Will Ospreay dedicated his Forbidden Door match against AEW World champion Swerve Strickland to his grandmother, who died just last week. He wore gear honoring the late Japanese wrestler Hayabusa.
Strickland’s entrance was more of a celebration, as New York hip hop icon Jim Jones brought the champion out. It made the crowd in Long Island’s UBS Arena even more rabid for June 30’s main event — despite the fact they’d watched 14 matches over the previous five hours.
An electric opening sequence brought even more cheers as the announce team reminded us that Ospreay was undefeated as a singles wrestler in AEW, and that Swerve had questioned the challenger’s killer instinct while making their fight personal.
You wouldn’t know the two men were friends from the way Ospreay landed high-impact moves…
…while Strickland held onto submissions for as long as legally possible.
Another fast-paced sequence got a nearfall for Bruv after a Styles Clash, but then Swerve countered an Oscutter to answer. The champ won a battle atop the ropes to get a two count of his own with an Avalanche Angle Slam. But that was nothing compared to the Swerve Stomp off the top onto the announce desk that came moments later.
The Brit somehow came back from that to hit several Oscutters, and when those didn’t put Swerve away, he even seemed to consider breaking his vow to not use a Tiger Driver ‘91 again before hitting a Storm Breaker instead.
That could’t get three either, though, so he announced his intention to break his vow. Before he could use the Tiger Driver however, Strickland hit Ospreay with his own Hidden Blade. Will fired back with one of his own — but hit referee Paul Turner instead.
In the aftermath of that, Ospreay had the champ down for three, but there was no ref. Don Callis got involved, encouraging his man to use a screwdriver to win. Prince Nana intervened, and Will almost stabbed him before deciding better. A new official ran in to count a few more close calls for Strickland off a Swerve Stomp and a House Call!
It finally took another House Call and Big Pressure, but Ospreay had his first AEW singles loss and Strickland was still champ.
The victor could be seen telling his vanquished foe that it wasn’t personal, just business. Ospreay was consoled by his friend Kyle Fletcher, and a rematch looms… although we were reminded during this one that Daniel Garcia has his sights set on Ospreay’s International title, and MJF wants to be World champ again.
A great main event tonight, with the possibility of more to come.
Get complete Forbidden Door results and coverage of the entire show here.
Carol Dennis is an entertainment aficionado with an eye for all things pop culture. She dives into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry, from movie premieres to music festivals. Carol’s passion for storytelling extends beyond her reporting, as she’s an aspiring screenwriter in her free time.
