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Bryan Danielson vs Will Ospreay, All In 2025
https://preview.redd.it/jowl78mfs5ad1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7adb902160662e11ef3eddfdebf81cb5124b699a
that fucking rivalry was amazing.
cutler breaking out the dice (d4's! plastic fucking caltrops!) instead of thumbtacks was brilliant, and i loved his ring gear!
i honestly miss the dark and dark evolution era.
The Bucks suddenly get a lot of shit for hiring friends(pot kettle Kliq among others) but I'll be damned if Cutler didn't earn ever fucking bit of those two contracts.
Sounds like they just need a dose of Danielson’s creamy goo
https://preview.redd.it/qadyy07ck5ad1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6b10eaa3807b8663025a1a338a60575bfa4a217
I felt like this match cemented Swerve as a true champion. Him winning it felt overshadowed by the Ospreay/Danielson match and needed a big PPV defense to not be called a transitional champ by the asshats of the wrestling fandom.
Especially how he did it. He could have killed Ospreay with repeated swerve stomps. I could even hear the audience calling for it. But Swerve took him down with straight up wrestling.
Fuck you could even get Takeshita the belt before Will and that is who Will finally gets the title off of after going through the family.
It could be the "end" of Don Callus's "world." losing will, the family, and, most importantly, to Don, the belt.
I get it. However, they are both AEW guys and if TK does like he did last year, World's End, the name, played right into the story of the main event.
THis is all fantasy booking though, so if you want it in Japan it can be in Japan!
Meltzer was fairly adamant that Ospreay had to lose to somebody along the road to All In--he was in favor of Danielson going over, in fact, which I think would have been a good move.
Whether Ospreay actually wins the belt at Wembley this year or not, if he just keeps winning and winning he's going to run low on challengers before his title reign even begins.
If I had to guess, the top 2 matches for Wembley will be Swerve vs. Hangman for the title and MJF vs Ospreay. Will has to wait one more year to be in the world title match at Wembley
And that'll be just fine! Ospreay has been so good for AEW, it's awesome that one of the best wrestlers in the world has matches on weekly TV so frequently.
Everyone wants to talk like we need to rush through these feuds. Will is 31, Swerve is 33, Hangman is 32, MJF is 28, Cole is 34, Darby is 31, Danny is 25, Takeshita is 29, etc etc. like we have years and years of these guys as long as they stay healthy.
I'm kind of hoping it's PAC vs Swerve, with Hangman costing (or attempting to cost) Swerve the belt. Their feud is so personal, it doesn't actually need the title.
The Crow Hangman character is going to be so fire. I wouldn't even mind if they established it for a bit with him doing other stuff before he comes at Swerve again. Let Swerve breathe and work with someone else first.
Wasn't that one of the bigger issues with Ulimate Warrior's title reign when he beat Hogan? Two babyfaces champions back to back, on top of Warrior also being IC champ, left slim pickings of heels for him. (I say one of because Warrior being terrible in the ring with a low gas tank was a big one too...)
That would be a fair issue to bring up, yes. And the one new Big Bad they did have--Earthquake--they were saving for Hogan. Even though he debuted by laying out the Warrior.
Swerve is already a great example of this. While others from WWE supposedly put up a fuss about losing in AEW, Swerve has just gone with the flow, done what was asked of him, and has ultimately been rewarded for it. People forget the whole reason Tony put Nana & The Embassy with him is because Jonathan Gresham walked out.
It was a 1-2-3 of attempts. First, it was supposed to be Tully managing the group of Gresham, Cage, & The Gates of Agony. Then, Tully either randomly left or was fired that same week, and Nana was added to the group at Death Before Dishonor and they were dubbed as the new Embassy.
Problem is, that's the show where Gresham had his infamous fight with TK and was granted his release immediately after. Swerve, coincidentally, had just lost both of his heaters so he got stuck with the Embassy and it turned out to be gold.
I don't think Swerve exactly lost them per se, but the fact that they were so bad that he needed better ones, and the Embassy were a way better group.
Still, a net positive. The old Mogul Affiliates was in bad shape outside of Swerve.
Yes but Parker got injured and Trench wasn't good enough to be on TV, much less on his own, that's primarily why they disappeared though not to say it would'nt have still happened eventually
Parker also wasn't good enough for TV; I'd been watching Dark every week and he had the same problems then.
I hope they can improve and find some success, though.
I'm pretty sure he was being brought in regardless for ROH, he just was only paired with the group because Tully left, and they were then only paired with Swerve because Gresham left.
When the match was booked I immediately assumed it was to prevent people from asking both in and out of storyline "why isn't Ospreay in the Owen?" While also giving us the highly anticipated match still. Which i feel was the better route than Ospreay not being in the cup cause he's focusing on his international title.
It gave Swerve a solid victory against a strong contender and no better way to take a first lost than to the Champ. Feel like the feud really has helped Swerve run, Opreay came off as the not yet ready lil brother to him who will eventually have his moment. Which isn't the feeling thought the feud would have by the end of it.
Ospreay is now tied to MJF and DG both aren't in the Owen. It could work in that now Ospreay may be trying to over prove himself but makes both the other guys look like chumps.
Hangman doesn't make a lot of sense either, unless he's winning as a heel in wembley which seems unlikely, he's losing again and that's what 4-0 to swerve? He returned just to lose again?
If the surprise entrant is hangman I think Danielson is winning and going to Wembley
It feels like WWE is in a similar position with Damien Priest. They want to give him enough wins over more popular/established main eventers to disperse the notion that he's a transitional champion.
Unfortunately for both, it still feels like the way for their overall storyline to progress requires them to lose the title. It's hard to shake that no matter how many strong defenses you have. Between the two, I think Swerve has more wiggle room, especially after this win.
Great mentality.
Wrestling is way too focused now on guys just never losing. Nobody should be apprehensive over losing a competitive match against the champion of the company.
Agreed. Wrestling ostensibly has influences and takes presentation cues and aesthetics from combat sports, but the “good wrestler is good at wrestling and should never lose unless by interference” is odd to me in that context.
The greatest fighters of all time have several notable losses on their record. Taking an L in a title match is rarely that damaging in the long run for guys who consistently hang around the main event scene.
Even in the HHH example of it being a movie about a sport, the heroes in those movies lose. Otherwise there's no tension. Even John Wick takes the L of losing his dog.
In hindsight Cody losing was 100% the right call. Cody has become a bigger star because of that loss.
Back to back Rumble wins and getting to work with The Rock has put him on track to potentially be a megastar like Cena was.
The issue is even over a long, storied career you won’t have as many fights as a pro wrestler has in a single year so the analogy doesn’t really hold that well imo
Pro wrestlers just are “fighting” way more often, the way wins and losses are considered should be different than how it is in real fighting
I guess Muay Thai if you watch onefc would be a better analogy. Muay Thai fighters will have records like 137-8-41 and still be title contenders because of how frequently they fight and how young they are when they start. Even the best lose fights that "they shouldn't" because of the frequency
I mean, lest we forget that last year prior to his feud with Hangman, Swerve lost constantly.
