AEW x NJPW x CMLL x STARDOM Forbidden Door arrives tonight from the SAP Center in San Jose, California with one of the most talented cards AEW will put in front of fans all year, but also one of the most uneven roads the Forbidden Door brand has had to navigate. On paper, this is exactly the kind of lineup that should deliver once the bell rings. Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr. is a true dream match. Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland has All In implications and main-event-level star power. Thekla vs. Starlight Kid gives the show a real STARDOM-driven issue. Mark Briscoe leading his team into a 12-man steel cage war against MJF and the Don Callis Family gives the card chaos, stakes and a direct path to the AEW World Championship picture. The issue is that Forbidden Door is supposed to feel like promotions colliding, not simply AEW loading up a PPV and adding outside talent where needed. Tonight’s show has the match quality to be excellent, but the build has not always matched the size of the concept.
Here is everything advertised for tonight’s show
- AEW World Champion MJF, TNT Champion Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Kazuchika Okada, Jake Doyle and Andrade El Ídolo vs. Mark Briscoe, AEW World Trios Champions Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita and Darby Allin (Steel Cage Match)
- Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland (Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Final)
- Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World (Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Final)
- Thekla (c) vs. Starlight Kid (AEW Women’s World Championship)
- Cage & Cope (c) vs. The Dogs (AEW World Tag Team Championship)
- Jon Moxley (c) vs. Bandido (AEW Continental Championship)
- Shota Umino (c) vs. PAC (IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship)
- El Sky Team vs. The Young Bucks vs. Unbound Co. (Three-Way Tag Team Match)
- Divine Dominion (c) vs. Thunder Rosa and Olympia (AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship, Buy-In)
- Skye Blue vs. Maika (TBS Championship Survival of the Fittest Qualifier, Buy-In)
The biggest story heading into Forbidden Door is not just what AEW put on the card, but how the company got there. This year’s show has dealt with visa issues, injuries and late creative movement that clearly changed the shape of the PPV. Names from Mexico, Japan and AEW’s own roster were reportedly either unavailable or affected by behind-the-scenes issues, and that explains some of why the outside-company presence feels thinner than the event name promises. But explanation and execution are two different things. Forbidden Door is advertised as AEW, NJPW, CMLL and STARDOM sharing the stage. The card has that on paper, but the television build has still felt heavily AEW-centered, with several interpromotional matches added late instead of being treated like major destination matches from the start.
That is where the frustration comes in. This is not a weak card. Far from it. The problem is that a card can be great on paper and still feel rushed in the way it was assembled. Forbidden Door should feel dangerous, political, unpredictable and different from every other AEW PPV. Too often this year, the show has felt like AEW taking its ongoing stories, adding a handful of international names around them, and trusting the talent to carry the rest once the bell rings.
The steel cage match between Team MJF and Team Briscoe is the most important AEW story on the show. MJF has used money, manipulation and the Don Callis Family to build a team designed to keep Mark Briscoe away from the AEW World Championship. Briscoe, meanwhile, has pulled together a team that actually feels united by loyalty, revenge and shared hatred. Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly bring the Conglomeration connection. Darby Allin wants Kevin Knight after his betrayal. Konosuke Takeshita has unfinished business with Kyle Fletcher and the Don Callis Family. Briscoe is the emotional center of it all, and the stipulation gives the match real consequence: if his team wins, he earns a shot at MJF’s title.
That makes the match work, even if it does not really feel like a Forbidden Door match. This is AEW vs. AEW. The cage will probably be wild, the personalities are strong, and Briscoe standing tall on the go-home Dynamite after dropping MJF with the Jay Driller was one of the strongest final images AEW could have used. But as the apparent top attraction of an interpromotional PPV, it also shows the flaw in the show’s identity. The biggest storyline belongs completely to AEW, not to the crossover concept.
Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr. is the match that best fits the classic Forbidden Door idea. Omega against Sabre is not a match that needs overcomplication. It is elite-level professional wrestling built around legacy, technique, ego and two world-class performers trying to prove whose style wins under pressure. Sabre enters the match with the confidence of a technical master who can take away limbs, rhythm and patience. Omega enters with the aura of someone who still carries the history of AEW, NJPW and big-match wrestling on his back.
