If Swerve and Ospreay Loose at All In.....
The gauntlet has been thrown down. Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay put it all on the line at All In against the Young Bucks
On the July 2nd edition of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Dynamite, a match was made for the All In pay-per-view at Globe Life Field in Dallas, Texas on Saturday July 12th. The Executive Vice Presidents of AEW Matthew and Nicholas Jackson (The Young Bucks) will square off with the team of Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay. Although no titles are at stake, it is still a must-win match for both teams. If The Young Bucks are victorious, Swerve and Ospreay will not be able to challenge for the AEW World Championship for one year. If the Young Bucks lose they will be stripped of the EVP titles. Although Swerve and Ospreay will more than likely be the fan favorites coming into the match, what could the next 12 months look like if they do not win? Let’s take a deep dive.
What Happens if Swerve and Ospreay Loose at All In?
Who Turns Heel?
If the Young Bucks get their hands raised in Texas we could see a scenario where either Swerve or Ospreay turn on each other. When the match was made Swerve was hesitant to take on the stipulation. As a former AEW World Champion, he knows just how hard it is to get to the top of AEW and stay there. The stipulation was Ospreay’s idea and Swerve did not seem thrilled at the idea of not being able to challenge for a year. It is also worth noting that Ospreay has not touched the AEW World Championship since he signed with the promotion in 2023.
Swerve turning heel on Will for putting them in the situation would be the obvious move. Do we see a swerve (no pun intended) where Ospreay attacks Swerve after the final bell rings and blames him for losing the match for both of them?
A Different Turn?
Another option is that Swerve or Ospreay turn on each other during the match to assist the Young Bucks in exchange for the Bucks overruling the one year stipulation and putting them in the title picture immediately. The backstory that could be played out is that the Bucks did not want either Swerve or Ospreay in the title picture due to their past with The Elite, and the deal was brokered behind the scenes, with either Swerve or Ospreay being a double agent the entire time.
Ospreay’s past with The Elite includes multiple matches against The Elite when he was part of the United Empire. The United Empire was unable to defeat The Elite in AEW, which could play into Ospreay making a deal with them to finally get something out of the Bucks.
Swerve, on the other hand, has had run-ins with The Elite as part of The Mogul Embassy that ended up with a match at Rampage Grand Slam in 2023, where the Mogul Embassy lost the ROH World Trios Championships to The Elite. Like Ospreay, this could play into Swerve making a deal with the Bucks to finally get something out of them after eating a hard defeat a couple of years ago.
This is a far less likely scenario, but a scenario nonetheless.
A Road Back to the AEW World Championship
Regardless of how the match plays out, it isn’t hard to imagine that both Swerve and Osperay will eventually make their way back into the AEW World Championship picture. It could be within the next couple of months or in a year from now depending on how the match at All In plays out.
AEW is no stranger to playing stories out for months to a year or longer. Look back at the on-and-off-again relationship between the Young Bucks and Hangman Adam Page (who also had a blood feud with Swerve) that ended with Matt Jackson giving Hangman a nod at Full Gear 2021 to finish off Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship. The storyline started in 2020 and took many twists and turns to get to the endpoint. We could see a similar situation here.
If someone does end up with a heel turn in the match, the most likely situation would be that the heel takes the title first. This is even more likely if the turn happens during the match and the Bucks overall the one year title challenge ban.
On the other hand, if the turn takes place after the match and both Swerve and Ospreay are out of the title picture for a year, we could see a heated feud take place between the two for a few months before they enter other feuds. As July of 2026 rolls around the main event for a major pay-per-view could see Swerve or Ospreay challenging for the title at the end of the 12 month ban, only to have one screw the other and re-start the feud.
Regardless of things play out in Texas, there are plenty of options available to spin this match into a long term story involving all four members of the match.
In Conclusion
Anything can happen when AEW goes live from Globe Life Field. We could see the start of a 12+ month story with an epic payoff for the main event of a major pay-per-view in 2026. We could also see The Young Bucks stripped of their EVP titles in the Kayfabe of AEW (I still think it is a long shot). Pro wrestling is the most fun when it is unpredictable, and what happens when these four step into the ring and the bell sounds is just that, unpredictable.
Who do you think walks out of All In Texas victorious? Who are you rooting for? Sound off in the comments below.
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