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It was coming off a Trios title win for local boy Kyle O’Reilly, but otherwise it hadn’t been a great night for Canadians at AEW Dynasty in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 12. Chris Jericho lost his return match, Cope & Christian fell to FTR, and Speedball watched his tag partner win singles gold. Heck, it wasn’t even a great night for the Commonwealth, as Brits Will Ospreay and Jamie Hayter came up short.
The nation’s hopes rode with Kenny Omega in his challenge of AEW World champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
Canucks can be proud of the Winnipegger, but the American Devil continued their bad night.
Coming into the match, Omega told us repeatedly that this is the best he’s felt in a long time. It showed in the early going, as the challenger set the pace and sent MJF into the timekeeper’s area for a breather. He also landed an early big blow when he double-stomped a table laying on the champ.
Max got back in the fight with a counter in the ring, and while he was in the driver’s seat taunted the man who reluctantly accepted the moniker “The God of Pro Wrestling” heading into this clash:
There were still miles to go in this one, though. Omega continued to hit big moves on the champ…
… and according to Bryan Danielson on commentary, the only reason Kenny wasn’t champ after many of them was because his covers weren’t well-executed. The announcers also told us that MJF knew he couldn’t beat this Omega cleanly, which is why he pulled referee Bryce Remsburg into the action…
…then retrieved the Dynamite Diamond Ring Remsburg had confiscated from him before the match began. That move didn’t immediately pay off, as Kenny ducked a ring shot and hit One Winged Angel again. But by the time Paul Turner ran in to serve as ref, Max kicked out.
Action eventually led to the apron, where the ring came into play. When he was in control, Friedman targeted Omega’s mid-section — a weak spot after a nearly career-ending case of diverticulitis. That was the champ hit Kenny with the ring, then piledrove him through a table that had been set-up ringside earlier.
Omega has grounds for a rematch, but MJF’s dance card is already filling up. Darby Allin wants his shot this week!
Let us know what you think of Max’s reign continuing, Kenny’s next move, or where this ranked among recent AEW PPV main events in the comments below.
Get complete results and play-by-play for Dynasty in Claire’s live blog here.
