Omega Retains at AEW Redemption, Turns on Ospreay After Death Riders Save

AEW’s first-ever Redemption pay-per-view delivered a stacked night of title changes and one gut-punch of a swerve on Sunday, July 26, from Bell Centre in Montreal. Kenny Omega retained the AEW World Championship in his first defense, beating TNT Champion Kevin Knight in the main event, but the real fireworks came in the aftermath.

Moments after the bell, the Death Riders — minus Will Ospreay — swarmed Omega, and when the Young Bucks tried to make the save, they were quickly put down as well. With a chair pressed against Omega’s throat, Ospreay finally showed up, refusing Jon Moxley’s order to finish Omega off with a bag over his head. Instead, Ospreay dropped Moxley and cleared the ring of his own stable. What looked like a heartfelt moment between Ospreay and Omega, teasing their showdown at All In: London, turned into a shocking betrayal when Omega blasted Ospreay with the One-Winged Angel. It’s a gut-check twist that adds another layer of unpredictability to a program that already had plenty of heat heading into Wembley Stadium.

The women’s title picture also got a major shake-up. Willow Nightingale dethroned Thekla to become the new AEW Women’s World Champion in an emotional, physical battle, immediately setting up a showdown with Mercedes Moné for the title at All In: London. Nightingale’s title reign gives her a signature moment in a career that’s been building toward a spot on the top of the card for years, and a clash with Moné is about as big a stage as AEW can offer.

Elsewhere on the card, Maya World shocked Hikaru Shida to capture the TBS Championship, marking her first singles gold in the company. Kyle Fletcher successfully defended the AEW International Championship against ROH World Champion Bandido, but he already knows who’s next: Mike Bailey, wrestling in his hometown of Montreal, won a six-way ladder match earlier in the night to earn a shot at Fletcher’s title on August 5 at Grand Slam Mexico. The Don Callis Family suffered a blow as well when Mark Davis dropped the AEW National Championship to Andrade El Ídolo.

The undercard was loaded too — Adam Copeland and Christian Cage retained the AEW World Tag Team Championships against Death Riders’ PAC and Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Jericho beat Tommaso Ciampa in a no-holds-barred brawl, and The Conglomeration held onto the AEW World Trios Championships against The Lethal Twist in the Buy-In opener, with The Demand already lining up a future challenge.

With All In: London now just 35 days away, Redemption reshuffled several championship pictures and planted a major seed in the Omega-Ospreay saga. The betrayal complicates what was shaping up to be a respectful rivalry, giving Omega a new edge heading into Wembley and leaving Ospreay with a score to settle in front of what promises to be a massive crowd. AEW has plenty to build on from Montreal, and the fallout from that main event angle alone should dominate programming in the weeks ahead.