The Owen Hart Final is a Booking Mess
Tony Khan is running out of ideas, and he is dragging AEW's two biggest assets down with him. Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland are scheduled to clash in the men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament final on June 28, 2026. The winner gets a guaranteed title match at Wembley Stadium, but the build-up is a complete disaster.
Instead of a clean, high-stakes athletic contest, we are getting a convoluted soap opera. Swerve is crying betrayal because Ospreay aligned with Jon Moxley's Death Riders. This is the same faction that contains PAC, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Marina Shafir, and Daniel Garcia.
Swerve claims he and Ospreay fought to stop the Death Riders in 2025, making Ospreay's new alliance a slap in the face. This storyline makes absolutely zero sense for Ospreay's character. He is the most popular babyface in the promotion, yet he is hanging out with blood-drinking heels.
To make matters worse, AEW rushed this match. Burning your biggest potential Wembley headliner on a June pay-per-view is terrible business. Ospreay defeated El Phantasmo and Swerve beat Daniel Garcia on the June 24 episode of Dynamite just to keep them warm.
They had a tense face-to-face confrontation on June 17, but the spark was missing. The crowd does not want to boo either man right now. Khan is forcing a square peg into a round hole, risking a crowd revolt in San Jose.
It is a classic case of booking yourself into a corner. We should be hyped for a match of this caliber. Instead, we are left analyzing faction logistics and illogical alliances.
The Twelve-Man Cage Match Clusterfuck
If you thought the Owen Hart tournament final was cluttered, look at the main event. We are getting a 6-on-6 steel cage match that features twelve wrestlers packed into a cage like sardines. Team MJF features the world champion himself alongside Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, Andrade El Idolo, Kevin Knight, and Jake Doyle, while Team Briscoe counter with Mark Briscoe, Darby Allin, Konosuke Takeshita, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, and Kyle O'Reilly.
The stakes are simple: if Briscoe's team wins, he gets a world title shot against MJF. But the logistics of this match are a nightmare. Twelve men in a cage means we are guaranteed to see missed spots, bad camera angles, and wrestlers standing around waiting for their turn to take a bump.
It is backyard wrestling with a high budget. The only saving grace is the drama surrounding Konosuke Takeshita. He was kicked out of the Don Callis Family at Double or Nothing on May 24, 2026.
He had just defeated Okada to win the International Championship, only for Fletcher to stab him in the back. Now Takeshita is teaming with his former rivals to get revenge. This is a solid piece of storytelling, but it belongs in a singles feud.
Takeshita should be defending his International Championship in a high-profile singles match, not getting lost in a multi-man clusterfuck. Instead, he just defended against Ricochet on the June 24 Dynamite, sealing the win with a brutal wheelbarrow German suplex. It feels like AEW does not know how to book their champions as solo acts, which is extremely frustrating to watch.
Then we have the inclusion of Jake Doyle and Kevin Knight. Doyle, formerly known as Jake Something, returned from a torn bicep on May 27 to join the Callis Family. While he is a powerhouse, putting him and Knight in a major pay-per-view main event is questionable.
It shows a lack of depth that AEW is trying to hide with gimmickry. MJF is currently in his third reign as champion after beating Darby Allin in a Title vs. Hair match at Double or Nothing, winning after a top-rope brainbuster onto the ring apron. He should be the focal point of the show, but instead, he is hiding in a cage match.
The Dream Match Reality Check
Next up is the long-awaited singles match between Kenny Omega and Zack Sabre Jr. The two have not faced each other in a singles match in eight years. Their last encounter was in August 2018 at the G1 Climax 28, where Omega won.
Now, Sabre Jr. has challenged Omega, asking the infamous question, 'What's the frequency, Kenneth?' This is the first time they will wrestle each other on American soil. It is a classic clash of styles.
Omega brings his high-impact, explosive offense, ready to drop a V-Trigger knee strike or hit a One-Winged Angel. Sabre Jr. is the master of technical submission wrestling, looking to transition a European clutch into a Jim Breaks armbar. Omega even admitted in a pre-match interview that Sabre Jr. is the superior technical wrestler.
But we need to be realistic about this match. Omega is returning from serious health issues and might not be able to keep up with Sabre Jr.'s relentless pace. If Omega is slowed down, Sabre Jr. will twist him into a pretzel.
This could end up being a slow, painful match rather than a classic. We want to see the best version of Omega, but his body might not cooperate. Sabre Jr. is coming off a win against Nigel McGuinness at last year's event and is at the peak of his career.
The Rest of the Forbidden Door Mess
The rest of the card is a mixed bag of random matches and questionable bookings. Shota Umino is defending his IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against PAC. Umino won the title at Dominion on June 14, 2026, and was immediately attacked by Gabe Kidd before PAC issued the challenge.
This match has potential, but Umino is in for a rough night. PAC is one of the most aggressive wrestlers in the world. He will test Umino's resilience, and Umino needs a strong performance to establish his championship reign.
Then we have Jon Moxley defending the AEW Continental Championship against Bandido. This match was set up after Bandido and Brody King defeated Moxley and Daniel Garcia in a tag team match. Moxley accepted the challenge under Continental rules, meaning no outside interference is allowed.
This is a good stipulation that should keep the Death Riders out of the finish. We also have the tag team champions, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage, defending against David Finlay and Clark Connors. The champions won the titles by defeating FTR at Double or Nothing.
They are a legendary team, but they are facing a hungry young duo in Finlay and Connors. The biggest issue with this card is the absence of New Japan's top champion, Yota Tsuji. Tsuji chose not to participate to protect the prestige of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
This is a smart move for New Japan, but it hurts the pay-per-view. It makes the event feel less like a true co-promoted show and more like an AEW showcase with guest stars. In the women's division, Thekla defends the AEW Women's World Championship against Starlight Kid.
Thekla won the title from Kris Statlander in February and has defended it against Jamie Hayter and others. Starlight Kid is a tough opponent, but Thekla should retain. The women's Owen Hart final between Mercedes Moné and Maya World is also on the card, with Moné expected to win.
For more match analysis, check out the predictions at Wrestling Inc. to see who the staff thinks will walk away victorious. The show has a lot of potential, but the execution needs to be flawless. Tony Khan is taking a lot of risks with this booking.
