Will Ospreay disclosed how Adam Copeland and other AEW stars supported him during recovery from neck injury.
In an exclusive interview with Rob Wolkenbrod of Forbes, Ospreay recalled Copeland telling him of his experience with a triple fusion neck surgery. He comforted and encouraged Ospreay to reach out to him if it became mentally challenging. He also cited support from Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong and Bryan Danielson during the trying recovery period.
“Yeah, I spoke with Adam Copeland quite a lot about it, just because I guess he’s kind of the godfather of this surgery. He’s had three of them. I think he’s had a [triple fusion neck surgery]. I remember when I got told how severe it was because I didn’t realize how bad it actually was. I’d been wrestling on it for like 10 months. It only really started getting bad around May, and then it started f****** destroying me.”
“But I spoke to him, and he gave me the whole backstory of when he found out about his surgery and what was going to happen. He gave me his number to keep in contact because he knows it can get really depressing at times. So if I ever needed to vent or bullshit, he was always a great person to call or text about stuff.”
“There were a lot of times he was in London too, so I got to chat with him during good hours. I never felt like I’d text him and have to wait until the next morning because of the time zones. So he was really good.”
“I spoke with Kyle O’Reilly as well. He was great. I spoke with Roddy and Bryan Danielson a little bit, but not much. Everybody’s just been super cool because it really is such a good group of people backstage. I feel like news got around very quickly, and it was one of those things where it was really lovely having the support of my peers and everybody wishing for me to come back.”
Ospreay suffered two herniated discs and was written off AEW TV from August 2025 until his return at Revolution this year. He continued to wrestle through the injury which worsened over time forcing subsequent surgery and time off.
Both double champion Willow Nightingale and Lena Kross will do double duty as part of this Sunday’s AEW Revolution.
Announced during Wednesday’s Dynamite, Nightingale will defend her TBS title against Lena Kross on the pay-per-view Zero Hour pre-show. Then on the main card, Nightingale and Harley Cameron will defend their AEW Women’s Tag Team titles against Kross and Megan Bayne.
Nightingale was successful in defending her TBS title against Persephone during Dynamite and was jubilant afterward in calling for action at Revolution.
In another new addition, The Dogs will face Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin and the returning Roderick Strong on the main card. Strong made his surprise return Wednesday in aiding Cassidy and Allin after Clark Connors got involved in their match with Gabe Kidd and David Finlay. Strong teased joining The Dogs before helping even the odds.
The other development was Tommaso Ciampa being revealed as part of the Blackjack battle royal for Ricochet’s AEW National Championship on the pre-show. It appears that Big Boom AJ will be part of that match as well as he previously said he’ll compete on the show.
AEW Revolution 2025 updated lineup | This Sunday | Los Angeles
Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm – Everyone banned from ringside
Big Boom AJ to appear
AEW Trios Champions Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis defend against Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey & Mistico
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends against Kris Statlander in a two-out-of-three falls match
Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland
Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo
AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Konosuke Takeshita in a no time limit match
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match where if Page loses, he can’t challenge for the World title ever again
After nearly a month’s absence, AEW star Kyle O’Reilly appeared for the first time on a televised program tonight during Christmas Collision.
Last seen beating Jon Moxley at Full Gear in a No Holds Barred match, O’Reilly appeared tonight in a backstage segment with Roderick Strong. O’Reilly confirmed himself to be suffering from a bulging neck disc injury and arm fracture, which sidelined him from in-ring action. The former WWE NXT tag-team champion provided a pep talk and hyped up Strong during their backstage segment. Reflecting on his own matches with Moxley, O’Reilly motivated Strong ahead of his high-stakes match.
“If you knew how close I was to giving up in those matches with Jon [Moxley], you’d be looking at me the same way I’m looking at you right now.”
Strong used the motivation and successfully defeated Claudio Castagnoli during their Continental Classic match later in the night. The final moments of the match saw The Death Riders and Marina Shafir attack Strong, before Mark Briscoe and Toni Storm ran down to make the save.
O’Reilly was earlier expected to be a part of the Continental Classic tournament; however, following his match at Full Gear, he was ruled out of action.
Les Thatcher and Victor Sosa are back on Wrestling Weekly to talk about the finish to John Cena’s last match and some of the reactions that finish received over the last several days.
