AEW Reportedly Changed Plans for Women’s Owen Hart Cup 2026 Multiple Times

We are heading toward the business end of this year’s Men’s and Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournaments, with the finals being set for Forbidden Door this Sunday. Will Ospreay will take on Swerve Strickland in the men’s final, and last year’s winner Mercedes Mone will battle Maya World in the women’s final.

That said, Mercedes Mone vs. Maya World wasn’t exactly the first choice for the 2026 Women’s Owen Hart Cup final. In the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio (WOR) [via WrestlingNews.co], Dave Meltzer revealed that plans for the women’s tournament have been rewritten multiple times this year.

According to Meltzer, former AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm was initially planned to win the tournament and challenge Thekla for the title at All In: London. However, after Storm was written off TV during the post-Revolution episode of Dynamite, the company pivoted to then-TBS Champion Willow Nightingale.

However, Nightingale was ruled out of the tournament ahead of her first-round match against Alex Windsor at last month’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view due to a shoulder injury she suffered during her title defense against Red Velvet earlier that month.

Mercedes Mone eventually replaced Nightingale and is now one of the finalists. The second finalist, Maya World, was also not a first-choice participant in the tournament. She filled in as a replacement for the injured Sareee, who didn’t receive clearance from the AEW medical team to compete. World defeated her former mentor, Athena, this past Saturday on Collision to secure her spot in the final. The winner of the final at Forbidden Door will secure an AEW Women’s World Championship match at All In: London.

#ForbiddenDoor
8e/5p, HBO Max PPV
Sunday 6/28#OwenCup Women's Final@MercedesVarnado vs @MayaWorldd

After Maya World scored an amazing upset win tonight vs her mentor @AthenaPalmer_FG, she will fight the woman who inspired her to become a wrestler (Mercedes) at Forbidden Door! pic.twitter.com/mC33gOkY1r

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 21, 2026