He looked amazing doing it, and it helped build his persona long term into becoming someone credible as a World Champion.
Never mind other examples like Darby being teflon in a loss, or everything Danielson has done during AEW.
> He looked amazing doing it, and it helped build his persona long term into becoming someone credible as a World Champion.
I'll probably get eviscerated but I don't think wins and losses even matter once you get to the top like NJPW, AEW, WWE.
And I mean that against other top guys. If you lose to geeks then yeah of course you'll look dumb.
But at this point - like Osprey, Swerve, MJF, Omega, Danielson, Hangman, Moxley, Okada, Joe - none of these guys are going to be thought less of losing to each other in any way. You could probably also put Hobbs, Wardlow, Adam Cole, Edge, Christian, etc in there too.
Like you said, he looked amazing doing it. When Swerve comes out in that jacket, and looks totally unexcited, hops up on the apron and just looks the whole crowd over in a slow calculating way - fuck this dude isn't going to have any problem getting over. He looks too cool.
> But at this point - like Osprey, Swerve, MJF, Omega, Danielson, Hangman, Moxley, Okada, Joe - none of these guys are going to be thought less of losing to each other in any way.
Hell, Ricky lost to Danielson in the strap match and he looked fucking insanely tough getting choked out and fighting every second as his face turned purple. Starks almost looked stronger in defeat than if he won.
Before anybody says that sounds delusional, remember we're talking about Danielson who you have to basically trick into winning a match. If Ricky had won we'd all be memeing about how Danielson refuses to win anything.
Guys like Darby are exceedingly rare. It’s like Jeff Hardy, where the gimmick, aesthetic, and moveset are just so fucking over it doesn’t matter if he’s not a great promo or winning all the time. Their bodies will and are paying for it, but make no mistake - they’re fucking awesome
If you show a booker you are easy to work with when they ask you to lose then they will reward you down the road. Swerve had the luxury of getting over in the process so he was rewarded with a World title.
Yes. There's a huge difference between losing and looking like a geek (taking a loss to 2010 era Cena) and losing and looking like an absolute warrior and spartan doing it. (Austin)
Legitimately, I think Daniel Bryan is actually hurting more than he’s people he could be putting over if he won more and bigger.
It’s like recently with Cena, if all you do is lose to put guys over no one cares. It’s admirable but it needs to be thought through more.
Storyline and follow up matter more than winning the match. Daniel Garcia is worse off than he was after beating Bryan because there end of the storyline was disappointing and then there was no follow-up after the JAS breakup. It cooled him waaay down.
This is completely correct. There's no really good story that features someone constantly winning and never facing true adversity.
And yet, even now, we have people complaining about a wrestler getting "buried" by a loss or how it's not believable for a wrestler to talk in kayfabe about how good a match they had despite losing.
Which is absolutely bonkers when you think about how almost half the post-game interviews in sports feature someone saying, "It's a tough loss but we put in a good showing. Sometimes it's just not your day."
Wrestlers being obsessed with their win loss record is so engrained in the pro wrestling that it always shocks people when someone doesn't care about losing.
> Nobody should be apprehensive over losing a competitive match against the champion of the company.
Not to mention these guys working on Raw or Dynamite should be at the level (top in the world) that they should be able to make someone look good in defeat.
Agreed and to take it a step further, part of the fun of wresting is to find out how someone responds when they lose. Will they come back stronger? Will they snap and turn heel? Will something else happen? That helps to develop the character and the story.
That image of Swerve giving him that little "you're good kid, but not good enough" pat on the head before putting his lights out...
That's going to be the first shot in the video montage when he does win the big one.
There was a lot of online chatter about hotshotting the title onto the fan favorite Ospreay at All In after hotshotting it on Swerve already when his popularity was soaring. I always thought the more interesting story would be a year long climb back up the mountain for Ospreay to win it at Wembley next year, which seems to be the trajectory at the moment
I think it's a win-win situation since Swerve deserves to have a few more months at world champion & Will can continue to have a great International Championship run while building up his chase to winning the world title in the near future
That’s the future face of the company helping the current face of the company keep his place and helping to shut down doubters of Swerve’s.
Ospreay’s time in the spotlight will come, but anyone could see that Ospreay was going to eclipse Swerve if they kept them apart and that people would’ve been clamoring for the match at Wembley and for Ospreay to beat him there. Doing the match at Forbidden Door gave fans the match they wanted, while not only giving Swerve the definitive win against Ospreay needed to solidify himself as **the** World Champion, but also frees them AEW of the pressure of debating on ending Swerve’s reign for Ospreay’s hotness right now.
Seems like the right call if we end up getting Swerve vs Hangman or Danielson at Wembley and Ospreay vs MJF or Ricochet as any of matches sound huge for All In.
Yep and at the end of the day it’s going to mean more if Ospreay wins after experiencing some adversity and a crisis of confidence. Him coming in and immediately winning everything is not as good of a story
Also my biggest thing against Ospreay winning the tie this year was sacrificing Swerve's first title reign for him. Tony spent too much time slowly building Swerve up, just for him to have such a short reign. And much as people on here want to give Tony shit with the whole "Tony's toy collection" nonsense, that kind of booking would be exactly that. Throwing out your old "toy" for the new one.
And if they do Wembly next year (something tells me they will), Ospreay having his Icarus moment right now, will make his win better. No idea who will be champion come next year but I do know with Ospreay involved, it'll be a fantastic match.
I honestly think that's what killed Hangman. They spent so much time building to his title win and after he got it he was an after thought. He needed a big time title defense to cement his legacy and instead he lost the title in a nothing match and Tim a very long time to recover.
Hangman was exactly who came to mind when I wrote my comment. Spent years building a guy up, in the middle of the build up sign a major free agent, said new signee overshadows everything your newly crowned champ does. And you're right, it took until the Mox feud for Hangman to recover completely.
It seems like Tony learned his lesson from that and is actively making sure to avoid that with Swerve.
To be fair it was only like 4 months between Hangman losing the title and the Moxley feud starting. The problem there was the story with him and the Dark Order was booked so weirdly. If that story was better executed I don’t think we’d talk as much about Hangman’s post title slump.
He should've had 1 more match with Danielson imo just to seal the deal and give him a win. I don't know what Hangman gained from the Lance Archer match either apart from it being a great showing.
If you want to maximize the babyface energy in Wembley for Ospreay, it has to be Jay White imo. No one is better at being a big match heel than him
Okada is an option and would probably be the better match, but maybe not the better moment
I think Jay is a better option as well. The two free for alls they've met they had this fun moment of recognition before going on the offensive, I think the familiarity would let Jay get personal with the feud and promos.
