AEW moved the Kenny Omega vs. MJF World Championship match up by nearly three weeks for two key reasons: the champion’s knee injury and the need for an extended build ahead of All In: London.
According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the original plan called for MJF to defend against Omega at Redemption on July 26 at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
The promotion instead shifted the bout forward to the July 8 Beach Break episode of Dynamite, giving MJF additional recovery time post-match while opening an extended promotional window for Omega against Will Ospreay at All In.
The knee injury was legitimate. MJF hyperextended his knee in a title defense against RUSH on the June 3 episode of Dynamite and was not medically cleared to compete days later. He noted on June 18 that although an evaluation revealed no structural damage, he was still dealing with significant pain.
At Beach Break in Clearwater, Florida, Omega defeated MJF to capture the AEW World Championship for the second time, overcoming a stipulation that would have barred him from ever challenging for the title again had he lost.
The calendar shift gave AEW 53 days between Omega’s title victory and All In, compared to the 35 days the promotion would have had if the change took place at Redemption. Across that stretch, Omega defended the championship against Kevin Knight at the Montreal pay-per-view while the company built toward the clash with Ospreay.
MJF remained off television after Beach Break and did not resurface until August 5 at Grand Slam: Mexico, where he attacked Andrade El Idolo.
Their rivalry culminated on August 30 at All In: London, where Ospreay defeated Omega in the Wembley Stadium main event to capture the AEW World Championship for the first time.