Will Ospreay has confirmed that AEW considered several possible directions for the World Championship picture heading into All In 2026 before ultimately settling on his highly anticipated showdown with Kenny Omega.
Ahead of his AEW World Championship opportunity against Omega at All In, Ospreay spoke with Scott Fishman of TV Insider about the road to the pay-per-view main event.
Fishman asked whether there had been discussions about going in another direction, including potential matches involving MJF or Jon Moxley.
Fishman: “Kenny Omega will be your opponent at All In. You have this built-in history, but there was a point where it could have gone a different way. We could have seen you versus MJF or even Jon Moxley. Maybe even a triple threat of some sort. Was there even discussion about it could go in another direction? What are your thoughts on how things unfolded?”
Ospreay confirmed that alternative possibilities were discussed but believes putting him against Omega was ultimately the most natural choice.
Ospreay: “There were definitely discussions that it could go into different directions. But I feel like the natural and the right choice was to go with myself and Kenny because we’ve been preaching to the world that this is where the best wrestle. Myself and Kenny are two of the most influential wrestlers in the last decade. I’ve seen it in terms of our matches, and in terms of, like, the people that have followed in our footsteps. I can see guys like Callum Newman and Nick Wayne. People who took inspiration from Kenny.”
Ospreay believes the match represents an opportunity for two of the most influential performers of their generation to determine who is truly the better wrestler on one of AEW’s biggest stages.
He also reflected on the different stories AEW has presented in previous All In main events, from the relationship between MJF and Adam Cole to Bryan Danielson’s championship clash with Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page’s battle with Jon Moxley.
Ospreay: “To be able to put on an All In main event like that. You look at all the All In main events. You look at the MJF and Adam Cole match. That was kind of more humorous leading in than a sporting contest. It was more to engage the audience a certain way rather than a full sports contest. It served its purpose. Then it was the crowning of the greatest wrestlers who ever did it, Bryan Danielson against Swerve Strickland, and the story that they told there. Then it was the guts and the drive from Hangman Page to try and strip away Moxley’s briefcase to reveal the AEW World Championship. This match, to me, two of the greatest wrestlers of this generation going head-to-head and finally finding out which one is the best.”
Ospreay and Omega already share considerable history, with their previous encounters earning widespread acclaim and helping establish their rivalry as one of the most celebrated of the modern era.
For Ospreay, however, their All In meeting carries a different significance. Rather than simply adding another chapter to their rivalry, he views the AEW World Championship match as the opportunity to settle the question of who stands above the other as the best wrestler of their generation.