The build has been simple, maybe too simple. Sabre beat Jack Perry on the final Dynamite before the show, then came face-to-face with Omega after the Young Bucks defeated TMDK. Omega talked about redemption and told Sabre that after Forbidden Door, everyone would forget about him. Sabre fired back in the sharp, dismissive way only he can. That is enough to sell hardcore fans, but this match should have felt like one of the pillars of the PPV from the beginning. Instead, AEW mostly relied on the names to do the heavy lifting. The good news is those names are strong enough to do exactly that.
Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland may be the best-built singles match on the card. The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Final gives the winner a world title shot at All In, which immediately makes this bigger than pride. Ospreay is chasing Wembley. Swerve is chasing redemption. Their history matters because Swerve has made it clear that Ospreay has not beaten him in AEW, and that chip on his shoulder has carried the feud. Ospreay wants the dream. Swerve wants his throne back.
The go-home Dynamite gave both men momentum. Ospreay beat El Phantasmo in a strong match built around their NJPW history, while Swerve defeated Daniel Garcia and then tried to make a statement afterward. Ospreay made the save, Swerve got the better of him, and Prince Nana’s involvement gave the segment the kind of edge it needed. That was one of the few roads to Forbidden Door that felt like a true PPV-level escalation instead of a last-minute match placement.
The only issue is that Ospreay vs. Swerve is also an AEW match more than a Forbidden Door match. Ospreay’s NJPW history gives it crossover DNA, but this could headline any major AEW event. Still, the stakes are strong enough that the placement makes sense. If Ospreay wins, AEW gets its clearest road to Wembley. If Swerve wins, he forces AEW to treat him like the centerpiece he believes he still is.
Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World has become one of the more emotionally interesting matches on the show, even if the road there was clearly affected by changes. Maya’s run has been built as the Cinderella story of the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament. She shocked Athena to reach the final, and what should have been a dream moment turned ugly when Mercedes and Athena turned on her. That gave Maya a clean underdog story heading into tonight.
Mercedes is the star, the brand name and the obvious favorite. Maya is the emotional hook. That dynamic can work if AEW lets the match breathe. Maya does not need to suddenly feel bigger than Mercedes; she just needs to make the audience believe she can survive long enough to make Mercedes panic. The problem is that the match still feels like the product of a pivot. Mercedes has always felt like the long-term play, while Maya feels like the heart AEW found along the way. That does not hurt the match, but it does make the outcome feel more predictable.
Thekla defending the AEW Women’s World Championship against Starlight Kid might be the most authentic Forbidden Door story on the card. This is not just champion vs. challenger. This is Thekla disrespecting STARDOM, attacking its president, and forcing Starlight Kid into the role of defender. That gives the match a reason to exist beyond talent and title belts. There is promotional pride here, and Forbidden Door needed more of that.
The issue is that AEW did not give this story enough room on American television. The footage from Japan helped, and the angle itself is good, but this should have felt like one of the main identity pieces of the show. Thekla is carrying AEW’s women’s division as champion, while Starlight Kid is coming in with STARDOM pride on her shoulders. That is a real crossover hook. It deserves more spotlight than it received.
Jon Moxley defending the AEW Continental Championship against Bandido should be violent, physical and stylistically sharp. Bandido earned the challenge through Brodido’s issues with the Death Riders, and the final Dynamite kept that issue active when Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta beat Bandido, Brody King and Místico in trios action. Moxley targeting Bandido’s hand to weaken the 21 Plex was a smart touch because it gave their title match something specific to carry into tonight.
The match should be good. Moxley brings the fight, Bandido brings explosiveness, and the Continental Championship gives them something real to fight over. But this is another match that feels more like an AEW/ROH issue than a Forbidden Door attraction. It belongs on the card because the wrestlers are strong, but it does not elevate the interpromotional theme the way the show needs.
Shota Umino defending the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against PAC gives Forbidden Door a badly needed NJPW title match. On paper, this is exactly the type of bout that helps the show feel international. Shota comes in as champion, PAC comes in as a dangerous challenger, and the Death Riders connection gives the story a little connective tissue. The problem is that the build has been thin. The match was added with a decent premise, but not enough sustained television time to make Shota feel like a major visiting champion to the wider AEW audience.
PAC can make any match feel serious once the bell rings. Shota has the title and the pressure of representing NJPW. The ingredients are there. AEW just needed to cook them longer. This could end up being one of the better matches of the night, but the road to get there did not make it feel as important as an IWGP title defense on Forbidden Door should.