The guys also discuss Drew McIntyre seemingly running in place all over again, MJF’s return being expected but what he was returning for being quite unexpected, and a couple of tales from the territories.
The first week of Continental Classic action continues on tonight’s special Thanksgiving night edition of AEW Collision.
In the Blue league, IWGP World Champion Konosuke Takeshita and Roderick Strong will do battle in their first ever singles meeting while in the Gold league, PAC will face “Speedball” Mike Bailey as they both open up tournament action.
After the events of Full Gear, Eddie Kingston will go one-on-one with Katsuyori Shibata of The Opps while in another grudge match, Daniel Garcia will take on Daddy Magic.
Thekla will take on Tay Melo in a singles clash.
The show will also feature comments from new AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR in addition to new National Champion Ricochet. New TNT Champion Mark Briscoe will also have some words to say for the second straight night.
Our live coverage begins at 8 PM Eastern.
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AEW Collision wasted no time with PAC and Mike Bailey making their entrance for their first matches in the AEW Continental Classic.
PAC (0) vs. Mike Bailey (0) in a C2 Gold League Match
Bailey and PAC started the match exchanging chops, ending with Bailey hitting rapid kicks, but missing a pump kick when PAC was on the apron. PAC pulled Bailey to the floor and hit a snap suplex. PAC drove Bailey into the guardrails around ringside a few times before throwing him in the ring for a pinfall attempt. PAC dodged a kick from Bailey, but Bailey hit a dropkick of the middle rope and followed up with some hard kicks and a standing shooting star press for a 2-count.
PAC blocked another pump kick with PAC on the apron, but Bailey was smart this time and dropped down and swept the legs of PAC before hitting a triangle moonsault to the floor. Clever little spot there. Bailey hit several hard kicks to the chest of PAC, leaving him laying on the floor. PAC hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Bailey off the top rope when Bailey was going for something as they came back from break. PAC went to the top rope, but Bailey rolled away, and threw a kick that PAC leaned back to dodge. After dodging a second kick, PAC hit a pump kick and a German suplex.
Bailey stopped a sunset flip and hit a moonsault into double knees on PAC. Both men hit pump kicks at the same time and ended up rolling out of the ring on opposite sides of it. They decided to run around the ring and charge again, hitting double pump kicks again. PAC blocked a kick from Bailey, Bailey flipped out of it, but PAC sent Bailey into the announce table and hit a German suplex on the floor. Bailey got back onto the apron at 9 and charged Bailey, but Bailey leaped onto the top rope and as PAC slid to the floor, Bailey hit a moonsault.
PAC dodged Ultima Weapon and went for his running lariat that he has been using as a finishing move lately, but Bailey hit a spinning kick and went for another, but PAC ducked. Bailey managed to hit a thrust kick and went for Ultima Weapon again, but PAC dodged and hit a hard running lariat before locking on the Brutalizer for the submission victory as Bailey passed out in it.
Result: PAC (3) wins via submission (referee stoppage)
–Daniel Garcia was backstage with Jon Moxley, and he spoke with Lexy Nair, saying that he was finally going to put an end to Matt Menard tonight.
–Brodido were backstage with Renee Pacquette, and Bandido talked about how he felt terrible because it was his fault that they lost the tag team titles. Brody King said that he had nothing to be ashamed of, and that Brodido was not done yet, and they would challenge for the tag titles again. King then said that Bandido was defending his title at ROH Final Battle.
–The announcers then informed us of a change to the ROH Final Battle card with Rush being injured, and the title match was changed to a Survival of the Fittest match (a 6-man elimination match) featuring Blake Christian, Sammy Guevera, The Beast Mortos, Komander, & Hechicero.
Daniel Garcia (w/ Jon Moxley) vs. Matt Menard
Menard tried to turn this into a brawl early on, sending Garcia to the floor and throwing him into the guardrails. Moxley, on commentary, noted that fighting with emotion like Menard was usually doesn’t end well. Moxley said that Menard was not about living the life of a pro wrestler, and that no one trained harder than the Death Riders, and Menard was the past while Garcia is the future.
