The latest WWE and AEW News and Results
After a week away, Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa return on Wrestling Weekly to talk all the things happening in WWE and AEW.
In WWE, it may be more what’s not happening for three talents in particular with main event potential, while in AEW, Mercedes Mone returned this week and the story between Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay continued.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
Will Ospreay’s quest to be in the main event of AEW All In from Wembley Stadium continued on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite after what can best be described as a chaotic ending sequence.
Ospreay defeated former friend and United Empire factionmate Mark Davis in the main event of the night to advance to the finals at this month’s Forbidden Door in San Jose, California.
What preceded that was members of both the Don Callis Family and Death Riders backing up their man in a wild brawl that took place over several minutes while the referee was knocked out. Ospreay got several visual falls during the craziness and nearly had a pin until Jake Something pulled the referee out again. That brought out Marina Shafir and eventually Jon Moxley.
As both teams brawled to the back, Kyle Fletcher snuck in and hit Ospreay with a back suplex and was fixing to hit him with a screwdriver when Konosuke Takeshita pulled him out and they brawled as well. Davis then had the screwdriver, but was disarmed by two Hidden Blades for another visual pinfall.
Ospreay kicked out of a Davis piledriver and after a sequence of counters, Ospreay locked in his armbar for the tapout.
Ospreay advanced to the semifinals with his win last month over Samoa Joe at Double or Nothing while Davis, the reigning AEW National Champion, defeated former champion Jack Perry to advance.
The winner will take on the winner of Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King which takes place on next Wednesday’s Summer Blockbuster edition of Dynamite. The overall tournament winner will challenge for the AEW World title at August’s All In.
AJ Styles addressed Will Ospreay using the Styles Clash on Samoa Joe at AEW Double or Nothing. He also highlighted his backstage role in WWE to shape the future of the wrestling industry,
On the latest episode of The Phenomenally Retro Podcast Styles expressed that the wrestling move on someone like Joe is not an easy feat. Yet Ospreay managed to pull it off flawlessly. Although this is not the first time Ospreay has used the maneuver popularized by Styles.
“I could tell you, hitting (Samoa) Joe with the Styles Clash is not an easy task. I’ve done it a couple times in my career, but man, he pulled it off flawlessly. So it’s awesome.”
Styles also talked about his transition from an in-ring performer to backstage mentor. He emphasized the focus on helping develop the next generation of talent and preparing future stars for success in the industry.
“It scratches that itch so that I don’t have to get in the ring again. I can kind of just live through these guys and these characters that they’re doing and just being a part of what they’re doing. It just, that’s what I need for me to not say like I let me get in the ring, you know? I don’t have to have that as long as I have them. So that’s what it’s scratching that itch for me. And I’m so proud of these guys and the girls, man, to work with them and then see them do well.”
“And of course, it’s not perfect. It’s never going to be perfect. Even when you get on the main roster, it’s not going to be perfect. But that’s what we do. If you’re mad that you screwed something up, something else on the show, great, that’s a great attitude. That way you don’t make the same mistake twice. So that’s a good thing if you’re not happy with your match, great. Let’s make sure the next one’s better. And then you’ll learn from mistakes. That’s what this whole experience is about with WWE.”
At the AEW PPV on May 24, Ospreay defeated Joe in the Owen Hart Cup Quarter Final. On this week’s edition of Dynamite, he will face Mark Davis in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Swerve Strickland and Brody King will battle for the remaining spot in the tournament.
John LaRocca and I return with a brand-new Fight Game to discuss some of the most topical things going on in pro wrestling this week.
You can also watch full video of the show below.
We gave out our thumbs up and thumbs down before jumping into the major topics of the week which included:
We finished up with Star Wars Corner and reviewed The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Click Here to Listen (sub needed)
New Japan Pro Wrestling, Will Ospreay and others are reflecting on one of the greatest matches in Best of the Super Juniors history.
On May 27, 2016, Ospreay defeated Ricochet in a match that went 16 minutes and 47 seconds and headlined a show at Korakuen Hall.
There were those who were negative on the bout, most notably former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Big Van Vader, who criticized it for not telling a story and instead focusing on acrobatics.
Ospreay reflected on the match in a social media post on Wednesday, saying that he’s grateful to have been part of the “flippy s–t generation.’”
