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Konosuke Takeshita beat Will Ospreay and Ricochet in a three-way match at AEW WrestleDream on Saturday to win the International Championship.
A surprise appearance by Kyle Fletcher helped shift the momentum:
After a successful run in WWE, Ricochet made his surprise AEW debut in August at All In as part of a Casino Gauntlet match with the winner earning an AEW World Championship match at a time and place of their choosing.
While Ricochet fell short, it wasn’t long before he set his sights on a different belt, as he and Ospreay had a backstage run-in a couple of weeks later at All Out.
Prior to Ricochet signing with WWE and Ospreay joining AEW, they had several matches against each other around the world, but most notably in Japan and the United Kingdom.
The matches went viral on social media due to the incredible feats of athleticism both men displayed, and those bouts undoubtedly helped raise both of their stocks.
Ricochet went on to become a United States and intercontinental champion, while Ospreay held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and then became international champion in AEW.
After impressive victories over Kyle Fletcher, Sammy Guevara and The Beast Mortos, Ricochet was given his International Championship opportunity against Ospreay on the 5-Year Anniversary edition of Dynamite, but there was no clear winner.
The match was initially ruled a draw when Ospreay and Ricochet pinned each other at the same time, but AEW president Tony Khan ruled the match to be restarted. However, it wasn’t long before Takeshita interfered by attacking both men, resulting in a disqualification.
Takeshita and Ospreay had plenty of history together, as they were once part of the same stable under Don Callis and faced each other at Revolution in March with Ospreay coming out on top.
Saturday marked arguably the toughest challenge of Ospreay’s time as international champion against two of the best in-ring workers in the world at the same time, and it ultimately spelled the end of his reign with Takeshita winning the first title of his AEW tenure.
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