Garcia hit headbutts on Menard and busted him open, and Garcia went right after hit, rubbing his elbow on the forehead and biting Menard as they went to an ad break. When they came back from break, Garcia had Menard in a Boston crab, but Menard was able to fight out and lock on his own Boston crab. Garcia sent Menard’s head into the announce table right in front of Moxley, who continued to cheer Garcia on. Garcia sent Menard crashing into the steps and earned a talking to from the referee. The announcers complained about the rule breaking, but Moxley said quickly that wrestling wasn’t pretty, and if AEW was a wrestling promotion, especially during the C2 month, it was going to be violent
Moxley said that Menard was tough, and he wouldn’t take that away from him, but said that he did not have what it took to beat Garcia while also putting the commentators over for doing a good job, despite pushing against some of what Moxley said. Garcia locked on the bulldog choke on Menard, and Menard fought for as long as he could, but eventually collapsed, passing out and the referee stopped the match.
Result: Daniel Garcia wins via submission (referee stoppage)
–Moxley said that this was the difference between people who know what the wrestling business is, between professionals and amateurs, and that Garcia got it. As he was talking, Mark Briscoe came out, and Moxley put him over, saying Briscoe was a real as it gets when it comes to pro wrestling, but that he wasn’t going to do a thing to Garcia.
Briscoe said that he was thankful today (Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends) that he was TNT Champion. Briscoe said that he heard Garcia wanted to challenge for the TNT title, and Briscoe said that he needed to be sure that did not bite off more than he can chew. Briscoe said that like how he is going to devour a Thanksgiving meal, he is going to devour Garcia when they fight over the title.
There was not a lot of heat for Garcia and Menard, but I will say that the story told here was great, especially with Moxley on commentary, and the dynamic with Briscoe is an interesting one. It makes me wonder if we are going to see Briscoe and Moxley down the line, which would be a tremendous match.
–Ricochet was backstage with the Gates of Agony, and he talked about how The Demand has done everything they have ever said they were going to do. Ricochet said he was thankful that he had to do nothing since he was not in the C2 this month, but that he was going to go around the world defending the AEW National Title. Toa Liona said that he arranged a meal for them to celebrate at a 5* restaurant and they left.
–Stokely Hathaway and FTR came out, and Hathaway claimed that it was the best day of his life, as FTR finally won back their world tag team titles. He said that FTR has been fighting since they were 16, and they overcame every obstacle they ever faced to win the tag titles again.
As Dax Harwood was about to talk the lights went out and The Gunn Club came out. Juice Robinson said that he knew how good FTR was, but since they beat FTR two weeks ago, and it wasn’t the first time they have beat them (in a different combination of wrestlers), but that since they won $200k last week, they wanted to win some gold now.
The Gunn Club challenged them to a match, and Harwood said that he didn’t want Robinson to touch his belt again. Austin Gunn slapped the mic out of Harwood’s hands, giving Harwood a taste of his own medicine in interrupting people, and Robinson continued saying that maybe next time, it was there time. Gunn said that they were fighting for Colton Gunn and Jay White who were injured at home, and they were going to take the titles. Robinson and Austin Gunn were awesome here. This was one of the best promos they have had in several weeks, and now I want to see this match. It is not hard, folks. Good, short promo that establishes motivations that make sense. Excellent stuff here.
–MxM TV came out came dressed out as characters from the Wizard of Oz. They continued their open challenge, and The Outrunners and Dalton Castle answered the call. Dalton Castle greeted Michael Ray in the crowd, a country music star.
The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum) & Dalton Castle (w/ the Boys) vs. MxM TV (Mansoor, Mason Madden, & Johnny TV) (w/ Taya Valkyrie)
As the match started Johnny TV powerbombed Valkyrie into Dalton Castle on the floor, but this did not really cause much trouble, as Castle immediately got up and helped Truth Magnum powerbomb Mansoor. MxM missed their version of the SOB Elbow and Turbo Floyd tagged in Dalton Castle who threw Mansoor and Johnny TV around the ring. Castle hit a suplex on Madden, then they hit a collective SOB elbow on Mansoor, followed by a Bangarang by Castle for the win.