Ospreay wrote:
“10 years ago today was the match that changed everything. It’s crazy how quick time has flown by. Seeing where me and ricochet are now in our careers makes me smile. Grateful to have been part of the ‘flippy s–t’ generation.”
NJPW wrote:
“#onthisday in 2016, one of the most talked about matches in Best of the Super Jr. history had Will Ospreay facing Ricochet!”
Dave Meltzer wrote:
“This was the match that made my son a fan of pro wrestling. He never watched it, met Ricochet that year and saw how people reacted to him and wanted to see one of his matches. That’s the match I chose.”
Meltzer also wrote of the match in the June 6, 2016 edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
“New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament got a major viral reaction when a GIF of the 5/27 Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay match spread across social media.
The match was a state-of-the-art match for its time. It can be compared, like the recent Dragon Lee vs. Kamaitachi matches in Mexico, to a modern version of the Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid matches in the early ’80s that put junior heavyweight wrestling on the map. The match contained moves, spots and acrobatics, along with hard hitting strikes and innovative wrestling moves.”
Meltzer rated it four and three-quarter stars.
Two have advanced in the men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament.
Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland both made it to the next round during Sunday’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view, getting themselves one step closer to a World title match at Wembley Stadium. Ospreay will next face the winner of the opening round match between Mark Davis and Jack Perry while Strickland will face whoever wins between Claudio Castagnoli and Brody King.
Ospreay was the first to advance at Double or Nothing, defeating Samoa Joe. The finish had Ospreay connecting with the hidden blade, only for Joe to kick out at one. Ospreay responded with a second hidden blade, this time scoring the pinfall win. For Swerve, the critical moment came when he reversed Bandido’s twenty-one plex and planted the ROH Champion with a vertebreaker. Swerve then pinned Bandido following the house call to pick up his victory.
The winners of both Owen Hart tournaments will move on to challenge the AEW World Champion and the AEW Women’s Champion respectively at All In, which takes place August 30 at Wembley Stadium.
Athena was the first to advance in the women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, defeating Mina Shirakawa on Sunday.
New York in early summer is the best version of itself, an irrefutable fact for anyone who has spent even a little time here. The city begins to emerge, slowly at first, shaking off whatever the winter and the world did to it. Then, alarmingly quickly, the whole world opens up.
Easing into the summer is ideal, but there is an unhinged beauty in that first real heat that a gentle May afternoon cannot provide. The first 90 degree day, the one that wallops you with its density the moment you step outside, the one that feels like walking through a stick of butter, that’s the day that reminds you that you’re alive. The city doesn’t ease into that day. It arrives all at once, and you hope the air conditioning is ready.
AEW arrives in New York City on the heels of exactly that: the first real heat of the season and, coincidentally, leading into the first real weekend of summer.
Double or Nothing is a card that, in pieces, reminds you how to feel alive – a stirring World championship match tends to have that effect. It is also a card that is the beginning of something significant. The road to All In is peeking over the horizon. The Owen Hart Cup is taking shape. Careers are arriving at their conclusions, willing or otherwise. The second half of the year starts here, in the heat, in New York, in the world’s borough that insists on the real thing.
Let’s run through it.
Ospreay’s relationship with The Death Riders is the most interesting thing happening in AEW right now, and the most interesting character development they’ve done since Hangman Page’s downward spiral. Ospreay is a lot of things to a lot of people. Divisive, transformative, it’s all subjective. But at his heart, Will is a simple man. He wants to make the fans happy. He would also like to win matches, and sometimes these two things are in direct opposition.
Others are driven by ego (MJF), by competition (Jon Moxley), and by testing the limits of the human spirit (Darby Allin). Ospreay is driven by love: of wrestling, and of the fans. He specifically craves their adoration. His turn to The Death Riders is an unexpected and welcome bit of introspection by a performer who had previously shown very little. I’m bullish on his journey with them and, through The Owen, I’m curious to see what lasting change might come from it.
As always, Joe will be a test. He doesn’t give you space to be spectacular. He doesn’t create distance for convoluted counter sequences or opportunities for a flashy highlight reel. He takes up all the space in the ring and limits the oxygen. His arrival is an avalanche, slowly, then all at once.
Ospreay has been everything we could have hoped for since his return. Joe is a test, but one he should pass.
