Allin Attacks Knight, Briscoe Earns Cage-Match Path to MJF Title Shot
Darby Allin made his first televised appearance since losing the AEW World Championship to Maxwell Jacob Friedman at Double or Nothing on May 25, 2026, returning on AEW "Dynamite" to confront Kevin Knight with a skateboard strike and a pointed message directed at the Don Callis Family member who had attacked him following that title defeat. Separately, Mark Briscoe secured a guaranteed AEW World Championship opportunity by arranging a 10-man steel cage match at Forbidden Door, scheduled for June 28, through AEW CEO Tony Khan.
Knight opened "Dynamite" by addressing Allin and "Speedball" Mike Bailey, blaming Allin for failing to retain the championship at Double or Nothing and accusing Bailey of dissolving the Jet Speed tag team. Knight called out MJF, but it was Allin who answered. After striking Knight with the skateboard, Allin told Knight: "I hope New York was worth it. I hope New York was worth it, b---h." Members of the Don Callis Family pursued Allin from the arena, but the confrontation reframed the night's opening dynamic - Allin, not Knight, dictated terms. At Double or Nothing, Knight had levied a post-match attack on the strapped-down Allin, hitting him with a UFO Splash while Allin was restrained on a gurney.
Briscoe's path to Forbidden Door came after weeks of MJF dismissing him as unworthy of a championship match. Briscoe reinforced his case on "Dynamite" with a singles victory over PAC, extending an unbeaten run in singles competition that stretches back past his last defeat - a six-man tag team loss on March 11 alongside the Young Bucks to Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood, and Tommaso Ciampa. With a Forbidden Door cage match now set, MJF turned immediately to the Don Callis Family for allies. Knight offered his support in exchange for a future title opportunity, a negotiation that also intersects with Andrade El Idolo's standing claim to a championship shot - a promise Don Callis made but has not yet honored. Callis told Andrade on "Dynamite" that the shot would come at an unspecified future date. If Briscoe's team wins the cage match, he receives a guaranteed AEW World Championship opportunity.
In the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament, Swerve Strickland defeated Brody King to advance to the final, completing the bracket opposite Will Ospreay, who had already earned his place with victories over Samoa Joe and Mark Davis. Strickland survived two House Calls from King before ending the match with a Vertebreaker; Prince Nana struck King with a weapon during the contest. Strickland and Ospreay meet in the tournament final at Forbidden Door on June 28. In the Women's Tournament, Maya World replaced an uncleared Saree on short notice against Skye Blue and advanced with a pinning combination counter, earning a semifinal berth against Athena. World wrestled in tribute to her late younger brother, whose death she disclosed before the match.
