Tag: Will Ospreay

AEW Revolution 2024 results: Sting ends storied career on high note

See how Sting delivered one final indelible moment, and who else won at AEW Revolution 2024 in Greensboro.

It’s time to say goodbye to Sting. The Icon ends his nearly 40-year career in pro wrestling tonight at AEW Revolution in front of what’s sure to be a very emotional crowd in Greensboro, N.C.

Sting and Darby Allin will take on the Young Bucks … excuse me, AEW EVPs Matthew and Nicholas Jackson. The AEW World Tag Team Championship is on the line as well, but the real stakes involved are because it will be Sting’s last match.

Will he go out on top and retire a champion? Or will he think it’s the right thing to do to pass the torch (though it must be said, the Bucks are far from young up-and-comers themselves at this point) and take the pin in his farewell bout? And what part will Ric Flair play in the whole affair?

The rest of the card looks very promising to boot. There are five other championship matches in store, including a three-way dance for the AEW World Championship between Samoa Joe, Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland. The AEW Women’s World Championship also figures to be a hard-hitting, top notch showdown as “Timeless” Toni Storm collides with former friend turned dangerous rival Deonna Purrazzo.

Even the 8-man All-Star Scramble figures to provide some intrigue, as the winner earns a world title opportunity. Could it, for instance, be used to point Wardlow toward the top of the card? It will be interesting to see.

AEW Revolution Zero Hour results:

  • Bang Bang Scissor Gang def. Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh, Willie Mack and Private Party by pinfall when Jay White pins Mack
  • White cuts a promo after the match that promotes the Big Bang Scissor Gang while also teasing some “big business” for the Big Business episode of Dynamite in less than two weeks
  • Lexy Nair catches up with Orange Cassidy, who tells Best Friends he wants them to stay in the back tonight for his match with Roderick Strong
  • A vignette airs with Pac vowing to be back very soon whether we like it or not
  • Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander def. Skye Blue and Julia Hart by pinfall when Nightingale pins Blue

AEW Revolution 2024 results from Greensboro:

(please tap or click on any match with a link for full details)

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AEW Revolution 2024 results: Will Ospreay tears it down in victory over Konosuke Takeshita

See how Will Ospreay won his AEW debut against Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Revolution 2024.

The fans already seem very glad to see Will Ospreay in AEW in an official capacity as Daon Callis joins the announce team for this one. Konosuke Takeshita looks ready for him too, and they lock up to a bit of a stalemate.

Ospreay gets in some stiff slaps, then a headscissors before blowing a kiss to the crowd. Here comes strikes in both directions again, and a jumping clothesline from Takeshita to finish the exchange.

Takeshita crotches Ospreay in the corner and smashes a forearm shot, then executes a delayed vertical suplex that’s good only for a one count. He stays in control and hears some jeers from the fans.

A forearm to the chest puts Ospreay back down, but he rises with some chops and an uppercut. Takeshita’s hip toss is countered by an abdominal stretch, and Ospreay takes to the skies for the first time for an elbow strike.

Ospreay’s rebound handspring corkscrew kick lands, and Takeshita finds no respite on the floor as a springboard cross body finds him. A belly-to-back suplex is on target, but Takeshita quickly kicks out at one.

Kicks to the face lead to another big Ospreay chop, but Takeshita fires right back with a facebuster, a big kick and a tope con hilo. Referee Bryce Remsburg is up to about six when both men return to the ring.

Takeshita launches into a senton but catches knees, yet he’s able to avoid an Ospreay top rope move and hit a German suplex for a near fall. Back and forth come the big moves, leaving both men on the mat while the fans rise to their feet.

Loud “this is awesome” chants break out as the combatants deliver forearm shots on their knees. That battle continues on the feet, and Takeshita wilts first.

A rolling elbow strike has the referee checking on Takeshita, but he’s good to go. He even grabs Ospreay’s boot in the corner for his own big forearm shot, wobbling his foe. An even bigger shot is next, dropping Ospreay to his back though Takeshita is too worn out to cover.

A series of counters leads to a series of kicks from Ospreay, as well as a Tiger Driver for two. An Oscutter comes next, but it’s countered by a Blue Thunder Bomb for two right back.

Now it’s a “Fight Forever” chant, and well deserved. More kicks force Takeshita back, and an Oscutter finally connects for a near fall. Can Ospreay seal the deal here? Nope, as Takeshita sees the Hidden Blade coming and very nearly wins it with another stiff strike.

A battle in the corner ends with Ospreay’s thrust kick to his foe’s exposed face. However, Takeshita fends off a hurricanrana and drops Ospreay with a sheer drop brainbuster onto the turnbuckle that is a wicked bump for sure. Neither that nor a running knee, however, are enough to pin Ospreay.