Prediction: Ospreay
AEW is better when both of these cats are on TV. Too often, whether by injury or unfortunate ROH responsibilities, Bandido floats in and out of our lives. His presence and matches are full of light. Seeing his name on the marquee promises, at minimum, something worth watching with the ceiling for something truly special.
Bandido’s joy and exuberance meet its seething match this weekend. Many people snarl and claim to be the best, the most dangerous, but none do it like Swerve. There is no one as cool or as confident. There is grit and realism to his words and actions, a testament to his capabilities as a performer that he’s smooth enough to hit the interview circuit and do media up-fronts while playing the role of an objectively terrible person.
When MJF plays the bad guy, we’re all in on the performance; we can see and acknowledge the winking to the camera. When Swerve does it, the menace feels all too real.
Prediction: Swerve
Before we dive in, a moment for our fallen TBS Champion and being of pure light, Willow Nightingale. She’s one of the performers whose presence fills an entire room. Louis Armstrong Stadium is going to feel a little emptier without her.
Athena seems primed for her semi-annual AEW proper tour of duty, and it’s always a treat. She is everything she’s ever claimed to be and backs that up in the ring and on the microphone. Said simply, she’s great. ROH’s gain remains AEW’s loss, and AEW feels it every time she walks back through the door to remind everyone what they’ve been missing. With two staples of the division out for the foreseeable future and Mercedes Mone still off television, I do wonder if we get more Athena on AEW TV going forward. The division would be better for it.
Prediction: Athena
Whatever goodwill Jericho’s return generated, and admittedly I provided some, has been squandered with frightening efficiency. His insistence on killing anything natural and good, the relentless, painfully unfunny slogans, create an unwanted cocktail I’m glad to send back. The master of reinvention has watched his creative well run dry in real time, in public, repeatedly. The Learning Tree was an outright disaster. Whatever this current iteration is shows little promise.
Fortunately, the Stadium Stampede format and the significant talent of others will dilute his presence across fourteen people, and however many minutes this thing runs.
These matches are thrilling at best and silly curios at worst. The individuals will all get their spotlight moments. Ricochet, freed from any obligation to carry a serious program, should thrive in the chaos. Andrade can pop off his pants and pop the crowd. The Dogs get a chance to shine in an AEW trademark match. Additional critical analysis of this is not required. We know what this is, and you know if it’s something that tickles your fancy.
Prediction: Jericho, Hurt Syndicate & The Elite
These two have wonderful chemistry, capped by a bloody, visceral n holds barred match at Full Gear that reminded everyone in the building, and everyone watching, what O’Reilly is capable of. More importantly, it reminded Kyle. Moxley has that effect on people. Something about his brand of violence awakens things in his opponents, pulls the best and most dangerous version of them to the surface, whether they planned to show up that way or not.
It has been a genuinely tough run for O’Reilly, the wrestling intelligentsia’s favorite weirdo, since joining AEW. Injury and personal tragedy have a way of hollowing things out and creating a distance between a performer and the thing that made them want to do this in the first place. Finding meaning in the thing you love after it’s been taken from you, even briefly, even partially, is its own kind of victory. It’s great to see Kyle back.
O’Reilly’s story is a good one. Moxley, though the ace, grappling with whether he can beat Kyle is a nice character beat. But a character beat might be all it is.
Prediction: Moxley retains
Takeshita’s moment, sadly, has long passed. This is not permanent, this is not irreversible, but for now, the version of Takeshita that felt genuinely inevitable has receded, and what’s replaced it is a performer going through familiar motions with diminishing returns. The exaggerated big move spots, the bomb-throwing without narrative connective tissue, are indicators of a performer doing what he thinks ‘good’ looks like rather than just being it.
When he first started moving up the card, there was a buzz in the arena and online. Now he’s receded into the chaff of the Don Callis Family. Big DC can tell us he’s the alpha and that he’s the best thing going today (there were glimpses of that in his title match with Darby Allin) but he’s lying to himself as much as he is the audience. What Takeshita needs isn’t a new direction so much as a return to his own. He had a natural, easy connection to the crowd — one that still wants to love him.
It would be genuinely funny if, after all this time, after all the deferred moments and missed windows, he finally gets his big win here. Maybe I’ll be awarding myself the ‘fell for it again’ award Monday morning, but I think the big man gets it done.
