AEW Forbidden Door 2026 Review
The event? AEW Forbidden Door 2026, presented and co-produced by All Elite Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, and World Wonder Ring Stardom.
The place? San Jose, California’s SAP Center.
At the start of the pre-show, WrestleTix was reporting that 326 tickets were still available, and that the setup featured a total of 9,347 seats. I’m fully expecting yet another raucous AEW crowd, minus the usual two to four matches in the middle of the show where they tend to rest up.
There are nine matches on the main card, including four titles on the line, the men’s Owen Hart Cup Final, the women’s Owen Hart Cup Final, and a massive 12-man Steel Cage Match.
The show is about to begin.
Let’s have some fun.
The Young Bucks vs El Sky Team vs Unbound Co. – Three-Way Tag Match
El Sky Team consists of Mistico and Máscara Dorada, who are the current RoH Tag Team Champions, as well as two-thirds (with Neón) of the CMLL World Trios Champions. For some added razzle dazzle, Mistico is also the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion and one-half (with El Desperado) of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.
Unbound Co. is the duo of Shingo Takagi and Titán. Titán is the current CMLL World Welterweight Champion, so there’s a lot of titles involved here, even though none of them are on the line in this match.
A “holy shit” chant breaks out before the opening bell, seemingly a combination of excitement over what is to come and the admiration for Mistico, who got the entrance and reception of a huge worldwide star.
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the match has a rapid-fire pace from the beginning. If I had to handle play-by-play for this, I’d end up with carpal tunnel by the end of the night.
I’m happy to hear New Japan’s Walker Stewart on commentary with Excalibur and Nigel McGuinness. Walker is great at what he does, and he pairs well with these two, especially Excalibur.
LOL @ Nigel still having hate in his heart for Bryan Danielson. He talks about the match between Danielson and Shingo at Forbidden Door 2024, saying that, even though Shingo lost that one, it was Danielson that needed a change of pants when it was over. Nigel sure is consistent.
I’m not kidding you, folks. I’ll start typing out a sentence that says Wrestler A hit Wrestler B with this big spot, but by the time I get halfway through the sentence, I’m three spots behind. I get to use this line again… this match has more spots than a leopard orgy. That’s obviously not everyone’s cup of tea, but chances are, if you hate that type of match, you’re not watching this show or reading this review, anyway.
My goodness. I’m damn near exhausted just watching that, but the Bucks pick up the pin and the win with a Meltzer Driver. Nothing more than bragging rights on the line here, but the Bucks are looking to regain the AEW Tag Team Titles, and a win here can go a long way to getting them back in the title picture. 4 Stars. Spot after spot after spot after spot, with not much in between. If you’re looking for a ton of ring psychology, don’t look here.
Kenny Omega vs Zack Sabre Jr.
I’m fully expecting a lot more psychology in this one.
Last year, I mentioned that I loved Walker Stewart’s comparison of ZSJ’s technical style to jazz music, where ZSJ loves to riff and “freestyle” during his matches. He made the comparison again this year, and that’s why I love Walker Stewart. ZSJ doesn’t always subscribe to the chess-style, analytical approach to technical wrestling, and I’m glad to hear someone with the ability to point that out.
Kenny might not feel that he can compete with ZSJ’s technical ability, so he’s taking the match to the outside. They’re brawling on the outside, and are fighting atop one of the announce tables, but ZSJ blocks any table attempts and locks Kenny in a submission.
Good Guy Zack Sabre helps to put the English announce table back together before getting back in the ring. Those Brits are different, man. My wife and I found it hilarious when we were watching Netflix’s The Investigation Of Lucy Letby documentary, seeing how polite the British police were when they went to arrest the aforementioned Lucy Letby, who was being accused of murdering NUMEROUS newborn babies and trying to murder NUMEROUS other newborn babies. They were literally apologizing to her for bothering her. Can you imagine how someone like that would get treated by police in the United States?
