Top Five AEW Stories To Keep an Pulse On

We are SO back.

Things are continuing to heat up in AEW, and as we head into Forbidden Door and eventually, All In, the product has become increasingly centered on character transformation under pressure, especially for top-tier names like MJF, Will Ospreay, and Mercedes Moné. This makes for some pretty damn good storytelling. 

We have multiple stories right now interweaving with one another, and because of this, it’s an exciting time to be an AEW fan — as we truly don’t know what will happen up and down the card (for the most part).

And if you want to catch up, or keep up, I’m going to run down just a few of the top storylines playing out in AEW right now that you should keep an eye on. I’m so happy that more and more people are realizing this now, but, AEW is back. 

Sidenote: Even Super Eyepatch Wolf, who fell out of love with AEW around 2023-24, has excitedly dropped back into it. If you don’t know who he is, he’s a fairly popular YouTube influencer (and huge wrestling fan) with nearly 2 million subs on his main channel. The video is worth a watch.

Let’s dive in.

1. Vacant TBS Championship — “Survival of the Fittest” Participants Announced

With the TBS Championship vacated due to injury-related storyline absence, AEW has introduced a Survival of the Fittest elimination format to crown a new champion.

The structure is simple: six qualifying matches feeding into a multi-person elimination final.

The first round of names have been announced for qualifying matches, and they are as follows:

-Hikaru Shida
-Kris Statlander
-Mina Shirakawa
-Harley Cameron
-Queen Aminata
-Zayda Steel

That being said, does Mina finally get her flowers and the TBS Championship? (She better.) It remains to be seen whether the TBS Championship will be used here to elevate a talent, or keep it on a steady hand like Shida or Statlander (or other).

Question:

Who do you have winning the TBS Championship based solely off of the six above? Does one stand out — or none at all?

–

2. MJF World Championship Reign Under Multi-Directional Siege

MJF’s current AEW World Championship reign is structured less like a single feud and more like a controlled collapse. Instead of one defined challenger, he is surrounded by rotating threats—Mark Briscoe, Andrade El Idolo, Kevin Knight, and most recently, Rush.

This creates a weekly sense of instability: MJF is winning matches, but never really escaping pressure. Multiple times now, MJF has been confronted by multiple talents who want to be next in line for a title shot. The key draw here is uncertainty, and it’s become a shifting ecosystem where any contender can break out depending on momentum. It could be Will Ospreay at All In to take the title off of MJF(very likely), but what we don’t know yet is when and how Darby Allin will return, and how that will affect MJF given their recent match at Double or Nothing.

There is also the Kenny Omega question. He has been seen speaking to Ospreay a few times regarding getting back into the Men’s World Championship title picture, and also questioning his recent alliance with Jon Moxley’s Death Riders. With MJF allegedly battling a minor injury, will TK have to pivot to get the title back on Omega, or someone else entirely?

Questions:

Would you like to see MJF bring the world championship into Wembley, or Kenny Omega – or someone else entirely? What makes for a better match, MJF/Ospreay or Omega/Ospreay?

–

3. Will Ospreay, The Death Riders Alliance, The Owen Hart Tournament, and a New Psychological Identity

Will Ospreay’s current arc is one of AEW’s most complex character shifts. After Jon Moxley kayfabe broke Will Ospreay’s neck, The Billy Goat vowed vengeance upon his return. However, this was short-lived, and Moxley would get the better of him in their match at Dynasty. But instead of harboring continued anger, Ospreay took Moxley’s eventual offer of toughening him up to turn him into the future champion we all know he can become. Moxley views Ospreay as mentally fragile post-injury and is actively attempting to reforge him into a more disciplined, colder version of himself.

Ospreay has now entered an uneasy alliance with the Death Riders, not as a traditional member, but as a “trained asset” being reshaped by Moxley’s philosophy. This has produced a noticeable character shift: Ospreay is no longer purely expressive and high-velocity; he is more methodical, increasingly willing to use violence as instruction rather than emotion. The tension driving this storyline is internal— begging the question whether Ospreay is evolving into AEW’s next dominant force or being psychologically absorbed into Moxley’s ideology.

Running parallel to his Death Riders alignment is Ospreay’s Owen Hart Cup campaign, which functions as his formal ascent back toward the top of the card. His tournament matches have been framed as survival tests rather than athletic showcases, often featuring interference and faction overlap. His advancing run positions him for a major summer spotlight match—likely tied to Forbidden Door and potentially the Wembley/All In main event picture. Ospreay is simultaneously being “reconstructed” by Moxley while also being pushed as AEW’s most important pure in-ring asset. Fans are tuning in to see which identity wins out when pressure peaks as the finals draw near.

Questions:

Will Ospreay have to get past Jon Moxley as a final boss of sorts before heading into All In: London, assuming he wins the tournament? How does Kenny Omega fit into this? The two have been discussing their world championship intentions off and on now since Ospreay’s return.

–

4. Persephone vs. Triangle of Madness

Persephone’s character is evolving in AEW, and it’s due to a few recent events which has brought out some solid promo work from the goddess.

Week’s ago, she was misted by Julia Hart, which put her in “questionable” health in her Owen Hart Tournament quarterfinal match — which she would show visible eye damage, leading to a loss to Hazuki.

Since then, her focus has shifted away from the tournament itself and toward Triangle of Madness. Being that she is outnumbered, will Persephone call for help, and how does this potentially fit into the AEW Women’s World Championship picture given Thekla is leading the Triangle of Madness?

Questions:

The the sky the limit for Persephone? Is she a future AEW Women’s World Champion, or will WWE, who has shown interest in her, swoop her up at the first opportunity?

–

5. Mercedes Moné, the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Power Consolidation, Viable Challenger for Thekla?

Mercedes Moné’s return has immediately re-established her as the central force in the women’s landscape. Entering as a wild card, she has moved through the first round, signaling AEW’s intent to position her at the center of the division’s next major championship shift.

Her presence reframes the Owen Hart Cup as less of a developmental platform and more of a launchpad for established global stars ready for the next big thing.

The storyline appeal is twofold: her dominance is expected, but the path is complicated by international talent and prior losses that still linger in her narrative history. The tournament is functioning as her reconstruction arc, rebuilding her toward another top-tier title reign.

She is 2-0 versus Hazuki and most are expecting a Mone/Athena finals — a rematch of last year’s Owen Hart Tournament semifinal match, which was an instant classic.

Are we getting Thekla vs. Mercedes at All In, or will TK have something up his sleeve at Forbidden Door to alter course?

Questions:

Will Mercedes capture the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In? If not Thekla, who else would you want to see as champion? Can Mercedes (heel) vs. Thekla (heel) serve as a formidable matchup at All In, or will Thekla even still be champion by then?

–

As always, thank you for reading. Now that you have that out of the way, set your alarms for two things we know to be true for this Wednesday night.

-Wednesday Night Dynamite tonight will be another great show.
-The Knicks will defeat the Spurs and take a 3-1 lead. (Knicks in 5!)

-TKW