It Might Be Over For Kenny Omega's AEW World Title Hopes... FOREVER! (AEW News)

Kenny Omega gets an AEW World Title shot next week, but with a catch...

Jul 2, 2026 July 2nd, 2026

While many thought we might see Kenny Omega challenge MJF for the AEW World Title at Redemption later this month, the Best Bout Machine is getting that title shot next week, and with a major stipulation in play.

Last night's Dynamite saw MJF successfully defend that title against Mark Briscoe following Team Briscoe's steel cage win at Forbidden Door over the weekend. Post-match, the Salt of the Earth attacked Chicken, which brought out Kenny Omega to make the save. After Max declined Kenny's offer of a match later that night, he then suggested that the two wrestle next week for the AEW Championship, with the caveat that Omega can never challenge for that title again should he lose.

MJF gave Kenny Omega until the end of Dynamite to make his decision, and the Canadian would eventually accept that offer, leading to a pull-apart brawl between the two to close out the show. And so, next Wednesday, at the Beach Break edition of Dynamite, it will be MJF vs. Kenny Omega for the third time ever and for the AEW World Championship.

This is also the third time that AEW has had such a stipulation attached to a match, and the two previous times both featured MJF in some way. The first time was at Full Gear 2019, where MJF was in Cody Rhodes' corner as he challenged for Chris Jericho's AEW World Championship, with Friedman costing Cody that match. The second, and more recent, time was when MJF successfully defended the AEW World Championship against Adam Page at Revolution this past March, with Hangman having not been seen since.

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Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.

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