I like the way AEW is handling this stage of Kenny Omega’s career. He’s almost 43 years old, with a ton of miles on his tires, but they want to continue presenting him as one of the top stars in the company. That means he doesn’t wrestle a ton, in an attempt to keep him as fresh as possible. This is only his 11th match in six full months of 2026, and three of the previous ten were brief contests, with two others being tag bouts that helped him, as well. He’s someone that could win the AEW World Title at any point without many complaints from AEW fans,
We’re moving from style to style in this match. ZSJ obviously wants to slow things down and use his technical prowess, but Kenny is not only trying to work the hardcore style that I mentioned earlier, but he’s also trying to turn back the hands of time by working a more high-flying style here and there. It’s making this one a blast, as it’s a constantly changing and evolving battle.
Kenny goes to hit an Avalanche One Winged Angel from the top, but ZSJ counters it with a rear naked choke while on a standing Omega’s back. Kenny had nothing else to do, so he just threw himself back and squished ZSJ on the mat below. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
ZSJ counters another One Winged Angel, this time rolling into a triangle armbar. The guy is unreal.
Third time’s the charm for Kenny, though, as he finally lands a OWE for the pin and the win. That was tremendous work from both men. 4.5 Stars. So much to enjoy for fans of both men, and for fans of multiple different styles of pro wrestling.
Jon Moxley vs Bandido – AEW Continental Title Match
Somewhere, Jim Cornette just said “oh, goddamnit” out loud.
It should be interesting to see both men try to use their own vastly different styles in this one. Mox is going to want to slow things down, but Bandido is looking to play the role of Sonic The Hedgehog.
Bandido comes up bleeding from the forehead after taking a piledriver atop the ring steps. In no scenario did Bandido’s forehead make contact with the steps, but hey, what do I know?
Mox goes to tear Bandido’s mask, and he ends up doing almost too good of a job. The mask tears easily, and it looks like Bandido’s entire face was exposed for a split second before he grabbed it and adjusted it to cover himself again. Mox walks away with the “yikes” face, which was pretty funny.
Bandido’s face is still covered up, but he’s having a lot of difficulty keeping the mask from moving around. Between every spot, and after every move, he needs to adjust it again.
Seeing Bandido do one-armed press slams above his head is always amazing to me. When he does it to someone who is bigger and heavier than he is, like in this instance, it becomes even more amazing.
Mox has a lot of Bandido’s blood on him, making him look like a mess, too. He has blood on his cheek, next to his eye, on the top of his head, on his chest, and so on.
Mox locks a choke in, but Bandido was able to power himself to his feet, carrying Mox on his back. Bandido goes for a last-ditch effort to break the hold by dropping to the mat, but it doesn’t work. Mox keeps the choke on, and even appears to have locked it in tighter. Aubrey Edwards checks in on Bandido and she calls for the bell. Mox retains his title.
That was a lot of fun, too. Another match that featured multiple in-ring styles, giving us a bunch of things to enjoy. 4 Stars
Shota Umino vs Pac – IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match
This title is not to be confused with the IWGP Heavyweight Title, currently held by Yota Tsuji. That one is considered to be the top championship in the hierarchy of New Japan belts. It is called the “spiritual successor” to the old IWGP Intercontinental Title, which was retired earlier this year after Yota Tsuji won this Global Heavyweight Title in a Winner Takes All Match against Konosuke Takeshita. Confused? You should be.
We’re off to a great start tonight. I’ve given the first three matches a score of 4 Stars or higher, and this one seems well on its way to becoming the fourth to get a score like that. Pac is a British wrestler that spent a lot of time working and learning in Japan. Umino is a Japanese wrestler that spent a lot of time working and learning in England. Fun parallels there, and it’s shows in the varied work they’re presenting in the match so far.
Awesome Bomb! Pac just hit Mike Awesome’s old Awesome Bomb, sending Shota from inside to the ring and through a table set up at ringside. Lots of flashbacks for me there. Shota had a gnarly landing, too.
