All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling will host their third annual Forbidden Door crossover show in Elmont, New York this Sunday. But this year’s event might be the biggest yet with wrestlers representing AEW, NJPW, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, and World Wonder Ring Stardom all participating in the massive show.
Of course, the biggest match of the night will be a showdown between AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and AEW International Champion Will Ospreay. However, other intriguing matches to look out for include the six-man ladder match for the vacant TNT title, Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, and the AEW Women’s World Championship match between Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa.
Follow along live as we provide to-the-minute updates on the event.
The AEW Tag Team Champions, The Young Bucks, were already going to be a tough matchup, but adding the AEW Continental Champion, Kazuchika “The Rainmaker” Okada was unfair.
The Acclaimed was unfazed though, dropping straight bars during their entrance, and claiming that Okada’s career was dead the moment he joined up with The Young Bucks. Although the fans were chanting Okada’s name when he entered the ring, the entire crowd was cheering for The Acclaimed after their verse.
The match itself did not start off as expected. The crowd was feeling it as Okada and Tanahashi circled the ring preparing to strike, but they quickly started booing when Okada tagged out. Even after The Young Bucks started taking serious hits from their opponents, Okada was nowhere to be found. He seemed more interested in protecting himself than winning the match. The only times he entered the ring were when he knew he’d be able to get a shot in. Yet still, he would dance when he and his partners had the advantage.
Eventually the crowd would get what it came for. Tanahashi and Okada were the legal men, and Tanahashi was getting the better of Okada before being interrupted by the Young Bucks.
Tanahashi took several super kicks before going down. Okada landed an elbow drop from the top rope, and even flipped off the New York crowd before attempting a pin. Tanahashi was able to reverse the pin, but Okada kept the heat up, landing a Rainmaker on Tanahashi to finally secure the win.
Grade: B-
It was a homecoming for MJF and the fans were showing their support from the very start of the match.
However, Hechicero got the first blow with a swift kick to MJF’s gut, which led to a pin attempt.
After that slow start though, MJF started showing fans what makes him one of the best in the world. He was clearly not taking Hechicero very seriously. Hechicero needed a few cheap shots like hiding behind a referee in order to get some shots in.
Of course, Hechicero would eventually get in a groove and start giving MJF some trouble, especially after MJF injured his left arm. However, with every submission attempt or pin, MJF managed to either land a reversal or touch the bottom rope to force a break.
For a moment, it appeared MJF would suffer back-to-back losses in his hometown. Fortunately for fans in attendance, MJF was able to land a Long Island Sunrise and a Brain Buster on Hechicero to secure the victory. Whatever else happens tonight, fans in attendance can leave happy tonight.
Grade: C+
Forbidden Door has become known for its ability to create dream matchups fans never thought they’d get to see. This was one of those matchups, and even before the fight started, fans in attendance were chanting “Holy s**t” in response to Mistico’s entrance.
Then, the fight started and the intensity remained. Acrobatics, stellar moves, and constant counters were being thrown out left and right. When Mistico finally entered the ring against Takahashi, Takahashi wasted no time trying to tear of Mistico’s mask. Mistico did not take too kindly to that slight and promptly dominated Takahashi, who needed his partners, Tsuji and Titan, to save him. Of course, the Lucha Bros took revenge on them immediately afterwards.
Takahashit started to mount a comeback afterwards though, landing on a powerbomb on Mistico outside the ring and pounding his face into the corner several times.
It was clear the team was singling Mistico out, taking turns laying devastating blows on him. But every time they tried to finish the match with a pin, Mistico found a way to kick out.
Eventually, Mistico was able to escape after landing a backbreaker on Titan. The match went back and forth for a while after that. Nobody was able to get an obvious edge. In fact, there was a moment where all six combatants were lying on the floor of the ring dead tired from the beatings they’d all received.
In the end though, it had to be Mistico, who got Titan to tap out with a devastating arm hold.
Grade: A
It was all Mariah May to kick off the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal. Saraya looked out of sorts and completely lethargic until a hair pull introduced Mariah May’s face to the ring. It was enough of a momentum shift to bring some intrigue into a waning match.
Mariah May, getting comfortable with all portions of the ring, had her face sandwiched between the top and Saraya’s foot. But it preceded a head butt that equaled the playing field—each wrestler then exchanged blows for what only seemed like hours.
Toni Storm makes a cameo for a match that was all about distractions. Just a second before a brutal loss, Mariah May finds the rope and that was enough to keep things going. That mistake will haunt Saraya, who moments later loses out to a reinvigorated Maria May.
Grade: B
A perfect aperitif to what we will get in Forbidden Door, this tag team barrage was as hard-hitting as you would have hoped for; there was a nice amount of bad blood savagery between Statlander and Nightengale, giving the match enough emotion to keep us riveted.
Was there any of the four going through more of an emotional and physical roller coaster than Tam Nakano? She was on the wrong side of the canvas so many times in this one, but in the end, she found her moment and took Momo Watanabe down with a stirring exclamation.
Grade: A
Early on, there wasn’t much four-way action in the center of the ring. More often than not, the match was between just two men trading blows, but as the match progressed, the more intense it got.
Private Party was the first team to get an opportunity to win, with Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen landing several blows on Gabe Kidd. Kassidy’s pin attempt on Kidd did not land though.