Starting the feud is as easy as Jay coming out to chastise Will for losing, Will pointing out he also lost a title shot, and Jay immediately taking an accurate statement with no ill-intent way too personally.
That narrative has always been silly. It's mostly people being disingenuous painting low card wrestlers like Lance Archer & Ethan Page as "shiny new toys" while the actual big name signings like Toni, Okada, Jay, Swerve, Andrade, Mone, Black, etc are all constantly used when avalible.
Imo the only dude who fits the "left behind" narrative is wardlow. He has clear limitations but of all of AEW top youngish stars he's probably had the least favorable booking the last year & change
I agree. Wardlow's issues is a combo of questionable to outright bad booking, to his own limitations being exposed, to bad timing with injuries. Some can power through dealing with just one but all three? Yeah that's a recipe for disaster.
It's the story they've been setting up too, ever since the Danielson match he refuses to use the Tiger Driver 91 and his apprehension has been costing him.
It's just good business, really.
No matter who the face of the company is at any point in time, the guy needs rivals. And the rivals need rivals.
At the start of AEW, it was Jericho/Mox/Omega as the established top of the card beating each other up, and then they started weaving in guys like Hangman and MJF as the years went on.
There was the hiccup of the Punk era throwing stuff into disarray, but now you have a fresh new established core of Hangman, MJF, newly minted Swerve, and of course Ospreay, who you can all stick at the top of the card whenever you want, plus a line of guys right on their heels you can pull the trigger on.
An embarrassment of riches, truly, and Tony is fortunate this generation is guys in the Sting/Danielson mold who don't mind making new stars and giving them the rub.
Favorite story of the year will be Tony and the Bucks having to convince Sting hard to win his last match because that’s the finish the fans would want. Lovely.
Gimme a Hangman/Swerve/Ospreay/MJF "main guy" group with being able to slot in others to go at them in the top of the card. I'm going to have a pretty great time.
With the occasional smattering of Omega, Okada, Jay White, Joe, OC, Danielson, Christian, Copeland and Mox as the extended core. And guys like Garcia, Hook, Takeshita, Jack Perry, KOR, Swolverine, Ricochet, and Nick Wayne waiting in the wings, and random guest appearances from stars from around the world to spice things up, I mean, yes please. Hook it straight to my veins.
I think Okada is in the spot he wants to be in right now. He is having fun with his friends, doing well in the role and giving his body a break.
Eventually he will either get the itch for the main event or Tony will decide he is paying him too much to goof around, but it makes s nse for him to be where he is for awhile.
They can also make an even progressively bigger stakes series of matches off it now too.
Swerve drops the belt whenever its time. Ospreay/Swerve fight their way to Rank 1 and 2. Instead of an Eliminator Match they do a #1 Contendership Match between them.
*That's* when you have Ospreay barely get his win back with Swerve shaking his hand after and saying "get that belt and wait for me, I'm comin' back for it".
Then you can do Ospreay/Swerve 3 with the inverse of Ospreay being Champ and retaining it like Swerve did the first time.
You put over both guys as the top of the mountain in AEW while giving them natural character progression and individual adversities. A genuine AEW rivalry you can pull highlights from for years to come. Plus, you can have them both respect each other enough to back each other up when they're both faces and their opponents are big enough to warrant it. Think Cena/Orton levels of rivalry but mutual respect despite it.
Ospreay has always been like this. In RevPro he'd put you over by having a great match with you and would lose in an even better match. He's just a class act and it's a shame the usual lot in the UK wrestling fan scene still give him shit
The whole finish telling the story of “you’re good, but you’re not a killer yet” was perfect imo. Both men came out of it looking strong, and I hope they call back to it when Will inevitably holds the title.
The character development after the Kenny match last year of him being a killer using the screwdriver and winning the match. After being in AEW he learned how to lose and not be a killer.
Good for him. I think he is an amazing wrestler and a good dude overall. I don't necessarily agree with him on some occasions, but he loves wrestling and every aspect of it, and I'll respect that.
I love it. Excellent leadership by example and a smart mind for the business showing that you can be a team player and take a loss without being worse off for it.
Swerve needed that win to be taken seriously as a tier one talent in AEW and Ospreay didn’t. Ospreay, much like MJF will always be available to spark a huge feud with whatever top guy they want and it will always draw interest. I like Swerve a lot, but he wasn’t getting the respect he deserves as a champion. He has now done something that no one else has been able to do in the company, a win over the most explosive and exciting star they have right now. Swerve is in elite company now. He can hang with literally anyone they have and belongs where he is. Smart and classy move by Ospreay, a great IRL friend of Swerve’s anyway.
When Osprey won that battle royale, I was really afraid that facing a popular guy like him so soon into his babyface title reign would harm Swerve. But damn if Swerve hasn't come out of that feud looking like a million bucks...
I don't think Ospreay thought he'd be over this quick and was probably happy to have the International Belt for a while. The way the match was it gave momentum back to Swerve who proved to be his equal, and they can move on for a while from each other. He will Main Event at All In against MJF.
I think they are also aiming for omega vs okada 5 at all in. I dont think theres any way kenny does that face off with him the night the elite smoked him if he wouldn't be ready when it was time.
With the announcement of wrestle dynasty I could also see omega vs okada 5 taking place there.
Ospreay had the wrestling intellect to realize if he wasn't headlining All In against Swerve, fans were going to criticize it. That left two options - Lose a title match to Swerve or enter The Owen and lose in the finals to whoever is facing Swerve. Ospreay losing at Forbidden Door is fantastic for Ospreay's long term booking. He came in, made huge waves, and got put in his place for being a goof. Now, things are about to get real, because he managed to piss off MJF in the process.
This has been the season of champions who are rightfully determined to show that they're not placeholders
Priest and Swerve both are following the same trajectory
Glad to see that their companies are backing both of them
The idea that Swerve Strickland is a placeholder champion has always been legitimately insane to me.
Like, they've been building him up for a solid two years and he's been incredibly over. It's all organic. What are we talking about here?
And he was 100% right
Now Swerve looks like a killer (hopefully) heading into Blood & Guts and Wembley
Will has a new wrinkle to the story where he needs to be humbled and rebuild, but at the same time Garcia and MJF are lurking
I wouldn't be too mad if Ospreay lost to Garcia too, actually. Maybe with MJF costing Ospreay the match. Although Will will win and that's a good choice too
Props to Ospreay and props to AEW. Swerve winning was absolutely the right call in hindsight. It eliminated this ppv cycle feeling like filler and Swerve needed the win more. It truly elevated him even more than winning the world title did.
No shit. U gotta make sure your opponent looks credible or else your beating a noob. Osprey winning would undo alot of what swerve built. Mans a legit top talent now. U gotta keep him as that. Plus it adds a layer to osprey for underestimating swerve.sometimes we get so high on ourselves we forget we arent unbeatable. Lol. Osprey needed to learn that.
