Men’s Owen Hart Foundation winner crowned at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
Will Ospreay has done it at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
In the main event of the AEW x NJPW Owen Hart Foundation, Ospreay defeated Swerve Strickland in arguably one of the most violent and bloodied matches of the year.
At the SAP Center in San Jose, California, Ospreay and Strickland took each other to their limits and left pools of blood on the ring mat as well as the ringside floor. Despite executing multiple finishers on each other, both men made sure to kick out before the three-count.
While Ospreay sported dried blood all over his face and a dried-up wound, Strickland’s wound remained fresh till the very last moment of the match and left him with a bright crimson mask on his face. The closing moments of the match saw The Death Riders appear ringside and motivate Ospreay to finish the match, similar to Dragon Ball Z’s Super Spirit Bomb, but with its own realistic touch.
Ospreay finished the match with a Death Rider, followed by the Paradigm Shift, and a Tiger Driver, to keep Strickland down for the three count. With the win tonight, Ospreay has crowned himself the 2026 Owen Hart Foundation winner and will challenge for the AEW World Championship at All In 2026 in London.
Ospreay finished the segment with the trophy held high on the shoulders of Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley. He then sealed it with a kiss with Alex Windsor and then left the stage.
While the 2025 Forbidden Door PPV concluded with The Death Riders attacking and sidelining Ospreay out of action, the tables turned this year. The 2026 Forbidden Door finished with Ospreay and The Death Riders standing together, arms in arms.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
Shounak takes particular interest in soccer, closely following top clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal. Beyond sports, he enjoys fiction writing, photography, gaming, and cinema.