Prediction: Takeshita wins the title
I have tried, genuinely and repeatedly, to locate the feeling this program is supposed to produce in me. Alas, I cannot find it. Even with a heavy, heavy stipulation, there is nothing. My fondness for FTR mixed with my lack of appreciation for the Cope of it all makes a 40 degree day. No one has anything to say about a 40 degree day
The I Quit stipulation at least has the virtue of theater, and theater is what Copeland and Cage have always done best. Someone has to say the words out loud, has to submit not just physically but verbally, has to admit it in front of everyone. That’s a fine idea. I just can’t make myself care who says it.
FTR will make sure the match is worth watching. The history books will be kinder to Wheeler and Harwood than to their opponents. Let the work speak.
Prediction: Copeland and Christian win the titles
I don’t buy the Statlander and Shida pairing, and it doesn’t seem like they do either. This is a doomed and empty pairing that is not working on any level. Is anyone really invested in the inevitable breakup? Why can’t Statlander achieve a stretch of character consistency? No matter the season, no matter the year, she always seems to be going through something. Must be exhausting!
Thekla remains insistent on being a star unique to herself: doing her thing, performing her act. It’s not revolutionary, but when something feels this well-worn and natural, it sure is impressive. This doesn’t feel like a flash in the pan but a character with real staying power. This type of performance is extremely for me, and I have enjoyed her more than I ever thought — a complete home run signing and a boon to the entire division.
Hayter continues her slow rebuild. Shida is not what she once was, but she has done good enough work since returning. Statlander is Statlander. The only person in World title form is the one who already holds it. That’s not changing.
Prediction: Thekla retains
Allin is a comet ripping through the night and challenging the notion that a title reign has to be long to be historic. Producing this level of output in his preferred style is equal parts remarkable, breathtaking, and psychotic. Just about every match has required a cigarette afterward. Other wrestlers could hold a World title for years and if they produced 20% of matches as good as everything Allin has done, it would be considered a legendary run. I am hard-pressed to recall a title reign that I have enjoyed more than his.
Allin is on the short list for mainstream wrestler of the year on this run alone, and the year isn’t half over. What he has done with this championship, with this character, with this body that somehow still functions at this level, is something that should be appreciated loudly and in real time before it becomes something we remember.
If he isn’t the (again, mainstream) wrestler of the year, it’s because MJF is. His edges have been smoothed, the work tight, and the hair lusciously full. Firmly in his prime and also on the run of his life, the self-proclaimed prophecy of being a generational talent is being fulfilled. MJF risking his hair is as old school as professional wrestling gets. It also makes complete and total sense for who he is.
This is a man driven entirely by ego and vanity. The stipulation isn’t an escalation imposed on the character from outside; it emerges directly from it. MJF, without his carefully cultivated perception of perfection, is a man with nothing left to hide behind. Strip part of the gimmick away and the rest crumbles. Max has done an incredible job of not being above the stipulation but cowering in the face of it. This is a man’s existential crisis with a title match attached.
Restraint can be a weapon. It’s one MJF should wield this week, and one that Darby does not have any interest in having. It will be a battle to see whose style of match prevails. Is it the devil-may-care shape-shifting style that Darby has perfected? Or is it a methodical, slow build like MJF favors? Styles typically make fights, but desperation throws structure out the window. Comets pass our eyes for fleeting and unforgettable moments. Darby’s burns out in Queens.
Prediction: MJF wins the title
The finishing moves of AEW stars Will Ospreay and Ricochet appear to be coming to the new Virtua Fighter game. Leaked footage of the newest iteration in the series (Virtua Fighter 6 Crossroads) shows what appears to be both the Hidden Blade and Spirit Gun being used.
The footage was posted to X by Self Made AO, showing off first the Hidden Blade and then what appears to be the Sprit Gun. There is currently no confirmation that the game has any sort of affiliation with All Elite Wrestling, but Ospreay did react to the footage, saying “never in my wildest dreams did I think a move I made up in the Hidden Blade would be in Virtua Fighter.”
Virtua Fighter 6 Crossroads does not currently have a release date, although there is a lot of anticipation ahead of the CEO 2026 fighting game tournament in August, where fans are expecting a trailer to be dropped.
Again we do not have information currently regarding Virtua Fighter and AEW having any sort of official affiliation. There have been multiple fighting games in the past that have had pro wrestling links, like the Bullet Club merch you could get in Tekken 7, but it is not known at this time if the moves being added are in tribute or if there will be some sort of official collab.
