Home AEW | ‘Forbidden Door’ Review: Solid show, with one notable exception
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AEW | ‘Forbidden Door’ Review: Solid show, with one notable exception

Ray Petree
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aew The AEW and NJPW joint venture, “Forbidden Door,” is always one of the year’s most exciting shows — despite its lackluster build. This year was no exception.

One glaring criticism of this year’s show has been NJPW and STARDOM’s lack of representation. Gabe Kidd, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiromu Takahashi and Zack Sabre Jr. were the only NJPW stars who competed on the main show. Meanwhile, 21-year-old phenom Bozilla was the only performer who competed on STARDOM’s behalf.

That means five of the nine matches exclusively featured AEW talent. While that may be beneficial for AEW’s booking, it seems antithetical to the show’s concept.

Seven championships were on the line at “Forbidden Door,” six of which belonged to AEW. Both “Hangman” Adam Page and “Timeless” Toni Storm managed to leave London with their world championships intact, defeating the winners of the “All In: Texas” Casino Gauntlet matches.

Mercedes Mone and Kyle Fletcher also managed to retain their TBS and TNT championships, respectively. For Mone, it was a matter of surviving three young stars who were ready to grab the proverbial brass ring. For Fletcher, it was overcoming NJPW’s junior heavyweight legend, Hiromu Takahashi.

Kazuchika Okada successfully defended his AEW Unified Championship, extending his record-breaking reign at Continental Champion. 

The Hurt Syndicate lost their AEW World Tag Team Championships, due to interference from Ricochet and The Gates of Agony. In the end, it was the newly formed Brodido who pinned FTR to become the new tag team champions.

Elsewhere, Zack Sabre Jr. put his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on the line against fellow English wrestling legend, Nigel McGuinness — in a match that honored the nation’s professional wrestling history. Johnny Saint and Marty Jones were ringside, bearing witness to a sublimely technical affair.

In the unsanctioned main event, The Death Riders and Young Bucks joined forces once more to face a veritable dream team. Hiroshi Tanahashi joined forces with Darby Allin and the Golden Lovers. However, it was their leader, Will Ospreay, who took center stage—announcing days before the event that he would be stepping away from AEW for intensive neck surgery.

In other news, both Ospreay and Strickland were written off television with a pair of gruesome post-match angles — which will leave the former “Franchise and the Feeling” tag team on the shelf for the foreseeable future.

Bryan Danielson provided color commentary in lieu of Taz, which felt like a breath of fresh air. I genuinely enjoyed the “American Dragon’s” insight.

Adam Copeland and Christian Cage were victorious, defeating Luchasaurus and Kip Sabian.

The United Kingdom’s own Jamie Hayter returned, coming to Queen Aminata’s rescue and repelling Triangle of Madness.

And, former TNT Champion Wardlow made a shocking return — aligning himself with the Don Callis Family as the titular leader’s new “insurance policy.”

All in all, despite the show boasting fewer crossovers than ever before, this was still a homerun. The last three matches; the women’s world championship, men’s world championship, and unsanctioned cage match; were all fantastic. And, I thoroughly enjoyed the bulk of the preliminary contests. Still, I wish there were more representation from NJPW, CMLL, and particularly STARDOM (unfortunately, the joshi promotion is in the midst of its 5Star Grand Prix). 

Rating: ****¼ 

Matches

Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. Luchasaurus & Kip Sabian 

The only thing I liked about this match was seeing Luchasaurus return and Copeland & Cage’s finishing maneuver. This was clunky and Kip Sabian is far from a Pay-Per-View caliber talent. Everyone just seemed a step too slow and unsynchronized.


Rating: **½ 

Kyle Fletcher [c] vs. Hiromu Takahashi 

Kyle Fletcher never fails to impress me. Here, he was forced to test his mettle against junior heavyweight legend, Hiromu Takahashi. Unfortunately, the “Timebomb” was conceding nearly 30 pounds in this contest—which prevented him from accumulating the damage he normally would. Still, his speed, agility, and creativity kept him alive for over 15 minutes; delivering some sick bumps—like this reversal on the apron.


Rating: ***½ 

Mercedes Mone [c] vs. Alex Windsor vs. Persephone vs. Bozilla 

This was a fatal-fourway match for Mercedes Mone’s TBS Championship, with each of the three challengers representing AEW, CMLL, and STARDOM respectively. At 31 years of age, Alex Windsor was far more experienced than Persephone (24) and Bozilla (21), giving her a decisive advantage. However, Bozilla’s stature and Persephone’s strength were the great equalizers. In the end, though, neither woman was able to grab the proverbial brass ring and defeat “Nine Belts” Mone.


Rating: ***½ 

Zack Sabre Jr. [c] vs. Nigel McGuinness 


Since his return at last year’s Casino Gauntlet match in “All In: London,” Nigel McGuinness has been seldom seen in the ring. Thus far, he’s faced Bryan Danielson and Lee Moriarty in singles competition, joined forces with Daniel Garcia to face FTR, and recently won a fatal-fourway against Moriarty, Garcia, and Hechicero to qualify for this opportunity.