After a hard-fought battle, Shota picks up the pin and the win to retain his title. I don’t think anyone expected Pac to win, especially with Shota only winning the title two weeks ago, but it was still fun. Sure enough, it is the fourth consecutive match to reach this level or higher on the card… 4 Stars.
After the match, Jon Moxley enters the ring and goes face-to-face with Shota, who was his former “young boy” for a while. Before anything can take place, NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi’s music hits, and he makes his way to the ring to a good pop from the crowd. He causes Moxley and the Death Riders to leave, and he puts the belt on Shota, endorsing him to the crowd.
Thekla vs Starlight Kid – AEW Women’s World Title Match
Stardom President Taro Okada is in the front row, and I have a sneaking suspicion that he’s going to be involved in this one somehow.
This is a rare occasion where Thekla, at 5’1″ tall, has the height advantage in a match. She is two inches taller than the 4’11” Starlight Kid. I can’t think of too many instances where a women’s match taking place in North America consists of women that combine to stand just ten feet tall.
Didn’t take long for Taro Okada to get on-camera. Thekla grabs him by the tie and goes to punch him, but her arm is grabbed by Starlight Kid at the last second. I have another sneaking suspicion that this won’t be the last time he comes into play.
We’ve reached the part of the show where the crowd reaction dies down a bit. It might be at least partially due to being unfamiliar with Starlight Kid, but it’s also around the halfway mark in the show. This is always when AEW pay-per-view crowds tire themselves out and are forced to rest up for the final stretch. Looking at the rest of the Forbidden Door card, and I’m thinking that the next two matches could be the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Final and the AEW Tag Team Title match in whatever order. We’ll see if I’m right.
Starlight Kid goes to hit a moonsault, but Thekla BARELY moves out of the way. She came within an inch or two of having her opponent’s knees crash down onto her head.
The crowd sounds like they’re trying to have a dueling “Tox-ic Spi-der” and “Star-light Kid” chant battle, but it’s hard to tell, because the chants aren’t very loud.
Stretch Muffler into a Giant Swing from Starlight Kid. Looked like she wanted her usual Black Tiger Leg Destroyer/Numero Dos finisher, but had to alter plans at the last second. It looked cool, either way.
Two stomps to the mat are enough for Thekla to get the win. There wasn’t a chance in hell that Thekla was dropping the top women’s title in AEW to a Stardom talent. The match was enjoyable, though… and marks the fifth consecutive match to reach the level of 4 Stars or higher.
After the match, Thekla uses a pair of scissors to cut at Starlight Kid’s mask, giving her the ability to rip the mask off entirely. Thekla taunts Taro Okada at ringside, then spits inside the mask. She goes to Okada and hits him with the mask, and he collapses to the ground, selling someone on the verge of unconsciousness. Take it easy, buddy.
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs David Finlay & Clark Connors – AEW Tag Team Title Match
Hey, I was right about what match was coming up next. Sure enough, the fans don’t give much of a reaction at all to Finlay and Connors, whose entrance consists of them having their pictures taken by a group of paparazzi-like photographers, only for them to attack said paparazzi-like photographers. Cool beans, bro.
Copeland gets a better reaction, of course, but for his standards in AEW, it’s pretty weak. The crowd perks up a bit to sing the rest of his entrance theme once the music cuts out, though. Christian Cage gets a decent pop for his own entrance.
When The Dogs are on offense, there might be a total of four people in the crowd making any sort of noise for them. Ouch.
Clark Connors lights a match and puts it to Christian’s head, even though the flame went out. It’s still a super duper burn, though, and Christian sells it as if he is on fire.
Ref bump!
Clark Connors shoves Christian into the ref to break up a pin attempt. The crowd goes completely mild.
Copeland and Connors stand in opposite corners and taunt each other to set up a dueling Spear… leading to them running into each other with a shoulder tackle.
The lights in the arena go out… and when they come on, The Gunns, Juice Robinson and Ace Austin are standing at the top of the ramp. It’s enough of a distraction for David Finlay to not realize that “Switchblade” Jay White is in the ring behind him. Switchblade takes him out, leading to a Spear from Copeland, and it gets the pin and the win. The champions retain their titles. This is Jay White’s return to AEW after being on the shelf for 15 months due to a hand injury, and the crowd gave him a nice pop when they saw him.