John LaRocca and I return with a brand-new Fight Game to discuss some of the most topical things going on in pro wrestling this week.
You can also watch full video of the show below.
We gave out our thumbs up and thumbs down before jumping into the major topics of the week which included:
Then, we finished up with our Observe This segment, talking about stories from Dave Meltzer’s 1985 Observer Book. Specifically, we recapped the very first Saturday Night’s Main Event from May 1985.
Click Here to Listen (sub needed)
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including WWE house shows, the arrest and release of Ludwig Kaiser, Saturday Night’s Main Event and Double or Nothing, Dynamite and Collision, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
John LaRocca and I return with a brand-new Fight Game to discuss some of the most topical things going on in pro wrestling this week.
You can also watch full video of the show below.
We gave out our thumbs up and thumbs down before jumping into the major topics of the week which included:
Click Here to Listen (sub needed)
The eight man bracket for the men’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament were revealed on AEW Dynamite Wednesday with two very high profile matches set for next weekend’s Double or Nothing.
One of those is the first time ever match of Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe. Ospreay has had a bumpy road returning from neck surgery, but picked up a win over Ace Austin Wednesday in his first match since aligning with the Death Riders. Joe recently returned from a concussion with a late-April win.
The winner of that match will advance to face the winner of Jack Perry vs. Mark Davis which doesn’t have a date attached yet. Davis defeated Perry for the National title last Saturday at Fairway to Hell to ignite their feud.
The opposite side of the bracket will see Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido in a match that has been teased for several weeks. It’s Strickland’s first match since losing to Kenny Omega in mid-April and his first match against Bandido in AEW.
The winner of that match faces the winner of Brody King vs. Claudio Castagnoli in their third-ever singles match. King picked up a win in the 2023 Continental Classic while Castagnoli got revenge in the 2024 Classic.
The finals will take place at Forbidden Door on Sunday, June 28 in San Jose, California, with the winner presumably earning a future AEW World title shot at August’s All In.
AEW has announced several new segments for next week’s episode of Dynamite.
With the Owen Hart Foundation set to return, AEW announced that the brackets for the tournament are set to be revealed next week. Both the men’s and women’s brackets are scheduled to be shared on the May 13 episode of Dynamite in Asheville, NC.
In addition to this, Will Ospreay is set to return to in-ring action in a match against Ace Austin. Kazuchika Okada has now also been replaced by Konosuke Takeshita in the AEW World title match against Darby Allin. Also, a ten-man tag match is set to take place alongside an appearance by former champion MJF.
With more departures and pay cuts reportedly being handed out in WWE, the Wrestling Weekly duo of Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa discuss the optics of TKO’s latest moves, a similar situation taking place in Hollywood right now, and the additional scrutiny these moves could attract outside of the wrestling bubble.
We’ll also talk about the late Ted Turner & this week’s AEW TV.
Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!
Reflecting on his journey, Will Ospreay recently expressed how proud he was about not being made by WWE.
In a recent interview with Forbes, Ospreay opened up about his journey from backyard wrestling in the UK to Europe and then Japan and the USA. Currently one of the biggest names in AEW, Ospreay believes “going to the United States, going over to Japan and finally landing as a weekly TV star” means something because he never joined WWE.
“I was never made by WWE. I was never touched by them. I would hold such pride and honor in knowing that someone from England who never moved away from his country was able to do that. I really hope that inspires so many of the other UK lads and lasses over there that they don’t need to compromise on their beliefs or what they want,” Ospreay said.
Proud of the sacrifices he made, Ospreay claimed, “I’m proud that I stuck to my guns. This is the last thing I want. I want the responsibility of being the guy — the world champion, the main event and the guy that can be depended on.“
Back from neck surgery, Ospreay currently finds himself in a storyline with The Death Riders, the very faction which put him out of action (kayfabe) with his neck injury.
In the same interview with Forbes, Ospreay opened up and revealed how AEW President Tony Khan stood tall and covered Ospreay’s expensive neck surgery medical bills.
“I mean, 10 years ago, this was the type of thing that medically disqualified you from wrestling. So the fact that medical science has come so far, man, I’m just grateful and so blessed. And I must give the biggest shoutout to Tony [Khan] for paying for that surgery because the moment I saw that f**king bill — bro, it was more expensive than my f**king house. It was crazy.”
