The first matches in this year’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament took place on Sunday night as part of Double or Nothing in New York City.
Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay and Athena all advanced in quarter-final matches at the pay-per-view event, putting them just a couple of wins away from securing a world title opportunity.
Swerve Strickland put away ROH World Champion Bandido in 15 minutes, smoothly reversing a 21-Plex into a Vertebreaker, then following up with a House Call for the pinfall. The match was Strickland’s first in-ring appearance since March, when he lost a #1 contenders match against Kenny Omega.
Will Ospreay, one of the favorites to win this year’s men’s tournament, started his bracket run with a win against Samoa Joe.
Ospreay got the jump on Joe, attacking him during his entrance with an Os-Cutter. He was quick to follow up with a 450 Splash then his new Death Ground submission finisher, but it wasn’t enough to put away the former AEW world champ.
After a physical 14-minute sprint, Ospreay won by escaping a Muscle Buster, then scoring back-to-back Hidden Blades.
With AEW returning to London, England for All In this year, many expect Ospreay to be the world title challenger this summer. However, there are still two more wins he must pick up before that’s confirmed.
The sole women’s match of the night saw ROH Women’s World Champion Athena take down Mina Shirakawa, hitting a jumping tombstone piledriver then her O-Face finisher off the top rope for the pinfall victory in just under 11 minutes.
Athena heavily favored one of her knees for a large portion of the match, an injury which first emerged following a spot involving the steel stairs at ringside. Shirakawa would target Athena’s legs after the stairs spot, applying a Figure Four submission hold at one point.
The annual Owen Hart Foundation Tournament determines who gets to challenge for AEW’s top championships at the All In pay-per-view.
The Cup, which AEW has run since 2022, will continue in the coming weeks, culminating with grand final matchups on June 28 as part of Forbidden Door.
The two other men’s quarter-final matchups see Brody King take on Claudio Castagnoli of the Death Riders, and Jack Perry facing Mark Davis.
The women’s tournament includes CMLL champ Persephone facing STARDOM’s Hazuki, Skye Blue against prominent Joshi freelancer Sareee, and Alex Windsor facing a Wild Card. Windsor was given a Wild Card opponent after Willow Nightingale withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