This was a good match, but not on the same level as everything else on the show so far. It was another match with no crowd reaction, and an outcome that featured zero suspense, but all four men worked hard enough. 3.25 Stars
Maya World vs Mercedes Moné – Women’s Owen Hart Cup Final (Winner Receives An AEW Women’s World Title Match At All In(nit) on August 30th)
I don’t know if I should be happy I predicted the order of the last two matches, or if I should be disappointed that I was able to do so, but I did it nonetheless.
The crowd was pretty muted during both entrances, but they seem to have picked up a bit in the early moments of the match itself, including loud chants for both women.
This match really shows you how last-minute a push can happen in pro wrestling. A month ago, Maya World was barely able to make it on AEW television, and when she did, it would be in a losing effort. Then, her brother was tragically killed on June 7th, and she became a last-minute replacement in the tournament for Sareee, who wasn’t medically cleared to compete. Back-to-back upset wins have placed her in this spot, for the biggest opportunity of her young career.
I spoke (typed, I guess) too soon about the crowd picking up. They’re back to being relatively quiet again. I assume that will pick up again for the final two matches on the card.
The story has been that Mercedes has basically been Maya’s idol growing up. She’s certainly wrestling like someone who is a huge fan of Mercedes, able to counter and reverse a lot of Mercedes’ offense.
Dumb spot just now, with Maya hitting a Shining Wizard, and both women were close to the ropes, but Maya rolled Mercedes toward the ropes, anyway, and wasn’t even able to pin her. It was made even worse by the fact that she just had a disappointed look on her face as if that was it, instead of… you know… rolling Mercedes away to try and pin her.
This has been fun. They’re continuing to tell the story of Maya knowing her idol very well, and she’s still finding ways to counter and reverse a lot of what Mercedes is trying to do.
Yikes… back-to-back attempts from Mercedes to perform a powerbomb failed, and she just couldn’t get her opponent up. She used her veteran smarts, though, by just shoving Maya into the turnbuckles, which set up a running sunset flip powerbomb, which was probably more visually impressive, anyway.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Maya World is completely spent. She is moving like she is trapped in honey, and it has gotten worse and worse over the last couple minutes.
Right after I type that, Maya goes for a springboard moonsault to the outside, but she slips on the middle rope and almost falls down. She takes a split second to compose herself before landing the move as intended. Another moonsault, this time back in the ring, saw Maya rotate to the side, landing low on Mercedes’ legs. It got a near fall, though.
A DEEEEEP Statement Maker from Mercedes gets Maya to tap out. That was a very enjoyable match. The crowd started getting behind Maya at the end, especially when she was fighting through the initial Statement Maker attempt, but in the end, Mercedes was just too much.
There were some wonky spots, seemingly due to exhaustion more than anything else, but I really liked the story being told there. The veteran thinking she’s going to have cake walk to victory, but the youngster constantly fighting back and fighting hard every step of the way. I’m going to go ahead and give that 4 Stars, and it easily could’ve gone higher than that with a little cleaner and crisper offense in spots.
Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin, Konosuke Takeshita, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly vs MJF, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, Andrade El Idolo, Jake Doyle & Kevin Knight – 12-Man Steel Cage Match (Briscoe Earns An AEW World Title Shot If His Team Wins)
That was a lot to type.
I absolutely hated the idea of putting 12 man inside of a Steel Cage. The entire story doesn’t make much sense to me, and having this as a Steel Cage Match seemed ridiculous. Now that I’ve gotten to see the “custom made” cage, though… it’s circular, and surrounds almost all of the ringside area… I still absolutely hate the idea, but at least the cage looks cool.
Briscoe’s squad appears to have brought some plunder. Darby hands his skateboard to O’Reilly. Roddy is carrying a GIANT duffel bag to the ring. Once everyone enters the ring, the match begins, but no weapons are being used just yet.