Result: Dalton Castle & The Outrunners via pinfall
–As they were celebrating, Ricochet came out. It appears they did not go out for food. Ricochet demanded the fans not boo him, so they booed him more. Bishop Kaun attacked Dalton Castle from behind as Ricochet claimed that this segment should be his championship celebration. Ricochet got in the face of Michael Ray, and Ray shoved Ricochet down and jumped the rail. Security got between them as Ricochet taunted him.
–The Don Callis family were backstage and Callis talked about how he was thankful for the family getting 3 points in the C2 last week. Rocky Romero said that he was grateful for new Don Callis family merch. Hechicero spoke in Spanish, and like the Don Callis Family, I only picked up on the word family, which they cheered. Mark Davis said he was thankful for nothing. Josh Alexander said he was thankful for Callis’ wisdom. Fletcher said he was thankful for his wealth in the family. Konosuke Takeshita said he was thankful to be a part of the family. Kazuchika Okada said he was thankful he wasn’t teaming with Takeshita. Takeshita and Okada got in each other’s face as Don quickly shooed the cameras away.
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Eddie Kingson
Kingston came right out and started brawling with Shibata on the ramps. Shibata hit some kicks on the floor to a seated Kingston before going into the ring and beginning to exchange strikes with him. Kingston hit a hard chop, but Shibata ducked another and hit a German suplex. Shibata grinded his foot against Kingston’s face, did a double wrist lock, and stomped on Kingston’s arm.
Shibata worked over the arm over the next bit, going for a kimura before transitioning into an armbar, but Kingston rolled to the ropes to break the hold. Kingston and Shibata exchanged chops in the middle of the ring. After a long exchange, Shibata went for a chop, stopped, and poked the eye. Shibata hit a kick, but Kingston responded with an enziguri and a neckbreaker. Kingston hit some hard chops but ate an STO from Shibata.
Shibata hit a German suplex after Kingston made the ropes in a choke. Kingston hit a suplex of his own when they got up. Shibata low blowed Kingston right in front of the referee, which was weird, and the referee refused to acknowledge the armbar that Shibata locked on due to the low blow. Kingston followed up by hitting a DDT for the win.
Result: Eddie Kingston via pinfall
Eddie Kingston is still not quite back to 100%, but this was easily his best match back. The finish was a bit abrupt, but it was not bad.
–Eddie Kingston took a mic and said that Hook has chosen his path, and he would have to pay for what he did from Hangman and Swerve. Kingston said that he was not a character, and while a fan said that he loved Eddie, Eddie said that for the longest time he believed that he did not deserve that love. However, it wasn’t about the fans loving him – Kingston said he loved the fans because they loved pro wrestling. Kingston said that Samoa Joe has tried to corrupt Hook, but before he can corrupt him more, Kingston was going to take the fight to Joe directly and challenged him to world title match at Winter is Coming in December. This promo was incredible, and the fans were going insane for him by the end of it. Kingston celebrated with a kid from the front row, putting him on his shoulders, and suddenly I wanted Eddie Kingston to win everything all over again. What an incredible babyface. This was such a fantastic promo.
–Red Velvet was backstage and she challenged Mercedes Mone to a rematch for the ROH Women’s Television title at ROH Final Battle.
Thekla vs. Tay Melo
Melo started the match throwing Thekla with judo throws and going for submissions. Thekla hit a drop toe hold that sent Melo into the ropes, and Thekla hit a running knee and then a suplex on the entrance ramp, which came right up to the ring tonight. They went to an ad-break just as Thekla was beating up Melo at ringside.
Melo hit a hard forearm on Thekla when they came back, but Thekla laughed and asked for more. Melo but her hair up and slapped Thekla, but Thekla hit a forearm on the rebound that dropped Melo, and Thekla locked on the Deathtrap. Melo nearly went out, but she rolled backwards into a pinfall attempt. Thekla kicked out and went for a spear after her spider walk. I suspect the spider walk took way too much time and gave Melo a chance to hit a flying knee and a Gotch style piledriver on Thekla for a 2-count. Melo went for the TayKO, but Thekla stomped on her feet, ducked a clothesline with her spider walk, and hit a spear and a curb stomp for the pin.
Result: Thekla via pinfall
–The Triangle of Madness came down to the ring to attack, but Jamie Hayter and Kris Statlander ran down to make the save.
