Will Ospreay First Challenger As AEW World Champion

AEW

AEW All In London 2026 was not only the company’s grandest show of 2026, but it was also a night that brought about a sea of change for the roster.

Seven titles changed hands throughout the show, with only the Continental Championship and AEW World Tag Titles remaining with their prior holders.

The headline change came during the main event, when Will Ospreay dethroned Kenny Omega to become AEW World Champion for the very first time; while also becoming the first Englishman to win a world championship on English soil.

With ‘The Aerial Assassin’ now leading the charge in AEW for the very first time, here are five stars who could potentially step up as his first challenger for the AEW World Title:

5. Andrade El Idolo

This year’s AEW All In Casino Gauntlet match saw number one entrant Andrade El Idolo go the distance and secure himself a guaranteed AEW World Title shot.

‘The Real Latino Man’ has been hovering around the main event scene since returning to AEW, and has been gathering some real babyface momentum with his popular ‘How You Know?’ catchphrase and special in-ring talents.

There’s not really any rush for Andrade to cash-in and take his AEW World Title opportunity, and doing so, so early in Ospreay’s title run would likely spell disaster for Andrade’s chances of becoming AEW World Champion for the first time.

AEW have navigated plenty babyface vs. babyface feuds before however, so if there is no other plan challenger in waiting we could potentially see Andrade step up and challenge Ospreay immediately.

4. Swerve Strickland

Along with both the AEW Men’s and Women’s World Titles changing hands, perhaps the biggest moment of All In London was the arrival of The New Day – now The New Level in All Elite Wrestling.

Austin Creed (Xavier Woods) and Kofi (Kofi Kingston) made their entrance as Swerve Strickland’s surprise partners in the Trios Roulette match for the AEW World Trios Championships, and the group made a statement with their first appearance by becoming the new champs.

However, as seen later in the night, Creed and Kofi also have their eyes on Cope & Cage’s AEW World Tag Team Titles, along with the Young Bucks, FTR and Motor City Machine Guns.

Considering Kofi and Creed may be busy pursuing an eleventh tag team title together, Swerve Strickland may turn his own attention to challenging Will Ospreay for the AEW World Championship, in his effort to reclaim the gold he lost two years ago at All In London 2024.

3. Kyle Fletcher

Another title change we saw at AEW All In London was Kyle Fletcher dropping the International Championship to fellow Don Callis Family member Kazuchika Okada during a three-way also involving Konosuke Takeshita.

‘The Rainmaker’ pulled a fast one on his stablemate, and noticeably purposely chose to pin Fletcher, rather than Takeshita despite having the option of either man.

Fletcher was understandably irate after the bell, but ultimately he raised Okada’s hand as the victor at the new champion, and Don Callis’ request.

One positive for ‘The Protostar’ however, could be that Okada winning the International Title frees him up to pursue Will Ospreay and the AEW World Championship. Fletcher was one of Ospreay’s former foes that he passed on his walk to the ring at All In London, and this Wednesday on Dynamite could see them come face-to-face again.

2. Kevin Knight

Another Don Callis Family member who suffered a big title loss at All In London was ‘The Jet’ Kevin Knight.

Knight lost his TNT Championship to Darby Allin in a brutal Falls Count Anywhere match, which saw Steven Borden and his father Sting even the odds against the Don Callis Family.

As mentioned, Kyle Fletcher also had a bad night at All In, and he and Knight have both not exactly been seeing eye-to-eye since ‘The Jet’ joined the family, so expect more friction if the former TNT Champion seeks to step up and challenge Ospreay right after All In.

While Knight wouldn’t dethrone Ospreay, he could serve as a perfect palette cleanser opponent before the more established AEW stars step up to the plate.

1. MJF

He may have fallen short in the Casino Gauntlet Match, but MJF may very well still find his way into the AEW World Title picture before too long.

It’s unlikely that MJF and Andrade’s issues are over, and if ‘The Real Latino Man’ attempts to cash-in his AEW World Title opportunity, you best believe ‘The Devil’ won’t be too far behind.

MJF being involved in Ospreay’s business may actually further motivate Andrade to take his title opportunity, as he looks to get another one over on his rival.

Even if it has no bearing on Andrade’s pursuit of the gold, MJF would make for an excellent choice to challenge Ospreay given their history and how close it came to them being the main event of All In London, before Omega won the gold at Dynamite: Beach Break back in July.

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• AEW
• Will Ospreay

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