Justin Roberts mentioned this match with a “Death’s Door” tag, and commentary has already referred to this as “Death’s Door” on multiple occasions, so I guess this type of Cage Match has an official name in AEW. Not quite necessary for a promotion who already has something like Blood & Guts, but again… what do I know?
It’s just chaos around the ring. There are 12 men in there, with the heels in early dominance. MJF’s team is just beating people up, then walking around and looking for more people to beat up.
Egos are out of control, though, and the heels lose their momentum. MJF gets in the ring to taunt, but Andrade steps in front of him to do his own taunt. They go back and forth a bit, shoving each other, before they’re broken up.
Kyle O’Reilly pulls an original Nintendo Entertainment System console out of a backpack, then pulls controllers out. He uses the cords to swing the controllers around as weapons, smacking one against Okada’s back. He then loads a game cartridge into the console (yes, he blew on it first) before using the console to smack Fletcher in the face, causing Fletcher to come up bleeding.
Briscoe has his own backpack, and he opens it up to reveal thumbtacks, which he dumps all over the mat. Unfortunately for him, though, he is the first to taste the tacks, being thrown off the top rope, beard-first, by Fletcher. There are thumbtacks in just about every part of Mark’s back now.
Darby takes a back body drop from MJF, but he rotates an extra time, landing face-first in the tacks. That looked brutal. He’s got tacks in his face that are dangerously close to being in his eye, and his palms are a bloody mess from smacking the mat on impact.
LOL @ Orange Cassidy having his own backpack, and then pulling a Ziploc bag full of orange slices out of it, complete with a good luck note from Willow Nightingale. OC takes the oranges and gives them to his teammates as refreshments.
Well, the man found a way to make the oranges into weapons. Fletcher, still a bloody mess, gets grabbed by the faces, and OC squeezes one of the orange slices on him, getting all of that citrus-y goodness into Kyle’s open wounds. “You sick fuck” chants break out as Kyle sells it like death.
Takeshita has a backpack, too, and he digs around it in, unable to find what he’s looking for. As Okada looks on, Takeshita pulls his arm out of the bag and flips the bird at Okada, who smirks. Cute spot.
Double German Suplex by Takeshita on Fletcher and Okada. I don’t mean one of those spots where the first man just jumps back, either. It was a slow suplex, with Takeshita having both men in the air above his head before sending them both crashing down to the mat. That was beautiful.
There are four tables stacked at ringside, in two stacks of two. That’s not going to end well.
MJF throws a chair at Briscoe’s face, and now Mark is a bloody mess.
LOL @ Okada going to open the bag that Roddy brought to the ring, revealing Lio Rush inside of it. It’s even funnier because the bag was swung around as a weapon earlier. The crowd loudly chants “it’s fine” as Lio and Kevin Knight have a duel. Knight keeps trying to land offense on Lio, but Lio is too unorthodox, and he zags when Knight thinks he’s going to zig, so Knight keeps missing time and time again. The crowd is eating this up, and they’re chanting Lio’s name now.
Eventually, the numbers game is too much for Lio, who takes a Rainmaker from Okada and gets put back into the bag. The heel squad zips the bag back up and goes to tie it up with a chain, but they’re intercepted by Mark Briscoe, and we’re back to brawling again.
There’s so much going on that I apparently missed O’Reilly becoming a bloody mess at some point.
Blue Thunder Bomb from the ring apron and through a table at ringside! Takeshita takes Fletcher out with a beautiful spot. LOL @ Don Callis leaving the announce table, then going to the cage and yelling out “NO!” repeatedly, high pitched and squeaky-like.
Knight gets on the top turnbuckle, but is being pursued by Darby. To escape Darby, Knight climbs to the top of the turnbuckle, then jumps to the top part of the cage. He pulls himself to the top of the cage and goes after the bag that Darby had. It’s a trap! The bag explodes in a shower of sparks, causing Knight to fall off the top of the cage and through the four tables that were stacked at ringside. Darby then figures that he might as well do something crazy while he’s up on the cage himself, so he hits a Coffin Drop to everyone below.