His opponent was fellow English wrestling legend and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Zack Sabre Jr. McGuinness has spokenly candidly about his fondness for Sabre and desire to share the squared circle with him. At “Forbidden Door,” he was afforded that opportunity—with his heroes, Johnny Saint and Marty Jones, ringside. This was simply terrific. Both men delivered a technically sublime performance, honoring the history of English wrestling: from the World of Sport days to the modern independent scene that both men originate from.


Rating: ***¾ 

The Hurt Syndicate [c] vs. FTR vs. Brodido 

Brodido and FTR delivered an exceptional tag team match en route to “Forbidden Door.” Flash forward to Sunday, and this may have been the worst AEW PPV match that I’ve ever had the displeasure of reviewing.

The rules were unclear, Ricochet and The Gates of Agony’s interference was confusing, and the finish was flatter than a plate of piss.


Rating: ** 

Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Swerve Strickland 

In keeping with the Continental rules, no one was allowed ringside for this contest. Don Callis’ workaround is his inclusion on the commentary team, joining Excalibur, Bryan Danielson, and Jim Ross. 

Swerve Strickland took the “Rainmaker” to the brink and back—conjuring a vintage performance from Kazuchika Okada. The Unified Champion spent the majority of the match targeting Strickland’s right knee, slowly whittling away at the athletic tools that the former AEW World Champion relies on. Afterwards, Okada decimated the aforementioned knee with a steel chair. When Prince Nana finally came to Strickland’s rescue, he was attacked by the Don Callis Family’s new “insurance policy,” Wardlow.


Rating: ***¾ 

“Timeless” Toni Storm [c] vs. Athena 

Ostensibly, this was a war between two of the most dominant champions in women’s wrestling. “Timeless” Toni Storm is the most prolific women’s champion in AEW history, holding the record for the most title reigns (four) and longest cumulative reigns (614 days and counting). Athena has held the ROH Women’s World Championship for 981 days and counting, making her the longest reigning major women’s world champion in professional wrestling.

Ever since Athena won the coveted Casino Gauntlet contract, she’s had her sights set on Storm and the AEW Women’s World Championship—culminating in this titanic clash at “Forbidden Door.”

Naturally, this was fantastic. Both of these women are at the peak of their powers, delivering the best match of the afternoon—up until this point.


Rating: ****

“Hangman” Adam Page [c] vs. MJF

“Hangman” Adam Page rekindled his rivalry with MJF and successfully defended his AEW Men’s World Championship, highlighting the champion’s resiliency.


In the build to this match, MJF coerced Page into accepting three stipulations: (1) the title could change hands via countout, (2) the title could change hands via disqualification, and (3) MJF didn’t need to execute his Casino Gauntlet contract to earn his title opportunity. The first two stipulations colored the affair, informing MJF’s strategy. In the end though, it was Page who prevailed—refusing to lose his composure, at the expense of maiming MJF.


From bell to bell, I was enthralled. The unlikely heroes here were referee Bryce Remsburg and Bryan Danielson on color commentary: who helped convey the importance of those aforementioned stipulations.


This match was, essentially, the culmination of a five week program—building upon the foundation of their feud earlier this year. And, while MJF lost, he still has his Casino Gauntlet contract, which he will assuredly execute after he concludes his feuds with Mistico and Mark Briscoe. For “Hangman,” this was yet another feather in his cap—proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s the one, true ace of AEW.

Rating: ****¼  

Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & The Golden Lovers vs. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Gabe Kidd, & The Young Bucks 

Where do you even begin? This was a “Light’s Out” Steel Cage match, pitting Jon Moxley’s contingent versus a veritable dream team. In other words: it was “Blood & Guts” lite.

That veritable dream team consisted of Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, The Golden Lovers, and Will Ospreay—making his final appearance before he undergoes intensive neck surgery. The “Aerial Assassins” entrance was profoundly emotional, receiving a video package narrated by his fiance, Alex Windsor. Nearly 19,000 fans serenaded Ospreay to the tune of “Elevated,” bringing the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion to tears.


The match itself was pure insanity. Moxley mutilated Allin’s ear with a fork, Castagnoli pressed Allin into the cage like a ragdoll, Allin and Kidd threw themselves over the cage and into a tower of tables… I’m sensing a common theme here.


In the end, though, it was the “Ace of the Universe,” Hiroshi Tanahashi, in his final match in the United Kingdom, who scored the pinfall with an emphatic High Fly Flow.

I struggled to rate this match, simply of the sheer lunacy of it all. However, I certainly enjoyed this more than this year’s “Anarchy in the Arena” match.

Rating: ****¼  

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Ray Petree

Ray Petree

Ray Petree has a decade of experience writing for a variety of online publications — covering both professional wrestling and basketball. Ray's love for professional wrestling stems from his grandfather, who regularly attended Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling shows in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. 

If you’d like to recommend a match for review on “Rewind Mania,” email Ray at [email protected]

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