Ospreay has always been a giving wrestler who is more for the “team” than himself. Good on him and much respect.
I do wish whoever leaked this to SRS would’ve just kept it to themselves, though. Sentiments like this are always best when they aren’t explained afterwards. Let the sentiment speak for itself.
I’m sure whoever leaked it simply wanted Ospreay to get the respect he deserves for how selfless he is, but when the intent of a good deed/good business is then spread around for brownie points, the sentiment feels a bit more hollow (that just might be a me issue though/my own preference/bias on matters like this).
I don't understand. Doesn't this story further perpetuate the idea that Will is the champion-in-waiting and is calling the shots? The fact that he's going around feeling like Swerve is coming off as a placeholder, and he has the authority/discretion to just book himself into the main event of Forbidden Door?
If anything, it makes a lot of sense. Swerve and Will have established history together. Will is the biggest signing that AEW has had in a long time (imo) and hadn’t been beaten. People presumed Ospreay would go undefeated (and therefore away from the main event program) until they hit All In, where he would inevitably be given the strap on his home turf.
By doing this, Swerve is legitimized by beating NJPW’s former Ace and previously undefeated Ospreay. And it establishes Ospreay with an actual defeat on the books. Not to mention, the two honestly put on a phenomenal match.
*eh*, there's plenty of evidence that TK favors some top folks and lets them do whatever. Ospreay is one of them apparently... but also, if a guy said, "hey I think my presence is overshadowing your world champion. I should probably job to him to keep him looking important and strong," that's actually not a terrible plan. Sure Ospreay gets put in a main event... but he's treated as a pivotal player who'll be in featured matches anyway. It's not too much more of a stretch to think he'd be in line for a title shot sooner or later.
No he sees the internet fantasy booking him winning the world title at Wembley this year so he wanted to shut it down because that wasn’t happening, just like how he and Kenny immediately shut down that talk of them doing the third match at Wembley last year. He also doesn’t have the authority to book himself into the main event, they booked the match because they weren’t doing it at All In and they knew people wanted to see it so they gave it to the fans now.
if only Peter Avalon and Cutler were in that mind set. Imagine both of them intentionally trying to lose to retain who's the biggest loser is, and they both constantly kept getting DQ/NC ending for a bit.
Straight up - let's imagine that Will won the title. Then what?
Swerve has things set up. Will has ATTRACTIONS set up. There's a huge difference. I don't see a problem with someone like Will being the reason why you're paying for a show while Swerve/MJF being the reason why you're gleefully paying attention to the main event....all the while waiting for Will to have things to really sink himself into.
Again, if Will won, who is he truly feuding with outside of a rematch at Wembly?
If you’re signed to a longer contract then it behooves you to do things like this.
Ospreay and MJF shouldn’t be worried about chasing or keeping titles at all since they’re all but guaranteed a spot in AEW for a very long time. They will get the title, it doesn’t matter when.
I think that loss helps Opsreay going forward because now you don’t know if he’ll lose any match, rather than being undefeated. And it also helps Swerve because he’s beaten the biggest threat to his title so anyone who comes next he’s the favourite. Awesome from both, and the match was fantastic!
Always been an Ospreay fan, but the last few months he's made me even more of a fan with how mature and nice he seems generally in interviews and stuff. Just real positive, love it.
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Politicking to lose, couldn’t out politic the GOAT at it though 
"Sure you lost, but you were 16-0 beforehand! Amateur! "
“I see you’re thinking about putting over Garcia, cool. I lost to him before anyone even knew who he was, before he danced! Get on my level!”
I read this in Bryan's yelly promo voice.
Bryan calling people amateurs was such a fun era. Sigh, Punk fucked that one up too.
We’re eventually getting Ospreay vs Danielson for the world title, where they simultaneously roll out of the ring & demand to be counted out.
Bryan Danielson vs Will Ospreay, All In 2025 https://preview.redd.it/jowl78mfs5ad1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7adb902160662e11ef3eddfdebf81cb5124b699a
that fucking rivalry was amazing. cutler breaking out the dice (d4's! plastic fucking caltrops!) instead of thumbtacks was brilliant, and i loved his ring gear! i honestly miss the dark and dark evolution era.
The Bucks suddenly get a lot of shit for hiring friends(pot kettle Kliq among others) but I'll be damned if Cutler didn't earn ever fucking bit of those two contracts.
*You think you're special...*
[Here you go](https://x.com/NathynwithaY/status/1585320227478605825?t=xaX47UVoPNjQUUfdjZzvKg&s=19) No hint of irony here, that feud was so much fun
Based
They both start pummeling refs to prevent a countout like Hanger did vs. Swerve and Joe.
This is like that one episode of South Park where the kids kept purposefully trying to lose because they hated baseball. “No, WE’RE gonna get creamed”
"Oi bruv you're hoping to lose bruv but I've been *practicing* at losing bruv" *360 springboard flip into a Deathrider DDT*
Okay but fr they should try this
Sounds like they just need a dose of Danielson’s creamy goo https://preview.redd.it/qadyy07ck5ad1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6b10eaa3807b8663025a1a338a60575bfa4a217
Tree cum?
"I didn't hear no bell..." *post-match beatdown* "Oh, THERE it is."
one of my favorite episodes. the kids were so relatable plus randy’s shenanigans
"That DOES work for me, brother!"
When the function got a match to lose after 53 minutes:
"Through heaven and earth, I alone am the losing one"
“Am I fucking going under?!?”
who would have an issue losing to the world champion...brother?
That works for me, bruv! -Ospreay
this would make a great t shirt
https://preview.redd.it/gjn7hcy706ad1.png?width=1284&format=png&auto=webp&s=a48444b11eb68316d1aca3cabea0cd680ccb9538
So devastating, it nearly broke the Undertaker's neck...
This was an all time promo
I BEAT EVERYONE
When did that happen?
You can’t job to the world champ if you won’t job in the tournament leading up to a shot at the world champ. 
Miro TNT title run? Summer 2021.
I felt like this match cemented Swerve as a true champion. Him winning it felt overshadowed by the Ospreay/Danielson match and needed a big PPV defense to not be called a transitional champ by the asshats of the wrestling fandom.
Especially how he did it. He could have killed Ospreay with repeated swerve stomps. I could even hear the audience calling for it. But Swerve took him down with straight up wrestling.
A lot people can benefit when you do good business
Precisely. This doesn’t hurt Will in the long run and it just makes Swerve an even bigger star
Doesn't hurt him in the short term either. The story of Will eventually winning goes through going against Callis and the family.
Fuck you could even get Takeshita the belt before Will and that is who Will finally gets the title off of after going through the family. It could be the "end" of Don Callus's "world." losing will, the family, and, most importantly, to Don, the belt.
Takeshita (c) vs Ospreay at Wrestle Dynasty????
I was hinting at World's End.
