Kenny Omega’s move to a heel character ahead of AEW All In: London was in part Omega’s own call, according to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Meltzer reports that Omega leaned further into the heel presentation as the build to Wembley Stadium went on, and that he saw a straight hero and villain structure as the right way to frame the match. The thinking outlined in the report is that the bout is designed to end with a crowning moment for Will Ospreay, and that a clearly defined villain makes that finish land harder and gives the match a better chance of holding up over time.
The turn was made explicit on AEW Dynamite, where Omega attacked Ospreay and put him through a table with a One Winged Angel, then followed it with a personal promo aimed at him.
The groundwork for it was laid a month earlier. At AEW Redemption on July 26 in Montreal, Omega retained the AEW World Championship against Kevin Knight and was attacked by the Death Riders afterward. Ospreay came out to make the save and turned on Jon Moxley in the process, refusing to put a plastic bag over Omega’s head. The two shook hands to close the show, and Omega answered the handshake with a One Winged Angel. In the weeks that followed, AEW left it open as to whether that was a turn or something else. The Dynamite attack removed the ambiguity.
Omega goes into the show as AEW World Champion. Ospreay earned the shot as the 2026 men’s Owen Hart Cup winner and wrestles in his home country.
The two have history well before this. Omega beat Ospreay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January 2023, and Ospreay won the title back from him at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in Toronto that June. Sunday is the first time they have met with the AEW World Championship on the line.
Tony Khan discussed the match on the AEW All In media call on August 27. He said he has gone out of his way to manage Omega’s schedule and that he had pushed him too hard in 2025 while Omega was still working his way back from diverticulitis. Khan said Omega has been careful about his training and recovery since.
Khan also laid out the shape of the show on that call. Ticket sales are approaching a $6 million live gate, the main card is set at eight matches, and the broadcast is planned to run four hours. He said there is still room for additions and that further announcements could come on Collision.
The save at Redemption carried weight because of where Ospreay had been standing before it. He had spent months aligned with Moxley and the Death Riders, including a tag match against the Young Bucks alongside Moxley on the same Redemption card. Walking away from that group and refusing the bag spot put him on the babyface side going into Wembley, which is the position the report says Omega wanted him in.
Omega’s current reign began when he took the title from MJF at Dynamite: Beach Break. He retained it against Knight at Redemption in his last defence before Sunday. Omega and Ospreay have each worked as the heel and the babyface against the other since Wrestle Kingdom 17, across both NJPW and AEW.
AEW All In: London takes place on Sunday, August 30 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