Another exchange of counters leads to a Stundog Millionaire and a poison rana, but Takeshita fights right back with two impressive moves. Ospreay flies across for a clothesline only to have Takeshita kick out at one.

Takeshita runs over Ospreay but sees the running knee countered by a powerbomb. A Styles Clash is next, and yet it’s still not enough to wrap it up.

A Tiger Driver ’91 puts Takeshita down, and the Hidden Blade keeps him there. Kyle Fletcher joins Ospreay in the ring afterward, throwing up the United Empire sign with him.

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AEW Revolution 2024 card: Everything confirmed including Sting’s last match

A look at the confirmed matches for AEW Revolution 2024.

After running a monthly pay-per-view for most of 2023, AEW won’t host a marquee event until Sunday, Mar. 3, when Revolution takes over the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Sting’s retirement match will headline AEW’s first PPV of 2024. It has been advertised months in advance, allowing anticipation to build up for his final in-ring showing. Only recently, after their victory against Powerhouse Hobbs and Konosuke Takeshita on the Jan. 10 episode of Dynamite, Sting and Darby Allin were confronted by the Young Bucks from the stage.

The following week on Dynamite, the Jacksons teased what’s to come in an interview where they name-dropped Sting and referred to him as the “last of a dying breed.” When asked if they will face the Icon in his final match, they replied that they will “pull some strings” as Executive Vice Presidents. It finally was made official on the Feb. 14 episode of Dynamite as Allin accepted the EVPs’ challenge.

Another confirmed match arose when Roderick Strong challenged Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship. The Undisputed Kingdom, formed at Worlds End, said they were after all the gold in AEW, so this is step one, with Strong vying for his first title since joining the company in 2023.

To top it all off, Samoa Joe will defend the AEW World Championship against Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page in a Triple Threat match. While Strickland and Page competed in a No. 1 contenders match to determine the Samoan Submission Machine’s opponent at Revolution, their battle went to a time-limit draw. Tony Khan chimed in moments later to give both men a chance at the title instead of one.

Check out the full card below.

Latest update: March 2, 2024, 9:45 p.m. ET.

AEW Revolution 2024 card:

  • Samoa Joe (c) vs. Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland – AEW World Championship match
  • “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo – AEW Women’s World Championship match
  • Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Roderick Strong – AEW International Championship match
  • Sting and Darby Allin (c) vs. Matthew and Nicholas Jackson – AEW World Tag Team Championship match
  • Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Bryan Danielson – AEW Continental Crown Championship match, plus if Danielson loses, he has to shake Kingston’s hand
  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay
  • Christian Cage (c) vs. Daniel Garcia – AEW TNT Championship match
  • Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lance Archer vs. Chris Jericho vs. Hook vs. Brian Cage vs. Magnus vs. Dante Martin – All-Star 8-Man Scramble for future AEW World Championship match
  • FTR vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley)

AEW Revolution 2024 predictions: Will Sting win his last match?

Will Sting win his swan song? And which champions will retain at AEW Revolution in Greensboro?

While WWE has been gearing up for its biggest show of the year, AEW has been plugging away on its road to Revolution, which will be a historic event in its own right.

That is because Revolution will be the site of Sting’s final match. The promise of seeing Sting’s final match has helped AEW sell more than 16,000 tickets at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., which is where Sting burst onto the national wrestling scene as a member of Jim Crockett Promotions.

Five decades later, Sting will bid farewell to wrestling fans not only in Greensboro, but to fans from around the world who enjoyed watching him perform throughout his stellar career.

What can we expect from Sting’s final time in a ring? How many tears will wrestling fans shed during the event? Let’s get to that and more in my predictions.

Will Ospreay thanks NJPW after final match before joining AEW

An emotional Will Ospreay thanked New Japan and its fans after his final match for the company for now.

Will Ospreay is done with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, though it could be less like “goodbye” and more like “’til we meet again.”

Ospreay wrestled his final NJPW match over the weekend at The New Beginning in Osaka 2024, joining forces with his United Empire mates for a 10-man Steel Cage match against the Bullet Club War Dogs. Fans on hand certainly got their money’s worth, as the match lasted more than an hour before Ospreay finally took the pin from David Finlay.

After the match, Ospreay got on the microphone and thanked NJPW fans while promising that he would return someday. He took to social media to express similar sentiments this morning.

The next step in Ospreay’s career has been known for months, as AEW revealed his signing at Full Gear last November. As explained at the time, he was always planning to join the company somewhere prior to Revolution once his NJPW deal expired.

That time is now upon us as Revolution is coming up quickly on March 3. He’s likely to have a familiar face joining him not long after, as Kazuchika Okada will reportedly sign with AEW as well, and could make his debut following Revolution.

Ospreay has gone on record as saying his AEW deal will still allow him to wrestle in NJPW on occasion, and the two companies have had a close working relationship for several years. Still, he’s also admitted he doesn’t know how long it will be until he’s back in a New Japan ring, so the emotions from both performer and fans are understandable now that his incredible NJPW run has come to an end.