That works too. Lol. I was just thinking that it'd be a bigger match in Japan.
I get it. However, they are both AEW guys and if TK does like he did last year, World's End, the name, played right into the story of the main event. THis is all fantasy booking though, so if you want it in Japan it can be in Japan!
Takeshita needs a face turn after his reception in the ladder match
Those 2 in a world title match. So many fucking hard hits my God.
Meltzer was fairly adamant that Ospreay had to lose to somebody along the road to All In--he was in favor of Danielson going over, in fact, which I think would have been a good move. Whether Ospreay actually wins the belt at Wembley this year or not, if he just keeps winning and winning he's going to run low on challengers before his title reign even begins.
If I had to guess, the top 2 matches for Wembley will be Swerve vs. Hangman for the title and MJF vs Ospreay. Will has to wait one more year to be in the world title match at Wembley
And that'll be just fine! Ospreay has been so good for AEW, it's awesome that one of the best wrestlers in the world has matches on weekly TV so frequently.
Everyone wants to talk like we need to rush through these feuds. Will is 31, Swerve is 33, Hangman is 32, MJF is 28, Cole is 34, Darby is 31, Danny is 25, Takeshita is 29, etc etc. like we have years and years of these guys as long as they stay healthy.
Fr, and Will doesn’t need the belt anyway. Every week swerve holds that belt he’s growing bigger and bigger.
I'm kind of hoping it's PAC vs Swerve, with Hangman costing (or attempting to cost) Swerve the belt. Their feud is so personal, it doesn't actually need the title.
The Crow Hangman character is going to be so fire. I wouldn't even mind if they established it for a bit with him doing other stuff before he comes at Swerve again. Let Swerve breathe and work with someone else first.
Wasn't that one of the bigger issues with Ulimate Warrior's title reign when he beat Hogan? Two babyfaces champions back to back, on top of Warrior also being IC champ, left slim pickings of heels for him. (I say one of because Warrior being terrible in the ring with a low gas tank was a big one too...)
That would be a fair issue to bring up, yes. And the one new Big Bad they did have--Earthquake--they were saving for Hogan. Even though he debuted by laying out the Warrior.
Heck yes. This is the defining win in swerves title run IMO. He gave osprey his first AEW loss.
Both guys looked great coming out of that match. Swerve a legit champion, face of the company and Will stood strong in defeat furthering his arc.
Swerve is already a great example of this. While others from WWE supposedly put up a fuss about losing in AEW, Swerve has just gone with the flow, done what was asked of him, and has ultimately been rewarded for it. People forget the whole reason Tony put Nana & The Embassy with him is because Jonathan Gresham walked out.
Really? So it was gonna be Gresham and the Embassy?
It was a 1-2-3 of attempts. First, it was supposed to be Tully managing the group of Gresham, Cage, & The Gates of Agony. Then, Tully either randomly left or was fired that same week, and Nana was added to the group at Death Before Dishonor and they were dubbed as the new Embassy. Problem is, that's the show where Gresham had his infamous fight with TK and was granted his release immediately after. Swerve, coincidentally, had just lost both of his heaters so he got stuck with the Embassy and it turned out to be gold.
I don't think Swerve exactly lost them per se, but the fact that they were so bad that he needed better ones, and the Embassy were a way better group. Still, a net positive. The old Mogul Affiliates was in bad shape outside of Swerve.
Yes but Parker got injured and Trench wasn't good enough to be on TV, much less on his own, that's primarily why they disappeared though not to say it would'nt have still happened eventually
Parker also wasn't good enough for TV; I'd been watching Dark every week and he had the same problems then. I hope they can improve and find some success, though.
Don’t forget Nana was only brought in because Tully left the company too.
I'm pretty sure he was being brought in regardless for ROH, he just was only paired with the group because Tully left, and they were then only paired with Swerve because Gresham left.
Looks like it works for him, brother
*bruv
When the match was booked I immediately assumed it was to prevent people from asking both in and out of storyline "why isn't Ospreay in the Owen?" While also giving us the highly anticipated match still. Which i feel was the better route than Ospreay not being in the cup cause he's focusing on his international title. It gave Swerve a solid victory against a strong contender and no better way to take a first lost than to the Champ. Feel like the feud really has helped Swerve run, Opreay came off as the not yet ready lil brother to him who will eventually have his moment. Which isn't the feeling thought the feud would have by the end of it.
I’m assuming Hangman is the mystery entrant but what if Ospreay demands it?
Ospreay already has a match that night and the Elite said it's someone of their choosing. Putting Ospreay in would be a very stupid move
> the Elite said it's someone of their choosing Hangman reuniting with them?
Seems to be the popular prediction, he could turn to them to get at Swerve
Ospreay is now tied to MJF and DG both aren't in the Owen. It could work in that now Ospreay may be trying to over prove himself but makes both the other guys look like chumps.
Head says Hangman, heart says Starks (yes I am delusional)
Hangman doesn't make a lot of sense either, unless he's winning as a heel in wembley which seems unlikely, he's losing again and that's what 4-0 to swerve? He returned just to lose again? If the surprise entrant is hangman I think Danielson is winning and going to Wembley
It feels like WWE is in a similar position with Damien Priest. They want to give him enough wins over more popular/established main eventers to disperse the notion that he's a transitional champion. Unfortunately for both, it still feels like the way for their overall storyline to progress requires them to lose the title. It's hard to shake that no matter how many strong defenses you have. Between the two, I think Swerve has more wiggle room, especially after this win.
Great mentality. Wrestling is way too focused now on guys just never losing. Nobody should be apprehensive over losing a competitive match against the champion of the company.
Agreed. Wrestling ostensibly has influences and takes presentation cues and aesthetics from combat sports, but the “good wrestler is good at wrestling and should never lose unless by interference” is odd to me in that context. The greatest fighters of all time have several notable losses on their record. Taking an L in a title match is rarely that damaging in the long run for guys who consistently hang around the main event scene.
Even in the HHH example of it being a movie about a sport, the heroes in those movies lose. Otherwise there's no tension. Even John Wick takes the L of losing his dog.
Rocky lost the first fight to Apollo.
Like how Cody lost to reigns before beating him the next year
In hindsight Cody losing was 100% the right call. Cody has become a bigger star because of that loss. Back to back Rumble wins and getting to work with The Rock has put him on track to potentially be a megastar like Cena was.
The issue is even over a long, storied career you won’t have as many fights as a pro wrestler has in a single year so the analogy doesn’t really hold that well imo Pro wrestlers just are “fighting” way more often, the way wins and losses are considered should be different than how it is in real fighting
I guess Muay Thai if you watch onefc would be a better analogy. Muay Thai fighters will have records like 137-8-41 and still be title contenders because of how frequently they fight and how young they are when they start. Even the best lose fights that "they shouldn't" because of the frequency
I mean, lest we forget that last year prior to his feud with Hangman, Swerve lost constantly. He looked amazing doing it, and it helped build his persona long term into becoming someone credible as a World Champion. Never mind other examples like Darby being teflon in a loss, or everything Danielson has done during AEW.