Konosuke Takeshita (0) vs. Roderick Strong (0) in a C2 Blue League Match
Takeshita and Strong started off with quick chain wrestling, hard strikes, and Strong, as expected, hit a backbreaker that stopped Takeshita’s offence. Strong hit a dropkick through the ropes onto the floor as he continued to work over Takeshita’s back, trying to suplex him into the guardrail. Takeshita, however, back suplexed Strong onto it instead, and it looked like he hit his head directly onto the guardrail. That was brutal. I hope his neck is okay.
Takeshita hit hard forearms, and nearly sent Strong into the front row. Takeshita brought Strong back to the ring and continued the beatdown. Strong hit a few forearms, but Takeshita responded with his forearm of death that dropped Strong. Takeshita actually tried to lock on Okada’s Money Clip, by the looks of it, but Strong fought out and Strong hit a dropkick that dropped Takeshita.
Strong hit a lariat, but Takeshita tried to hit a blue thunder bomb, and Strong slipped out and hit an Olympic slam followed with a series of running forearms. Strong hit a tiger driver for a 2-count, but as Takeshita kicked out, Strong tried to lock on the Stronghold. However, Takeshita got his foot loose and dragged to the ropes.
Takeshita hit a Yakuza kick on Strong and called for the Raging Fire off the middle rope into the ring, but Strong countered and hit a backbreaker on the turnbuckle for a 2-count. Strong hit a gutbuster and a torture rack into backbreaker, but Takeshita managed to avoid a sick kick and hit a German suplex for a 2-count. Takeshita hit the power drive knee and hit the Raging Fire for the pinfall victory.
Result: Konosuke Takeshita (3) via pinfall
Final Thoughts
Any time AEW runs the C2 the shows usually turn out to be great from an in ring perspective. This show did not disappoint, but it was Eddie Kingston’s promo that stole the show. Kingston is such a tremendous babyface that gets me to believe in him and want to see him win. This was no different here.
AEW Dynamite (December 3, 2025)
C2 Blue League Match: Jon Moxley (3) vs. Claudio Castagnoli (3)
C2 Gold League Match: Kazuchika Okada (0) vs. PAC (3)
Timeless Love Bombs vs. Megan Bayne & Marina Shafir
A Heroes vs. Villains six-man tag has been booked for AEW Dynamite.
Tony Khan announced Tuesday afternoon that Bandido will team with Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong to take on Konosuke Takeshita and The Young Bucks. The match will be presented by the new Superman film that releases in theatres on July 11.
Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite Episode 300 8pm ET/7pm CT, TBS + Max TOMORROW!
Bandido has been making waves in CMLL as of late, defeating Mascara Dorada to retain the ROH Championship and even pinned Mistico in a tag team match. This past Friday, he was defeated by Mistico in a singles match. He will next defend the title against Takeshita at Supercard of Honor, which will also take place July 11.
The Young Bucks have embroiled themselves in a feud with Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland, the latter of which have issued a challenge for All In with The Young Bucks’ EVP status on the line.
Tony Khan announced later in the night that Ospreay and Strickland will team together to take on Dralistico and The Beast Mortos. This is also being billed as a Heroes vs. Villans match presented by Superman.
Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite Episode 300 8pm ET/7pm CT, TBS + Max TOMORROW!
After Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, former AEW World Champion MJF now knows who he will be facing at next Saturday’s Full Gear: Roderick Strong.
Strong (seen above) defeated Lance Archer in a falls count anywhere match Wednesday to go 3-0 while friend Adam Cole lost to Konosuke Takeshita thanks to the use of MJF’s Dynamite diamond ring, putting him at 2-1 in his last three.
The reason that matters is MJF declared that in order for Cole or Strong to face him at the pay-per-view, they must win three straight matches. Cole said last week that Tony Khan changed the stipulation, saying that if both men won three straight, it would be a three-way instead.
Roderick Strong sense a message to MJF, but MJF sends one right back!
MJF was not on Wednesday’s show in person, appearing in a quick pre-taped segment watching on after the Cole/Takeshita match ended.
As of this writing, Cole wasn’t announced as a special referee or having any involvement in the match which remains a possibility.