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 results: Finlay goes Global, outlasting Moxley, Ospreay

See how David Finlay prevailed against two top stars at Wrestle Kingdom 18.

Quite the contrast in styles between these three as they make their entrances. David Finlay is low key menace. Jon Moxley has a mask on like the Red Hood of DC Comics fame. And Will Ospreay makes his way in to an extra dose of orchestral showmanship before his normal theme hits.

Ospreay and Moxley seem to agree to take out Finlay as they talked about at the press conference, backing the Bullet Club leader into the corner and taking turns stomping him. He tries to rush out and eventually ducks out to the floor … but the other two men meet him there and crotch him on the barricade, where he also takes a lariat from Mox.

Things don’t get much better for Finlay as the fight goes further out into the crowd, and Moxley is able to suplex him on the floor right in front of the announcers. Mox gets out a table, and Finlay is quickly sent through it by both of his enemies.

That allows Ospreay and Moxley to settle things between themselves in the ring for a bit, where they trade strikes and suplexes. Mox rains down right hands in the corner, then rakes Ospreay’s back in the opposite corner until he gets a thrust kick to the face.

Moxley counters an Oscutter with a suplex, then shrugs off a standing Spanish Fly to try for an armbar. He switches to a triangle choke, shrugs off a buckle bomb and runs over Ospreay with a lariat.

The battle goes to the apron, where Ospreay is back dropped before Finlay finally rejoins the fray and runs Moxley into the post. Ospreay smacks Finlay with a hook kick but is taken right back down with a shillelagh-assisted neckbreaker.

Moxley is bleeding now, to no one’s surprise, and Finlay is just making it worse. Way worse. Mox finally suplexes his way out of trouble, but now Ospreay is back for a back handspring double kick.

Ospreay runs off Moxley’s back to elbow Finlay, and after seeing Mox deliver a tope suicida to Finlay, he one ups them with a moonsault that offers a pretty hard landing for the Aerial Assassin.

A right hand from Mox greets Ospreay as he springboards back into the ring, and a Death Rider comes close to winning it for Moxley. A bulldog choke comes right in its wake, as well as hammer and anvil elbows.

Moxley goes back to the choke, then bites Ospreay on the face. Finlay comes in and gets piledriven right onto Ospreay’s chest; Mox covers Ospreay and gets two.

Moxley decides to throw a bunch of chairs into the ring, then into the faces of his foes. He sets two chairs up back to back, but he’s the one who ends up feeling the pain thanks to Finlay, who also uses a Dominator on Ospreay to smash Mox and cover him for a near fall.

Ospreay counters Oblivion with a Stundog Millionaire, setting off a series of moves by all three men in turn. Finlay throws Ospreay out of the ring after a Hidden Blade on Mox, trying in vain to steal the win.

Oblivion comes for Moxley, and suddenly all three men are breaking up each other’s pinfalls. No one is particularly quick to get off the mat, however.

Forearm shots are flying in every direction, but Finlay is between a rock and a hard place. A defiant middle finger salute and expletive only ensures both his opponents will focus on him. Just when it looks bleakest, the War Dogs hit the ring, quickly overpowering Ospreay and choking Moxley.

Moxley and Ospreay finally recover enough to dish out punishment to the War Dogs as the 20-minute mark passes. If that isn’t enough, Ospreay hits a Swanton Bomb to send both War Dogs through the tables, or partway through at least.

Back in the ring, Mox gives Finlay two Death Riders, and Ospreay hits the Hidden Blade and Stormbreaker on Moxley. Finlay executes Oblivion on Ospreay and looks like he’s stolen it, and is frustrated when it’s only for two.

Lifting Ospreay up, Finlay drops him down for a knee to the face, and the Rebel Club boss is the first ever Global Heavyweight Champion.

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NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 results: Naito, Okada, Finlay win big

Who got their hand raised in Tokyo Dome? We’ve got you covered with full NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 results.

If the calendar has flipped to January and a few days have passed to let it sink in, that can only mean one thing: It’s time for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom. The annual Tokyo Dome show is the biggest event in Japanese wrestling each year, and it’s a pretty big deal for fans around the world provided they can set their schedules accordingly.

As is tradition, Wrestle Kingdom 18 is headlined by an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match, this time with a bit of a student vs. teacher vibe as Sanada tries to fend off Tetsuya Naito. The final match on any Wrestle Kingdom card tends to set the direction for New Japan for months, but that may be true this time around more than ever.

U.S. fans will get to see two very familiar and accomplished faces from AEW. Bryan Danielson takes on Kazuchika Okada in a non-title match that could outshine even the main event, while Jon Moxley tangles with both Will Ospreay and David Finlay for a brand new championship.

