SouthernWorldwide.com – Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) faced a pivotal decision on “Dynamite.” The question loomed: would he risk his hair in a match for Darby Allin’s AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing?
This seemed to be MJF’s only immediate path to a title shot. Allin had previously stated that MJF would never receive another title opportunity if he didn’t accept the stipulation. As MJF walked to the ring on Wednesday night, the arena echoed with chants of “bald.”
“I’m happy for you. I hope you had fun holding my AEW World Championship. I really do,” MJF stated, contemplating signing the contract. “Deep down, there’s a part of me, and I’m talking about the size of a man’s penis from North Carolina small, small, small part that feels bad for you because you’re never gonna hold this again. I mean, you’ve got about as good of a shot at holding this world title as ‘Hangman’ Adam Page does again.”
“Guys like you, Darby, you’re a dime a dozen – here today, gone tomorrow. Stuntmen who burn the candle at both ends. In this life, people like all of you, you like to pretend that life is about making friends and family and your children. The only thing that matters in this life is your legacy. And your legacy will be that of a kid who had his 15 minutes of fame. They’ll pretend like you made some sort of impact but the fact of the matter is you haven’t, bud.”
MJF emphasized that Allin was merely “lucky” and that fans would recognize him as “too reckless and stupid” to maintain his position. He declared his intention to become a three-time world champion by the age of 30.
Allin responded that he didn’t care about legacy and vowed to make MJF a “bald-headed b—h.”
MJF appeared to sign the contract and then delivered some underhanded blows to Allin, including using the Dynamite Diamond Ring.
In his latest title defense on “Dynamite,” Allin faced Konosuke Takeshita. Takeshita put up a fierce challenge, even executing a bridging German suplex from the top rope. Despite the intense pressure, Allin demonstrated remarkable resilience.
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Takeshita managed to draw blood from Allin’s mouth. However, Allin endured the brutality. Takeshita eventually broke free from the Scorpion Death Lock and followed up with two Coffin Drops.
Allin’s next challenger has already been identified.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey called out the winner of the AEW World Championship match earlier in the evening, positioning himself as Allin’s next opponent.
The participants for the 2026 Owen Hart Foundation Men’s and Women’s Tournaments were revealed during the broadcast.
In the men’s tournament, the left side of the bracket features Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay and Mark Davis vs. Jack Perry. The right side will see Swerve Strickland face Bandido, and Claudio Castagnoli compete against Brody King. The matches between Joe and Ospreay, and Strickland and Bandido, are scheduled for Double or Nothing.
For the women’s tournament, the left side includes Persephone vs. Hazuki and Willow Nightingale vs. Alex Windsor. The right side features Mina Shirakawa vs. Athena and Skye Blue vs. Saree. Nightingale and Windsor are set to face each other at Double or Nothing.
The finals for both the men’s and women’s tournaments will take place at Forbidden Door on June 28. The winners of each tournament will earn a shot at the AEW World Championship and the AEW Women’s World Championship, respectively, at All In on August 30.
“Dynamite” also featured a segment where Will Ospreay trained with the Death Riders, with the faction aiming to transform him from a popular wrestling machine into a relentless attacker. Ospreay was cleared to compete in his match against Ace Austin, marking his return to AEW programming since doctors halted his match against Mark Davis on April 22.
Ospreay was observed bridging on a mat while Jon Moxley offered him advice on a headlock, working alongside Yuta Wheeler. Moxley shared some profound insights with Ospreay during their training session on what appeared to be a parking garage rooftop, reminiscing about a simpler time in professional wrestling before the burdens of the world weighed heavily on him.
“Nothing is different. Nothing has changed. All of those things are still gonna be there but you can still fly,” Moxley stated. “You’re just more dangerous. You’re a bird of prey. So tonight when you go out there, don’t go out there to protect anything – not your neck, not your image, not your reputation, not everything you built in your career. Don’t go out there to protect something. Go out there to give something.”
The extent to which Moxley’s words will resonate with Ospreay remains to be seen in the coming weeks. Ospreay secured a victory over Ace Austin via submission on Wednesday and is slated to enter the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament to face Samoa Joe.
Joe was preparing to unleash Anthony Bowens and Katsuyori Shibata on Ospreay, but the Death Riders intervened, swarming The Opps before further conflict could erupt.
AEW star Brian Cage made his return to “Dynamite” after a 14-month absence due to injury, answering Kevin Knight’s open challenge for the TNT Championship.
Sideline reporter Renee Paquette described Cage as appearing “somehow, more jacked, more locked in” than ever before. His last appearance on AEW TV was in March 2025, in a six-man tag team match where he teamed with Konosuke Takeshita and Lance Archer to defeat Mark Briscoe, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Rocky Romero.
Cage held the Ring of Honor TV Championship for several months in 2024 and had previously earned an opportunity to challenge Ospreay for the AEW International Championship.
Ultimately, Knight secured the win over Cage.
