Will Ospreay Wins Another Casino Gauntlet (With Much Bigger Stakes) On AEW Dynamite
The main event of Wednesday's edition of "AEW Dynamite" saw multiple competitors, including CMLL's MÃstico and Hechicero and NJPW's Shota Umino and Lio Rush, all compete in a Casino Gauntlet match for a shot at the AEW World Championship at Forbidden Door. The high-intensity match tested the grit of every single competitor, but by the time the smoke cleared, it was AEW International Champion Will Ospreay standing victorious in the ring, and face-to-face with AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland.
The Casino Gauntlet match saw both AEW talent and international competitors from multiple promotions ahead of AEW's upcoming Forbidden Door pay-per-view event. Eventual victor Will Ospreay was the fourth man to enter the match out of nine wrestlers, ultimately winning the match by capitalizing on an injured Orange Cassidy with a Hidden Blade. After that, all it took was an Os-Cutter for Ospreay to pin Cassidy for the win. Ospreay did not have much time to celebrate his victory, as Strickland and Prince Nana appeared to confront the AEW World Champion's newest challenger. "Dynamite"'s last moments saw the two men staring at each other, silent and defiant.
Ospreay will presumably be Strickland's second challenger after the latter successfully defended his AEW World Championship against Christian Cage at Double or Nothing over the weekend. Wednesday also marked the second time Ospreay won a Casino Gauntlet match, with his first victory occurring just a month ago in the lead-up to Double or Nothing. Ospreay's first Casino Gauntlet match victory secured him a match with the previous AEW International Champion, Roderick Strong.
Ospreay and Strickland are slated to clash at this year's Forbidden Door event on June 30 in Long Island, New York. As of this writing, it's assumed that their match will be solely for the AEW World Championship, and no title unification or winner-take-all stipulations are expected.