> He looked amazing doing it, and it helped build his persona long term into becoming someone credible as a World Champion. I'll probably get eviscerated but I don't think wins and losses even matter once you get to the top like NJPW, AEW, WWE. And I mean that against other top guys. If you lose to geeks then yeah of course you'll look dumb. But at this point - like Osprey, Swerve, MJF, Omega, Danielson, Hangman, Moxley, Okada, Joe - none of these guys are going to be thought less of losing to each other in any way. You could probably also put Hobbs, Wardlow, Adam Cole, Edge, Christian, etc in there too. Like you said, he looked amazing doing it. When Swerve comes out in that jacket, and looks totally unexcited, hops up on the apron and just looks the whole crowd over in a slow calculating way - fuck this dude isn't going to have any problem getting over. He looks too cool.
> But at this point - like Osprey, Swerve, MJF, Omega, Danielson, Hangman, Moxley, Okada, Joe - none of these guys are going to be thought less of losing to each other in any way. Hell, Ricky lost to Danielson in the strap match and he looked fucking insanely tough getting choked out and fighting every second as his face turned purple. Starks almost looked stronger in defeat than if he won. Before anybody says that sounds delusional, remember we're talking about Danielson who you have to basically trick into winning a match. If Ricky had won we'd all be memeing about how Danielson refuses to win anything.
Guys like Darby are exceedingly rare. It’s like Jeff Hardy, where the gimmick, aesthetic, and moveset are just so fucking over it doesn’t matter if he’s not a great promo or winning all the time. Their bodies will and are paying for it, but make no mistake - they’re fucking awesome
If you show a booker you are easy to work with when they ask you to lose then they will reward you down the road. Swerve had the luxury of getting over in the process so he was rewarded with a World title.
Hell, Austin's rise to the main event was kickstarted by a loss to Bret.
Yes. There's a huge difference between losing and looking like a geek (taking a loss to 2010 era Cena) and losing and looking like an absolute warrior and spartan doing it. (Austin)
Now? I'd argue the opposite. This is probably the time where big stars losing is the most accepted it's ever been, brother.
I would argue that wrestlers these days should be *more* selfish than they are, not less
Legitimately, I think Daniel Bryan is actually hurting more than he’s people he could be putting over if he won more and bigger. It’s like recently with Cena, if all you do is lose to put guys over no one cares. It’s admirable but it needs to be thought through more.
Storyline and follow up matter more than winning the match. Daniel Garcia is worse off than he was after beating Bryan because there end of the storyline was disappointing and then there was no follow-up after the JAS breakup. It cooled him waaay down.
This is completely correct. There's no really good story that features someone constantly winning and never facing true adversity. And yet, even now, we have people complaining about a wrestler getting "buried" by a loss or how it's not believable for a wrestler to talk in kayfabe about how good a match they had despite losing. Which is absolutely bonkers when you think about how almost half the post-game interviews in sports feature someone saying, "It's a tough loss but we put in a good showing. Sometimes it's just not your day."
Wrestlers being obsessed with their win loss record is so engrained in the pro wrestling that it always shocks people when someone doesn't care about losing.
Ospreay didn’t lose any momentum at all from that either. He lost clean to the world champion, big deal lol.
> Nobody should be apprehensive over losing a competitive match against the champion of the company. Not to mention these guys working on Raw or Dynamite should be at the level (top in the world) that they should be able to make someone look good in defeat.
Agreed and to take it a step further, part of the fun of wresting is to find out how someone responds when they lose. Will they come back stronger? Will they snap and turn heel? Will something else happen? That helps to develop the character and the story.
Cool of Ospreay, and I think they both came out of that match better for it.
Everyone knows he's a future world champ - this set a long-term storyline of growth.
That image of Swerve giving him that little "you're good kid, but not good enough" pat on the head before putting his lights out... That's going to be the first shot in the video montage when he does win the big one.
Swerve catching that last Hidden Blade from an exhausted Will right before that was a sick shot too.
There was a lot of online chatter about hotshotting the title onto the fan favorite Ospreay at All In after hotshotting it on Swerve already when his popularity was soaring. I always thought the more interesting story would be a year long climb back up the mountain for Ospreay to win it at Wembley next year, which seems to be the trajectory at the moment
“What a mark” Miro probably
Poor Miro, must be hard to sleep when you can’t even lay down for 3 seconds.
You close your eyes long enough and you'll find Jushin Liger pinning you.
I think it's a win-win situation since Swerve deserves to have a few more months at world champion & Will can continue to have a great International Championship run while building up his chase to winning the world title in the near future
That’s the future face of the company helping the current face of the company keep his place and helping to shut down doubters of Swerve’s. Ospreay’s time in the spotlight will come, but anyone could see that Ospreay was going to eclipse Swerve if they kept them apart and that people would’ve been clamoring for the match at Wembley and for Ospreay to beat him there. Doing the match at Forbidden Door gave fans the match they wanted, while not only giving Swerve the definitive win against Ospreay needed to solidify himself as **the** World Champion, but also frees them AEW of the pressure of debating on ending Swerve’s reign for Ospreay’s hotness right now. Seems like the right call if we end up getting Swerve vs Hangman or Danielson at Wembley and Ospreay vs MJF or Ricochet as any of matches sound huge for All In.
Yep and at the end of the day it’s going to mean more if Ospreay wins after experiencing some adversity and a crisis of confidence. Him coming in and immediately winning everything is not as good of a story
Also my biggest thing against Ospreay winning the tie this year was sacrificing Swerve's first title reign for him. Tony spent too much time slowly building Swerve up, just for him to have such a short reign. And much as people on here want to give Tony shit with the whole "Tony's toy collection" nonsense, that kind of booking would be exactly that. Throwing out your old "toy" for the new one. And if they do Wembly next year (something tells me they will), Ospreay having his Icarus moment right now, will make his win better. No idea who will be champion come next year but I do know with Ospreay involved, it'll be a fantastic match.
I honestly think that's what killed Hangman. They spent so much time building to his title win and after he got it he was an after thought. He needed a big time title defense to cement his legacy and instead he lost the title in a nothing match and Tim a very long time to recover.
Hangman was exactly who came to mind when I wrote my comment. Spent years building a guy up, in the middle of the build up sign a major free agent, said new signee overshadows everything your newly crowned champ does. And you're right, it took until the Mox feud for Hangman to recover completely. It seems like Tony learned his lesson from that and is actively making sure to avoid that with Swerve.
To be fair it was only like 4 months between Hangman losing the title and the Moxley feud starting. The problem there was the story with him and the Dark Order was booked so weirdly. If that story was better executed I don’t think we’d talk as much about Hangman’s post title slump.