Assuming it remains as is, Strong vs. MJF would be a first time ever match and MJF’s first action since September’s All Out when he defeated Daniel Garcia.
Here’s the current card for Saturday, November 23rd in Newark, New Jersey:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends against Orange Cassidy
TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Kris Statlander
TNT Champion Jack Perry defends against Daniel Garcia
Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
Jay White vs. Hangman Page
Bobby Lashley vs. Swerve Strickland
MJF vs. Roderick Strong
Four-way match for AEW Tag Team titles: Private Party defends against The Outrunners, TBD, and TBD
A handful of new matches and appearances are on tap for this Saturday’s AEW Collision, taped Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island.
Ahead of their impending match against FTR in the contender’s series to be part of a Tag Team title four-way at Full Gear, the House of Black will be in trios action against the Iron Savages.
After taking out Mercedes Mone and Kamille Wednesday following her nearly being run over, Kris Statlander will be in action against Ashley Vox who she feuded with on the indies.
TNT Champion Jack Perry will be in action as he goes one-on-one with Action Andretti.
Former AEW International Champion Roderick Strong will look to make it two in a row when he faces The Beast Mortos. If he and Adam Cole each win three straight, they will face MJF in a three-way at Full Gear. If one of them loses, it’s a one-on-one match with MJF instead.
After defeating Anna Jay recently to retain her AEW Women’s World title, Mariah May will be on hand to share some thoughts.
The new additions join the previously announced AEW Trios title match, the first AEW Tag Team title four-way contender’s series match, and Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox.
Here is the updated lineup:
AEW Trios Champions PAC, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta defend against The Conglomeration (Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii)
Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox
AEW Full Gear four-way contenders series: The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum) vs. Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin)
House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) vs. Iron Savages (Boulder, Bronson & Jacked Jameson)
MJF will do battle with either Adam Cole or Roderick Strong at the November 23 AEW Full Gear PPV.
The match for the pay-per-view was set up during a segment on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite where Cole reunited with The Undisputed Kingdom in the ring. Cole and Strong agreed that they both want to get their hands on MJF, but MJF interrupted with a promo on the video wall.
MJF stated in his promo that he is not going to appear on an AEW show until Full Gear, but that between Cole and Strong, the first to win three matches will get to face the former AEW World Champion at Full Gear.
Cole will make his in-ring return on next week’s Fright Night Dynamite for his first match in over a year after suffering an ankle injury at Dynamite Grand Slam last September.
The lineup so far for AEW Full Gear on Saturday, November 23:
The first match for this Saturday’s AEW Collision is official, featuring ten men who are looking to fight each other as soon as possible.
FTW Champion Hook will join with FTR & The Outrunners against the Grizzled Young Veterans, Roderick Strong, The Beast Mortos and the returning Rush.
FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) took on the team of James Drake & Zack Gibson on last Saturday’s Collision, picking up the victory. After the win, GYV immediately attacked FTR and were prevented from doing further damage by The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum).
The other storyline wrinkle for Saturday is that Strong will challenge Hook for his ceremonial title on part of next Wednesday’s Grand Slam event from Queens, New York.
This will be Rush’s first AEW action since a mid-August tag team win alongside Kyle Fletcher.
This Saturday’s Collision emanates from Springfield, Massachussetts, and will be followed by a taping of Rampage for the following Friday.
In a match set in motion several weeks ago, FTW Champion Hook will defend his ceremonial title against Roderick Strong at this month’s AEW Grand Slam from Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.
The match was confirmed during Saturday’s AEW Collision after Hook issued the challenge on this past Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Things first began to bubble up between these two in an eight-man tag team match on the August 28th Dynamite when Hook pinned Strong but his foot was under the ropes as he did.
As of this point, it’s unclear if the bout is on tap for the Dynamite portion of the show or the Collision that will be taped afterward.
Hook regained the belt at August’s All In. This will be the first defense of the title.
Here’s the current lineup for Wednesday, September 25th:
AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness in a non-title match
Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin for Allin’s AEW World title shot
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) defend against Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher
The Casino gauntlet match at AEW All In has a new entrant.
Roderick Strong declared for the Casino gauntlet match in an appearance at the commentary desk during Friday’s AEW Rampage show, becoming the sixth entrant confirmed for the bout.
