Will Ospreay Wins AEW International Title vs. Roderick Strong at Double or Nothing

Mike Chiari@@mikechiariFeatured Columnist IVMay 27, 2024

Etsuo Hara/Getty Images

Will Ospreay defeated Roderick Strong at Double or Nothing on Sunday to win the International Championship, marking his first title since joining AEW.

All Elite Wrestling @AEW#AndNEW!#AEW International Champion
‘The Aerial Assassin’ @WillOspreay!!!#AEWDoN pic.twitter.com/wwHHgzvW10

This was an action-packed match in which both men delivered (and took) a lot of punishment.

All Elite Wrestling @AEW#AEW International Champ Roderick Strong and Will Ospreay are beating the absolute HELL out of each other!

Order #AEWDoN on PPV right now!

💻: https://t.co/MpmTCyHt8n
🔗: https://t.co/GTkwK7GBIn@WillOspreay | @RoderickStrong pic.twitter.com/if2OSIrcZU

Ospreay eventually gained the upper hand and was going to use the recently retired Tiger Driver ’91 for the finish, but he backed out.

All Elite Wrestling @AEWIs Ospreay going to use the Tiger Driver?!

Order #AEWDoN on PPV right now!

💻: https://t.co/MpmTCyHt8n
🔗: https://t.co/GTkwK7GBIn@WillOspreay | @RoderickStrong | @TheDonCallis pic.twitter.com/KZfEqQgMN5

The new champ got the win anyway, though, thanks to a Stormbreaker.

All Elite Wrestling @AEWEXCLUSIVE! NEW #AEW INTERNATIONAL Champion, @WillOspreay, has a message for @RoderickStrong, & anyone else looking to come for the “Billy Goat Title”! pic.twitter.com/Hsd5wptnw6

Ospreay has made a massive impact since becoming a full-time wrestler for AEW in February, winning numerous matches of significance, including match of the year contenders over Konosuke Takeshita and Bryan Danielson at Revolution and Dynasty, respectively.

On the April 24 episode of Dynamite, Ospreay was finally given an opportunity to earn a title shot by competing in an eight-man Casino Gauntlet match.

Ospreay outlasted Jay White, Dante Martin, Komander, Jay Lethal, Kyle O’Reilly, Penta El Zero Miedo and Lance Archer by pinning Komander to become No. 1 contender for the AEW International Championship.

Following his victory, Ospreay was confronted by Strong and all of Undisputed Kingdom, setting the stage for a potential show stealer at Double or Nothing.

Strong made his AEW debut just over one year ago, immediately aligning himself with longtime friend and former Undisputed Era stablemate Adam Cole.

It seemed for a while like Cole and Strong were growing apart as Cole cultivated a relationship with then-AEW world champion MJF, but it was all a ruse on Cole’s part so he could get close to MJF and take him down.

After Undisputed Kingdom succeeded in MJF’s downfall, the members of the group stated their future goals, and Strong made it clear that he wanted to win championship gold.

The former Ring of Honor world champion did precisely that at Revolution, beating Orange Cassidy for the international title.

Strong then successfully defended the title against his former friend in O’Reilly at Dynasty, but Double or Nothing represented an entirely different challenge against arguably the best in-ring worker in the world in Ospreay.

The Aerial Assassin was victorious over Strong at Double or Nothing, potentially setting himself up to embark on a long and dominant reign as international champion.

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