More title bouts are up and down tonight’s card — seven in all out of 10 matches (plus the traditional New Japan Ranpo to kick things off). It should be a long but very exciting show.

We’ve got our sleep schedule rearranged and consumed our caffeine, and will be recapping the whole event right here.

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 results:

(please click on any match with a link for full details)

  • Great-O-Khan, Taiji Ishimori, Toru Yano and Yoh win the KOPW 2024 New Japan Ranbo, meaning they head to New Year Dash to compete for the Provisional KOPW 2024 Championship
  • Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP/The Aswang) def. Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) by pinfall to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, aided greatly by TJP’s transformation into The Aswang
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Zack Sabre Jr. by pinfall to become the new NJPW World Television Champion
  • Yuya Uemura def. Yota Tsuji by pinfall
  • House of Torture (Evil and Ren Narita) def. Shota Umino and Kaito Kiyomiya by pinfall, with the help of plenty of interference from the rest of House of Torture and a timely shot from a push-up bar
  • Tama Tonga def. Shingo Takagi by pinfall to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion
  • Nic Nemeth (known as Dolph Ziggler in WWE) and brother Ryan Nemeth are shown making their way to “VIP seats”
  • Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) def. Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) by pinfall to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions and retain the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship
  • El Desperado def. Hiromu Takahashi by pinfall to become the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion
  • David Finlay def. Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley to become the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion
  • On his way out, Finlay makes a point of stopping in front of Nic Nemeth, and after exchanging words, he shoves Nemeth; that touches off a brawl that continues until and even after they are pulled apart
  • Kazuchika Okada def. Bryan Danielson by pinfall
  • Tetsuya Naito def. Sanada by pinfall to become the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion
  • After the match, Naito is attacked by EVIL and Dick Togo, but Sanada helps fight them off

The top pro wrestling stories to watch in 2024

Here’s your guide for what to watch for in WWE, AEW and the pro wrestling industry in the year ahead.

To say 2023 was an eventful year in professional wrestling would be an understatement.

However, there is plenty of intrigue on the horizon in 2024. Here are the stories to watch as we enter a new year.

The biggest professional wrestling stories of 2023: CM Punk, TKO and more

From WWE to AEW and beyond, here were the things that stood out most in an eventful year in pro wrestling.

Take a deep breath, wrestling fans. The year 2023 is almost over.

It is understandable if you haven’t done that a whole lot over the last 12 months, as the industry has not provided many opportunities to take in a soothing sigh of relief.

There were many ups, quite a few downs, but all in all, 2023 was a banner year for professional wrestling that in hindsight will be fondly remembered as one of the most impactful in the history of the industry.

But before we look ahead to 2024, let’s take one last look back on the year’s biggest stories in professional wrestling.

Will Ospreay admits ‘a new type of fear’ over AEW Full Gear reveal

Scared once the bell rings? Nope. But Will Ospreay explained why he was at AEW Full Gear.

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Whether you believe Tony Khan tends to overhype his “important announcement” shtick or not, it would be hard to find too many pro wrestling fans upset about his latest big reveal. When Khan promoted a “blockbuster” signing at AEW Full Gear, he delivered exactly that, revealing that Will Ospreay will be All Elite beginning next year.

(Perhaps not “All” Elite since he’ll still be able to work with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but you get the idea.)

Universally considered to be in the discussion for best pro wrestler in the world today, the 30-year-old Ospreay possesses an unshakable confidence backed by his track record of putting on high quality matches with talent in NJPW, AEW and elsewhere. But he admitted in his recent interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated that things were different at Full Gear.

Far from the swagger fans have grown to expect form him, Ospreay said being revealed as the big signing filled him with self-doubt — and yes, even fear.

This was a new type of fear. It was completely different from wrestling. Even if you’ve never seen me wrestle, I’m confident that I can do something dazzling and make you remember me. But I couldn’t do that at Full Gear.

Ospreay explained that any butterflies he usually gets are washed away because he knows he can go when the bell rings. Things were different for his signing segment with Tony Schiavone, but it all worked out in the end.

As I was waiting, I asked myself, ‘What if people don’t know my entrance music, Elevated?’ Then, when Schiavone was talking, it went real quiet. That was scary. There was this murmur, then the music hit. That reception was truly overwhelming for me. People were genuinely happy to have me, and I felt it the moment the music hit.

Ospreay’s prior work with AEW probably has something to do with that, as he’s appeared on multiple episodes of Dynamite and Rampage as well as several pay-per-views. The chances of the majority of the crowd knowing his music are higher there than they would have been had he signed with WWE, for example.

Still, it’s sort of comforting to know that even someone as self-assured as Ospreay enjoys the kind of validation that comes with feeling wanted. Even if most of us can never dream of doing anything he does in the ring, that’s a feeling that is relatable to all.