside despite already being eliminated and struck Statlander with the title belt from the outside.
The referee immediately called for the bell after Statlander was left unable to continue, awarding the match and the vacant AEW TBS Championship to Hikaru Shida.
Winner: Hikaru Shida – NEW CHAMPION
As Kenny Omega prepared to head to the ring, Will Ospreay intercepted him backstage.
Ospreay questioned whether Omega truly believed challenging MJF under such dangerous circumstances was the right decision, particularly with both men hoping to reach All In.
Omega admitted time was no longer on his side.
He explained that another opportunity to win the AEW World Championship might never come again and insisted that if this truly proved to be his final chance, he intended to give everything he had left.
After embracing Ospreay, Omega made his way to the ring.
The former AEW World Champion delivered one of the most emotional promos of his career, reflecting on nearly three decades in professional wrestling.
Omega told the audience that, whether he was 14 or 42, he had always given the fans everything he had every time he stepped into the ring.
He looked back on winning championships, breaking records and building a career that already exceeded anything he could have imagined. Despite those accomplishments, Omega admitted there was still something missing.
He challenged both himself and the AEW audience to believe one more time that he could once again become world champion before All In.
Omega also acknowledged the consequences if he failed, comparing himself to Cody Rhodes and “Hangman” Adam Page if he came up short.
Turning his attention to MJF’s challenge, Omega reminded the champion of one possibility he had overlooked.
He declared that he was still “The Best Bout Machine”, “The Cleaner,” and “The God of Professional Wrestling” before officially accepting MJF’s condition.
The stage was therefore set for next week’s Beach Break edition of Dynamite, where Omega would receive one final opportunity to challenge for the AEW World Championship, with the possibility of a title change if unsuccessful.
Before Omega could leave the ring, MJF launched a surprise attack from behind.
The champion immediately slid on the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but Omega recovered quickly enough to tackle him, then repeatedly struck him.
Referees, security personnel and AEW officials flooded the ring in an attempt to separate the two rivals.
Omega repeatedly broke free from security to continue the fight, while MJF also escaped several times before eventually retreating towards the entrance stage.
Holding the AEW World Championship high above his head, MJF stared back at Omega as security struggled to keep both men apart.
With tensions reaching a boiling point and the Beach Break main event now officially confirmed, Dynamite went off the air with the champion and challenger locked in an intense staredown, setting the stage for one of the biggest AEW World Championship matches of the year.