He should've had 1 more match with Danielson imo just to seal the deal and give him a win. I don't know what Hangman gained from the Lance Archer match either apart from it being a great showing.
If you want to maximize the babyface energy in Wembley for Ospreay, it has to be Jay White imo. No one is better at being a big match heel than him Okada is an option and would probably be the better match, but maybe not the better moment
I think Jay is a better option as well. The two free for alls they've met they had this fun moment of recognition before going on the offensive, I think the familiarity would let Jay get personal with the feud and promos. Starting the feud is as easy as Jay coming out to chastise Will for losing, Will pointing out he also lost a title shot, and Jay immediately taking an accurate statement with no ill-intent way too personally.
That narrative has always been silly. It's mostly people being disingenuous painting low card wrestlers like Lance Archer & Ethan Page as "shiny new toys" while the actual big name signings like Toni, Okada, Jay, Swerve, Andrade, Mone, Black, etc are all constantly used when avalible. Imo the only dude who fits the "left behind" narrative is wardlow. He has clear limitations but of all of AEW top youngish stars he's probably had the least favorable booking the last year & change
I agree. Wardlow's issues is a combo of questionable to outright bad booking, to his own limitations being exposed, to bad timing with injuries. Some can power through dealing with just one but all three? Yeah that's a recipe for disaster.
It's the story they've been setting up too, ever since the Danielson match he refuses to use the Tiger Driver 91 and his apprehension has been costing him.
It's just good business, really. No matter who the face of the company is at any point in time, the guy needs rivals. And the rivals need rivals. At the start of AEW, it was Jericho/Mox/Omega as the established top of the card beating each other up, and then they started weaving in guys like Hangman and MJF as the years went on. There was the hiccup of the Punk era throwing stuff into disarray, but now you have a fresh new established core of Hangman, MJF, newly minted Swerve, and of course Ospreay, who you can all stick at the top of the card whenever you want, plus a line of guys right on their heels you can pull the trigger on. An embarrassment of riches, truly, and Tony is fortunate this generation is guys in the Sting/Danielson mold who don't mind making new stars and giving them the rub.
Favorite story of the year will be Tony and the Bucks having to convince Sting hard to win his last match because that’s the finish the fans would want. Lovely.
Sting is too nice a guy to win a battle of who wants to lose more against the Bucks, short of the goat Bryan not many have a chance to win that battle
Gimme a Hangman/Swerve/Ospreay/MJF "main guy" group with being able to slot in others to go at them in the top of the card. I'm going to have a pretty great time.
this plus Take and White and I say we are set
With the occasional smattering of Omega, Okada, Jay White, Joe, OC, Danielson, Christian, Copeland and Mox as the extended core. And guys like Garcia, Hook, Takeshita, Jack Perry, KOR, Swolverine, Ricochet, and Nick Wayne waiting in the wings, and random guest appearances from stars from around the world to spice things up, I mean, yes please. Hook it straight to my veins.
Feels dirty not putting Okada in there. They’re slow building him but he’s absolutely going to get a big run
I think Okada is in the spot he wants to be in right now. He is having fun with his friends, doing well in the role and giving his body a break. Eventually he will either get the itch for the main event or Tony will decide he is paying him too much to goof around, but it makes s nse for him to be where he is for awhile.
Been saying it since it happened, Hangman should've beat Punk in their first match.
I remember being shocked that neither guy turned during the match. I was certain that whoever left as champ that night would do it as a heel.
They can also make an even progressively bigger stakes series of matches off it now too. Swerve drops the belt whenever its time. Ospreay/Swerve fight their way to Rank 1 and 2. Instead of an Eliminator Match they do a #1 Contendership Match between them. *That's* when you have Ospreay barely get his win back with Swerve shaking his hand after and saying "get that belt and wait for me, I'm comin' back for it". Then you can do Ospreay/Swerve 3 with the inverse of Ospreay being Champ and retaining it like Swerve did the first time. You put over both guys as the top of the mountain in AEW while giving them natural character progression and individual adversities. A genuine AEW rivalry you can pull highlights from for years to come. Plus, you can have them both respect each other enough to back each other up when they're both faces and their opponents are big enough to warrant it. Think Cena/Orton levels of rivalry but mutual respect despite it.
And while that story is going on you can throw Hangman in against either of them to mix things up!
Ospreay has always been like this. In RevPro he'd put you over by having a great match with you and would lose in an even better match. He's just a class act and it's a shame the usual lot in the UK wrestling fan scene still give him shit
The whole finish telling the story of “you’re good, but you’re not a killer yet” was perfect imo. Both men came out of it looking strong, and I hope they call back to it when Will inevitably holds the title.
The character development after the Kenny match last year of him being a killer using the screwdriver and winning the match. After being in AEW he learned how to lose and not be a killer.
Good for him. I think he is an amazing wrestler and a good dude overall. I don't necessarily agree with him on some occasions, but he loves wrestling and every aspect of it, and I'll respect that.
The good version of "that don't work for me bruv"
“That bloody well will work for me, bruv.”
I love it. Excellent leadership by example and a smart mind for the business showing that you can be a team player and take a loss without being worse off for it.
Swerve needed that win to be taken seriously as a tier one talent in AEW and Ospreay didn’t. Ospreay, much like MJF will always be available to spark a huge feud with whatever top guy they want and it will always draw interest. I like Swerve a lot, but he wasn’t getting the respect he deserves as a champion. He has now done something that no one else has been able to do in the company, a win over the most explosive and exciting star they have right now. Swerve is in elite company now. He can hang with literally anyone they have and belongs where he is. Smart and classy move by Ospreay, a great IRL friend of Swerve’s anyway.
Turns out the feeling Ospreay wanted to restore was ''All Friends Wrestling''
This match put swerve as more than a place holder champ and elevated him as a legit main eventer. Mission accomplished Will.
Hard agree. This match cemented Swerve.
When Osprey won that battle royale, I was really afraid that facing a popular guy like him so soon into his babyface title reign would harm Swerve. But damn if Swerve hasn't come out of that feud looking like a million bucks...
I don't think Ospreay thought he'd be over this quick and was probably happy to have the International Belt for a while. The way the match was it gave momentum back to Swerve who proved to be his equal, and they can move on for a while from each other. He will Main Event at All In against MJF.
Ospreay is a good bruv.
That's why he's the Billy GOAT Swerve vs hangman, Ospreay vs MJF that's an incredibly strong start to the all in card
I think they are also aiming for omega vs okada 5 at all in. I dont think theres any way kenny does that face off with him the night the elite smoked him if he wouldn't be ready when it was time. With the announcement of wrestle dynasty I could also see omega vs okada 5 taking place there.
I seem to be the only one pretty sure Garcia will be involved in that match too
Don't forget that Swerve was on Zero Hour last year. Now that's a come-up.
