Tommy Dreamer Addresses 'Main Focus' Of AEW Feud Between Will Ospreay & MJF

AEW/Lee South

This Sunday at AEW All In, Will Ospreay and MJF will wrestle for the second time, following up their nearly-hour-long bout on "AEW Dynamite" last month. Speaking on "Busted Open Radio," Tommy Dreamer shared his thoughts on the rivalry, with one aspect in particular that has stood out to him.

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"This match will have such ramifications for that one move, the Tiger Driver," Dreamer said. "They kept on teasing it. It's like, 'Man, you don't have the balls to do it. You don't have the balls to hit me with this move.' ... It's the main focus, and has been the main focus, for a long, long time."

While Dreamer appreciates what the performers are trying to do with the storyline, the former ECW and WWE star does have some problems with the execution. Primarily, Dreamer doesn't feel that Ospreay has offered enough explanation on why he has become so hesitant to use the Tiger Driver '91.

AEW/Lee South

Back in April, following Ospreay's match against Bryan Danielson at AEW Dynasty, the wrestler stated that he would be retiring the move because it was too dangerous and it "injured" Danielson. However, after a few weeks of time off, Danielson proved to be okay and continued wrestling.

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Dreamer doesn't find it believable that Ospreay would willfully put the maneuver on the shelf because of the minor incident with Danielson. Additionally, the wrestler has since given Ospreay his blessing to use the move. Despite that problem, Dreamer is still a big fan of the storyline, with especially positive things to say about Wednesday's "Dynamite" segment between Ospreay and MJF.

"The verbal tirade back and forth was just excellent," Dreamer continued. "This brought me back to the reason why I first got so behind AEW. ... I was like, 'Man, this reminds me of ... ECW with money.'"

AEW/Lee South

The technical term for a Tiger Driver would be a double underhook powerbomb, or sometimes a double underhook piledriver. Stories about the genesis of the move vary, with some stating that Mitsuharu Misawa created it by accident while others claim it was first created by Joshi wrestler Jaguar Yokota years before.

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However it originated, variations on the original Tiger Driver eventually took hold, including the Tiger Driver '91, often used by Misawa himself. Controversial because of the potential for dropping an opponent on their head, Misawa only broke out the move for important moments, which seems to be what Ospreay is attempting to replicate.

Ospreay began using the move as an occasional finisher at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023, when he used the Tiger Driver '91 to defeat Kenny Omega in brutal fashion. It now remains to be seen if Ospreay goes back on his word and utilizes the finisher against MJF, or decides to refrain from pulling out possibly the most devastating move in his wrestling toolbox.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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