Orange Cassidy has the number one spot in the gauntlet match by virtue of winning a three-way bout on a recent Dynamite. Hangman Page, Evil Uno, Mark Briscoe, and Kyle O’Reilly join Cassidy and Strong as the six competitors offically announced for Sunday’s contest.
The Casino gauntlet winner will earn a future AEW World title shot. The match can have up to 21 competitors, but the match will end with the first pinfall or submission.
The All In card for Sunday, August 25:
AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland defends against Bryan Danielson
AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Mariah May
AEW American Champion MJF defends against Will Ospreay
TNT Champion Jack Perry defends against Darby Allin in a coffin match
AEW Trios Champions The Patriarchy (Christian Cage, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne) defend against The Bang Bang Gang, The House of Black, and TBA in a London ladder match
AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks defend against The Acclaimed and FTR
TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Britt Baker
Casino gauntlet match for future AEW World title shot (Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Hangman Page, Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe, Evil Uno confirmed entrants)
FTW Champion Chris Jericho defends against Hook
Zero Hour: Willow Nightingale & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway, winners get to pick stipulation to Nightingale/Statlander CMLL Women’s title match for All Out
A member of The Conglomeration will face a member of The Undisputed Kingdom on Saturday’s AEW Collision episode.
In a new bout added to Saturday’s Collision lineup, The Conglomeration’s Tomohiro Ishii will face Roderick Strong of The Undisputed Kingdom in singles competition. The bout was added to Saturday’s card during Friday’s AEW Rampage episode.
NJPW’s Ishii will be a regular on the AEW roster for the rest of the summer as revealed by the promotion last week.
Also added to Saturday’s card, FTR will speak on the show after making their return to the company on last week’s Collision in saving Tommy Billington from an attack at the hands of The Don Callis Family.
The updated lineup for the Saturday, July 20 AEW Collision:
AEW Unified Trios Championship match: The Patriarchy’s Christian Cage, Killswitch & Nick Wayne vs. The Bang Bang Gang’s Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn
Lumberjack match: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa
Dalton Castle was knocked out in his match against Roderick Strong last week.
Strong defeated Castle at the AEW Collision tapings on Thursday in Calgary. When the show aired on Saturday, however, there appeared to be a production edit at the end of the match. Our Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that the edit was to cover for the referee holding up his count because it was not the planned finish.
“What happened was, it was a flying knee that knocked out Dalton Castle,” Meltzer said.
“He got knocked out. The referee counts one, two, held up the count because it wasn’t supposed to be the pin. Then counted three because Dalton Castle never moved and they didn’t show Dalton Castle, he was on the ground for several minutes. So, they didn’t show any of that.”
“You could see the edit. The edit was that the referee held up the count, Dalton didn’t kick out and the referee had to count the three because Dalton wasn’t getting up.”
“In the building, this was a complete mess and they were very lucky that this show was taped for this reason,” he continued.
With the win against Castle on Collision, Strong earned an ROH World Title shot against Mark Briscoe at Death Before Dishonor. The event is scheduled for July 26, 2024 at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas as part of AEW’s residency at the venue this summer.
A new number one contender for the ROH World Championship has been crowned.
Roderick Strong defeated Dalton Castle on AEW Collision to become the new number one contender, countering the bangarang into a knee strike to win. Strong will now face Mark Briscoe for the ROH World title on July 26 at the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
After Strong’s victory, a Mark Briscoe promo aired saying he had this week off, but there isn’t any week off when he has to prepare for both Blood & Guts and the ROH title defense. He wished Orange Cassidy and Kyle O’Reilly best of luck against the Undisputed Kingdom and told Strong he’ll see him at Death Before Dishonor.
#ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe has been putting in extra time to get ready for #AEWBloodAndGuts AND his championship match at #ROHDBD!
In recent weeks, The Undisputed Kingdom have set their sights on the Conglomeration, particularly Kyle O’Reilly. Despite having turned on him several months ago, Strong and The Kingdom have been attempting to recruit O’Reilly. This time around, O’Reilly has flatly rejected them and instead has sided with Briscoe and Cassidy.
Here is the updated lineup for Death Before Dishonor:
ROH World Championship: Mark Briscoe defends against Roderick Strong