Cage & Cope defending the AEW World Tag Team Championship against The Dogs is another late-build match with solid upside. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage are the veteran champions, while David Finlay and Clark Connors bring NJPW attitude and Bullet Club edge. The Dogs mocking the champions’ five-second pose and getting the better of them in the final brawl added some needed heat, but it still feels like a program that got heated in fast-forward.
The match has potential because the contrast is strong. Cope and Cage can slow things down, talk trash, sell, and make the title defense feel dramatic. Finlay and Connors can bring the aggression. But for a tag title match on a crossover PPV, the challengers should feel more dangerous than they currently do. They feel credible, but not fully established for this audience.
The Young Bucks vs. El Sky Team vs. Unbound Co. is probably going to be a lot of fun, but it is also the easiest match on the card to criticize. The Bucks facing Místico and Máscara Dorada from CMLL and Shingo Takagi and Titán from NJPW sounds incredible. The talent level is ridiculous. The problem is that the match feels like it was booked because the Bucks needed a Forbidden Door spot and AEW needed more CMLL and NJPW representation.
That does not mean the match will fail. It probably will not. Místico and Máscara Dorada can bring the lucha energy, Shingo and Titán add a different physical flavor, and the Bucks know exactly how to structure a chaotic multi-team showcase. But Forbidden Door should not just be about collecting great names and putting them in the same ring. Místico and Shingo are too important to feel like decoration in a Bucks showcase. The match will likely deliver, but the build was thin.
On the Buy-In, Divine Dominion defending the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship against Thunder Rosa and Olympia gives CMLL another presence on the show. Thunder Rosa bringing in Olympia from Mexico makes sense, and it at least creates a direct AEW/CMLL title match. The issue is placement. If AEW wants the women’s tag division to matter, the titles need more urgency than a pre-show defense with a late challenger reveal. Divine Dominion should feel like dominant champions walking into a dangerous international test. Instead, the match feels useful but not essential.
Skye Blue vs. Maika in a TBS Championship Survival of the Fittest qualifier is the latest addition, and it continues the STARDOM thread around Thekla’s Triangle of Madness. The winner moves on to the Survival of the Fittest match to crown a new TBS Champion, so the match has stakes beyond the Buy-In. Maika making an AEW appearance should feel important, and Skye Blue representing Thekla’s side gives the match a clear purpose. But again, this is the problem with the show’s build: strong idea, late placement.
The discourse around Forbidden Door has been split for a reason. Fans who care most about match quality have every reason to be excited because this lineup is loaded with wrestlers who can deliver. Fans who care about build, stakes and the actual crossover identity have every reason to be frustrated because too many matches were announced late or built lightly. The show has stars. It has titles. It has dream matches. What it has not consistently had is the feeling that AEW, NJPW, CMLL and STARDOM are all equally driving the event.
That matters because Forbidden Door is supposed to be different. It is not supposed to feel like just another AEW PPV with a bigger international guest list. Thekla vs. Starlight Kid feels like Forbidden Door. Omega vs. Sabre feels like Forbidden Door. Shota vs. PAC has the bones of Forbidden Door. The Bucks three-way has the talent of Forbidden Door, even if it does not have the story. The rest of the show is strong, but a lot of it is AEW’s internal business wearing the Forbidden Door branding.
Final Thoughts
AEW Forbidden Door has enough in-ring firepower to be one of the better wrestling shows of the weekend, but the road to tonight has been far from perfect. The card is stacked, yet the build has been uneven. Some matches feel earned. Others feel placed. Some outside talent feels central. Other outside talent feels added because the show needed the promotional logos to mean something.
Still, the ceiling is high. Omega and Sabre can steal the show. Ospreay and Swerve can set the road to All In on fire. Thekla and Starlight Kid can deliver the strongest true interpromotional story of the night. Mark Briscoe’s cage match can push him closer to an AEW World Championship shot. Mercedes and Maya can give the Owen final an emotional punch. Moxley, Bandido, Shota, PAC, the Bucks, Místico, Shingo, Thunder Rosa, Olympia, Skye Blue and Maika all have chances to make their matches feel bigger than the build.
That is the real story of Forbidden Door tonight. AEW did not always build this show like the international supercard it was supposed to be, but the talent is strong enough to drag it across the finish line. If the matches hit, fans will remember the performances more than the messy road. If they do not, this will be remembered as the year Forbidden Door had the names, the logos and the matches, but not enough of the magic that made the concept feel special in the first place.
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