Sunday is a huge day for AEW. Just not for the reason you think.
On Sunday inside of Wembley Stadium in London, AEW presents it’s biggest show of the year — All In. Nearly 50,000 people will jam into the famous UK stadium to watch the best that AEW has to offer. The 2026 edition of All In is approaching a $6 million gate, and on this week’s call with the media, Tony Khan said the show will be one of the best in company history.
That’s all well and good, but something even bigger is at stake. The face of AEW is on the line and Will Ospreay is about to snatch that title.
In the All In main event, Kenny Omega will defend his AEW Men’s World Championship against Ospreay in the third match of their series. Each guy currently has one win over the other.
All In is going to be big
We’ve heard the narrative for weeks on AEW television and it’s a good one. Ospreay, the hometown boy, returns home, and then wins the biggest championship on the planet in front of friends and family. Like I said … huge. That face of AEW title, though? It’s bigger.
AEW came into existence in 2019. The reason for it’s existence beamed out of a batch of wrestling stars that hit the glass ceiling on the independent circuits over the years, but didn’t fit the mold of a WWE Superstar. Talent finds it’s way to the top, so The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Cody Rhodes found their home next to Tony Khan. That group of talent were the foundation of AEW.
Chris Jericho came in on top of it. Jon Moxley wasn’t too far behind. By the time the world shutdown because of COVID in 2020, AEW had a core. Never did it have a true top star.
Jericho took a spin on the top and Moxley after. Omega got his run in. Adam Page grabbed his. Then MJF and Swerve Strickland after that. AEW has always taken on a turn-based structure at the top of the card and the reason that worked was because of the connection that the foundational talents had forged with the audience. The truth is, in the meta world, fans wanted to see all of the guys that they loved and watched in front of 100s in a bingo hall wrestle, win, and get treated like top stars on national television. A lead and signature star wasn’t in the DNA of AEW. Until now.
Graduation day
This weekend and All In, AEW will graduate out of that turn-based structure. All that foundational talent — Omega, Page, The Bucks, Moxley — they’ve had their turns. Hell, Darby Allin too. The audience has gotten to have their moment with each of the guys that had a hand in making AEW what it is.
The level-up for AEW is a single star at the top of the company. The level-up is Will Ospreay.
Ospreay is going to win the AEW Men’s World Championship in front of an adoring hometown crowd of thousands on Sunday. There’s going to be confetti, fireworks, cheering, celebrating, and probably some tears. It pains me to say this, but it’ll be a moment and coming out of it, AEW will have their first real top star.
Will Ospreay wasn’t a foundation of AEW. He’s not a reason why it exists, but he’s the absolute perfect person to carry the banner into the future. He epitomizes what AEW is.
Ospreay sells tickets and sells PPV’s because his singles matches are can’t miss material. To that end, he’s a draw in the truest sense of the word. The Ospreay matches across the board are going to live in the annals of wrestling history forever and it’s certain that nobody today is appreciating them as much as they should be. To be a top talent in AEW, there has to be an element of in-ring prowess to your game. Ospreay has it in droves. He’s the shining example of what AEW’s “where the best wrestle” product pitch is.
Outside of the ring, Ospreay is fresh. The soccer jersey look and rugged, but passionate demeanor is a personality that’s attractive to not only wrestling fans, but people. Humans. Ospreay is a guy who might be uncomfortable on a talk show circuit or media run, but has an innate ability to capture attention. It’s cadence, it’s charisma, and it’s aura. As AEW moves into the future, having an attention grabbing talent is essential in order to find new eyes. Ospreay checks that box.
The importance of not being WWE
What else? Well, Ospreay isn’t WWE. Like it or not, that’s part of the AEW identity too. Ospreay embodies that. AEW was formed out of not being WWE. Who better to be at the helm of that company than a generational talent with zero connections to it.
What I’m advocating for here is a complete and total commitment to Will Ospreay. Cena-style. Austin-style. That type of synonymity. The era that Ospreay ushers in on Sunday when he pins Kenny Omega and wins the world title needs to be his and his alone. It’s best for the long-term health of the company.
This type of commitment comes with unfortunate realities. If Will Ospreay is the guy, it means that others can’t be. Swerve Strickland, Kenny Omega, Adam Page, MJF? All supremely important talents, but guys that will live in the 1A world while Ospreay is number one. That happens.
Randy Savage, Triple H, Mick Foley, Randy Orton, and CM Punk during his first WWE run. All top talents of their eras, but not the signature talents. Those titles belonged to Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and John Cena.
Ospreay must flip?
So, you get where I’m going with this. In those instances, WWE revolved around those guys. What’s next for Cena? Who’s lined up for Steve? Hogan must pose? The shows and overall company direction was dictated by those stars at the top. The company served them and they helped the company cash thick checks.
Why shouldn’t AEW have a star just like that? All top wrestling companies have. The timing is right, but more importantly the person ready to be launched to the stratosphere is right.
It’s Will Ospreay’s time. Crown him at All In and then go.
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