Soon afterwards, Kidd and Strong got into a small fight with one another while attempting to take down Kyle O’Reilly. That feud was all O’Reilly needed to escape and tag in Tomohiro Ishii, who proceeded to take out several other fighters. Ultimately, Ishii would have the opportunity to win with a pin on Brody King, but Quen broke it up.
Ishii continued to impress throughout the match, taking blow after blow after blow only ever faltering after a huge hit from Kidd. In the end though, Ishii would not be able to secure the win for his team. It ended up being the House of Black, specifically Brody King, pinning Isiah Kennedy for the win.
Grade: C
Kyle Fletcher, who is not fond of lucha libre, wasted no time attempting to tear off Serpentico’s mask in this one. Flethcer was on a two-match losing streak heading into this match, and needed a win desperately. He came out of the gates hot, and even when he had opportunities to defeat Serpentico, he continued playing with his food.
Normally, you’d expect that to lead to a humiliating loss for Fletcher, but that is not what happened. It was hard, non-stop domination from Fletcher, which led to a much-needed win in less than five minutes.
Grade: C
AEW Forbidden Door start time
The main card for AEW Forbidden Door starts at 8 p.m. ET.
AEW Forbidden Door stream: How to watch
AEW Forbidden Door streams live on Bleacher Report and TrillerTV.
AEW Forbidden Door Buy-In: How to watch pre-show
The pre-show will begin about 6:30 p.m. ET. Fans in the United States can stream the pre-show with DAZN.
Pay-per-view price for AEW Forbidden Door
Tonight’s pay-per-view price is $50.
This year’s event will be held at the UBS Arena on Long Island in New York. The facility, home of the New York Islanders can hold up to 19,000 people.
As of Sunday afternoon, tickets to the AEW x NJPW show at UBS Arena were being sold on StubHub for as low as $32 for the cheapest sections. The most expensive tickets were going for $681.
Main Card:
- AEW World Heavyweight Title Match: Swerve Strickland (current title holder) v. Will Ospreay
- AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (current title holder) v. Mina Shirakawa
- Winner Takes All Title For Title Match: Mercedes Mone (AEW TBS Champion) v. Stephanie Vaquer (NJPW Strong Women’s Champion)
- Ladder Match for the TNT Championship: Konosuke Takeshita v. Mark Briscoe v. Jack Perry v. Dante Martin v. Lio Rush v. El Phantasmo
- IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (current title holder) v. Tetsuya Naito
- Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Bryan Danielson v. Shingo Takagi
- Trios Match: The Elite (Kazuchika Okada and The Young Bucks) v. Hiroshi Tanahashi and The Acclaimed
- Trios Match: Samoa Joe, Hook, Katsuyori Shibata v. Jeff Cobb, Chris Jericho, Big Bill
- Zack Sabre Jr v. Orange Cassidy
- MJF v. Hechicero
Zero-Hour Pre-Show:
- Kris Statlander and Momo Watanabe v. Willow Nightingale and Tam Nakano
- Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarterfinal: Saraya v. Mariah May
- Mistico and The Lucha Bros v. Yota Tsuji, Titan, and Hiromu Takahashi
- Fatal 4-Way Match: House of Black (Malakai Black and Brody King) v. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) v. Tomohiro Ishii and Kyle O’Reilly v. Gabe Kidd and Roderick Strong
- Serpentico v. Kyle Fletcher
- Swerve Strickland (c) retains the AEW World Championship over Will Ospreay
- Bryan Danielson defeats Shingo Takagi to advance in the Owen Hart Cup Tournament
- The Elite defeat The Acclaimed and Hiroshi Tanahashi
- MJF defeats Hechicero
- Tetsuya Naito defeats Jon Moxley for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
- Zack Sabre Jr. picks up the win over Orange Cassidy
- Samoa Joe, Hook and Katsuyori Shibata defeat The Learning Tree (Chris Jericho, Big Bill) and Jeff Cobb
- Mercedes Mone defeats Stephanie Vaquer (c) to retain the TBS Championship and win the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship
- “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) defeats Mina Shirakawa to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship
- Jack Perry outlasts Konosuke Takeshita, Lio Rush, Mark Briscoe, Dante Martin and El Phantasmo to win the TNT Championship
- The Lucha Brothers and their mystery partner defeat Los Ingobernables de Japon
- Mariah May beats Saraya
- Kris Statlander and Momo Watanabe beat Willow Nightingale and Tam Nakano
Last year’s Forbidden Door saw some wrestling legends dominate. In particular, MJF defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in a bout for the AEW World Championship. In a first-round matchup in the Owen Hart Cup Tournament, CM Punk defeated Satoshi Kojima. Orange Cassidy retained the AEW International Championship with a win in a four-way match against Zack Sabre Jr., Katsuyori Shibata, and Daniel Garcia. Will Ospreay also defeated Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.
On the women’s side, Toni Storm, with help from Ruby Soho and Saraya, defeated Willow Nightingale to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship.
For anyone unable to watch AEW Forbidden Door tonight, there are still five AEW PPV events in store for 2024. Here is the full schedule for the remainder of the year.
AEW All In – August 25
Venue: Wembley Stadium
City: London, England
AEW All Out – September 1
Venue: NOW Arena
City: Hoffman Estates, Illinois
AEW WrestleDream – October 12
Venue: Tacoma Dome
City: Tacoma, Washington
AEW Full Gear – November 23
Venue: Prudential Center
City: Newark, New Jersey
AEW World’s End – December 28
Venue: Addition Financial Arena
City: Orlando, Florida
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.