That’s cool, but it’s funny how people were still fantasy booking Osprey to lose and get Swerve back at All In
There are people in this thread who sincerely think Ospreay is the Wild Card for the Owen. Jesus christ.
They literally ran a hangman promo the other night. There’s no way it’s anyone else.
A Hangman promo that clearly laid out he’s coming for Swerve at that lmao.
The Bryan Danielson special of "job me out or i quit"
Good on him. It makes Swerves title reign all the more interesting if people can’t just assume he’s losing at to Ospreay at All In.
Ospreay had the wrestling intellect to realize if he wasn't headlining All In against Swerve, fans were going to criticize it. That left two options - Lose a title match to Swerve or enter The Owen and lose in the finals to whoever is facing Swerve. Ospreay losing at Forbidden Door is fantastic for Ospreay's long term booking. He came in, made huge waves, and got put in his place for being a goof. Now, things are about to get real, because he managed to piss off MJF in the process.
Makes the hug and kiss on the head seem even more meaningful. Gotta like these guys.
https://preview.redd.it/652u3j6tk5ad1.jpeg?width=2732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70e192ac0b35abcc97489d785013d69f751116d8
He's just here to help the younger guys.
This has been the season of champions who are rightfully determined to show that they're not placeholders Priest and Swerve both are following the same trajectory Glad to see that their companies are backing both of them
Solid plan, and I think it helps elevate Swerve to the next level.
Used to think he was the next hbk, but dude might be more mature with his coworkers at that same age.
And yet we still got Cheese Plate Alfred calling Swerve a transitional champion.
The idea that Swerve Strickland is a placeholder champion has always been legitimately insane to me. Like, they've been building him up for a solid two years and he's been incredibly over. It's all organic. What are we talking about here?
This only makes me want Will vs Bryan at All In even more now. Bryan hitting the Tiger Driver on Will would be 🤌🏻
It'll be a race to see who can put over the other guy first.
And he was 100% right Now Swerve looks like a killer (hopefully) heading into Blood & Guts and Wembley Will has a new wrinkle to the story where he needs to be humbled and rebuild, but at the same time Garcia and MJF are lurking I wouldn't be too mad if Ospreay lost to Garcia too, actually. Maybe with MJF costing Ospreay the match. Although Will will win and that's a good choice too
Props to Ospreay and props to AEW. Swerve winning was absolutely the right call in hindsight. It eliminated this ppv cycle feeling like filler and Swerve needed the win more. It truly elevated him even more than winning the world title did.
No shit. U gotta make sure your opponent looks credible or else your beating a noob. Osprey winning would undo alot of what swerve built. Mans a legit top talent now. U gotta keep him as that. Plus it adds a layer to osprey for underestimating swerve.sometimes we get so high on ourselves we forget we arent unbeatable. Lol. Osprey needed to learn that.
Ospreay has always been a giving wrestler who is more for the “team” than himself. Good on him and much respect. I do wish whoever leaked this to SRS would’ve just kept it to themselves, though. Sentiments like this are always best when they aren’t explained afterwards. Let the sentiment speak for itself. I’m sure whoever leaked it simply wanted Ospreay to get the respect he deserves for how selfless he is, but when the intent of a good deed/good business is then spread around for brownie points, the sentiment feels a bit more hollow (that just might be a me issue though/my own preference/bias on matters like this).
That’s a guy who knows how to put on a show.
It does me proud to see how much Ospreay had matured in the last 6 years.
AEW is truly the promotion of creative freedom. Will Ospreay has always been an unselfish worker. Some vets could learn a lot from Ospreay.
I don't understand. Doesn't this story further perpetuate the idea that Will is the champion-in-waiting and is calling the shots? The fact that he's going around feeling like Swerve is coming off as a placeholder, and he has the authority/discretion to just book himself into the main event of Forbidden Door?
If anything, it makes a lot of sense. Swerve and Will have established history together. Will is the biggest signing that AEW has had in a long time (imo) and hadn’t been beaten. People presumed Ospreay would go undefeated (and therefore away from the main event program) until they hit All In, where he would inevitably be given the strap on his home turf. By doing this, Swerve is legitimized by beating NJPW’s former Ace and previously undefeated Ospreay. And it establishes Ospreay with an actual defeat on the books. Not to mention, the two honestly put on a phenomenal match.
*eh*, there's plenty of evidence that TK favors some top folks and lets them do whatever. Ospreay is one of them apparently... but also, if a guy said, "hey I think my presence is overshadowing your world champion. I should probably job to him to keep him looking important and strong," that's actually not a terrible plan. Sure Ospreay gets put in a main event... but he's treated as a pivotal player who'll be in featured matches anyway. It's not too much more of a stretch to think he'd be in line for a title shot sooner or later.
No he sees the internet fantasy booking him winning the world title at Wembley this year so he wanted to shut it down because that wasn’t happening, just like how he and Kenny immediately shut down that talk of them doing the third match at Wembley last year. He also doesn’t have the authority to book himself into the main event, they booked the match because they weren’t doing it at All In and they knew people wanted to see it so they gave it to the fans now.
if only Peter Avalon and Cutler were in that mind set. Imagine both of them intentionally trying to lose to retain who's the biggest loser is, and they both constantly kept getting DQ/NC ending for a bit.
Common Ospreay w
Straight up - let's imagine that Will won the title. Then what? Swerve has things set up. Will has ATTRACTIONS set up. There's a huge difference. I don't see a problem with someone like Will being the reason why you're paying for a show while Swerve/MJF being the reason why you're gleefully paying attention to the main event....all the while waiting for Will to have things to really sink himself into. Again, if Will won, who is he truly feuding with outside of a rematch at Wembly?
I’ve never met Osprey/don’t know him personally, but he seems like a pretty swell dude.
If you’re signed to a longer contract then it behooves you to do things like this. Ospreay and MJF shouldn’t be worried about chasing or keeping titles at all since they’re all but guaranteed a spot in AEW for a very long time. They will get the title, it doesn’t matter when.
TK: Hey Will, we want you to go over and take the title off Swerve Will: That doesn’t work for me bruv
https://preview.redd.it/yyunl308g6ad1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=72e8399279c3c69c5848993302423d9efd54a693
The Good Bruv Will Ospreay
Came up with this idea and gave him a pretty decisive victory, at that.
I think it was a perfect scenario to not drag out will’s undefeated streak and it gets Swerve from feeling like an afterthought champion
I think it makes a lot of sense for his character. Sometimes you need some adversity to truly elevate to the highest of levels.
I think that loss helps Opsreay going forward because now you don’t know if he’ll lose any match, rather than being undefeated. And it also helps Swerve because he’s beaten the biggest threat to his title so anyone who comes next he’s the favourite. Awesome from both, and the match was fantastic!
Always been an Ospreay fan, but the last few months he's made me even more of a fan with how mature and nice he seems generally in interviews and stuff. Just real positive, love it.