AA is completely revenue based both for redeemable miles and elite qualifying loyalty points (LPs) with bonus multipliers for having status, which means that it can be hard to attain it the first time, but easier to maintain when you have a higher status multiplier. Unfortunately I highly doubt AA will take a match from a OW partner program, but they have been known to offer paid status challenges—you will just have to message or call. Note that AA has now enhanced away earning of miles and LPs on basic economy fares. AA does not have a cap on how many LPs you can earn, so if you really want to earn your way into OWS you can just spend the appropriate amount on an AA cobranded credit card. You can learn more about this on the AA forum (there are plenty of tricks also on how to find the best value on the shopping and hotel portals, etc.)

In terms of crediting to a status-less AA account while still using your OWS benefits, I am afraid this will mostly only work for lounge access (though this will be a big plus for the time being, since non-AA/AS OWS get lounge access including Greenwich at JFK while flying purely domestic itineraries, whereas AA/AS elites do not), but you generally not be able to credit to AA while enjoying your OWS seat selection perks or baggage allowances.

Depending on what your travel pattern is like, you might want to consider AS. It is still a distance-based program for the time-being, with a minimum of 100% earning (except for Saver fares) when booked via AS dot com (including partner metal issued on AS stock). When flying partner metal issued on partner stock, there is a discount multiplier for Y fares, but 100% for PY, and then premium cabin bonuses for J and F. Redemption-wise I find it a little less useful compared to AA, but I have moved over to AS because I find maintaining status in a distance-based program easier than a revenue-based one.