A Jay Driller to MJF gets a 2.999 count, and the pin is broken up by Jake Doyle. That was a VERY believable near fall.
MJF gets Andrade to hold Mark Briscoe up so he can hit him with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Andrade holds Mark up, but drops him destroys MJF with a back elbow. He then kicks Doyle in the little Doyles before removing his own shirt, to reveal a tank top that says “Fuck Don Fuck MJF” on it. Mark gets Doyle up and lays him out with a Jay Driller, and the face squad wins. Briscoe has earned himself a guaranteed shot at the AEW World Title at some point.
That was the exact type of bloody chaos that you expect from AEW. It’s not going to be for everyone to enjoy, but if you like that type of thing, it was very enjoyable. Sure, it’s probably unnecessary overkill with things like Blood & Guts, Stadium Stampede, Anarchy In The Arena, and so forth on the AEW calendar, but again… what do I know?
This was a blast for what it was, though. 4 Stars.
After the match, Mark Briscoe is interviewed and cuts a screaming promo that may or may not be affecting the audio. The sound keeps cutting out as he’s speaking, and he can’t be heard, but when he’s done, Excalibur listens to his headset and reveals that Mark is apparently using his title shot on the upcoming episode of Dynamite. That makes sense.
Will Ospreay vs Swerve Strickland – Men’s Owen Hart Cup Final (Winner Receives An AEW World Title Match At All In(nit) On August 30th)
Main event time. This might be another five-hour show. As Ospreay is in the ring during his entrance, with Swerve’s entrance and the match itself still to come, we’re at the 4:09 mark.
For his entrance, Swerve walks a motorcycle out and revs it a few times before turning it off and walking to the stage are. Ohhhhh-kayyyyy.
Oh, I get it now. The motorcycle, the giant (phony looking) gutting hook, and the (unlit) cigar… it’s a tribute to the DC character, Lobo. It still looked weird. Zero actual motorcycle riding, a weapon that looks like a 12-year-old built it for ComicCon, and the unlit cigar… that didn’t do anything for Swerve. It followed Ospreay’s entrance as Bane, though, so… hooray? It makes it seem like both men were on the phone ahead of the show and asking what each other was going to wear here so they could plan something together. Kinda dumb.
The opening bell is heard at the 4:14 mark.
A slower pace dominates the first few minutes, which makes me think this one could be going long. The finals of the men’s Owen Hart Cup has been a longer and longer match each year, with last year’s edition seeing “Hangman” Adam Page defeating Ospreay in 36:55. Could we be going 40+ tonight?
Ospreay comes up leaking like a faucet after being sent face-first into the exposed metal surrounding the bottom turnbuckle. Unfortunately, the camera angle showed that he didn’t even come close to connecting with anything, and you can tell he didn’t connect because there is zero replay of the spot being shown. “I can’t fucking see shit, mate” is what Ospreay says as the camera zooms in on him at ringside. That makes sense, considering he’s leaving little puddles of blood (everything’s so blurrrrrryyyyyyy, and everyone’s so fake) everywhere.
Ospreay hits Swerve with a Hidden Blade, but Swerve merely turns his head and then fires back with a Hidden Blade of his own.
A Styles Clash attempt by Ospreay is blocked, so Will just swings Swerve’s body into the ring steps. Swerve immediately moves the ring apron and crawls under the ring, not doing a good job of hiding that he’s looking for a blade. Sure enough, Swerve comes back out and he is also a bloody mess. He might even be bleeding harder than Ospreay is. Both men are messes. Swerve’s entire face and chest are completely covered in blood. My goodness.
Styles Clash from the top of the ring steps and onto the announce table. The ring steps literally look like a crime scene right now. It legitimately looks like someone was shot and bled out on the steps, and there are pools of blood all over ringside.
Ospreay is rocking Swerve with some of the hardest strikes you’re going to see in a wrestling match. The referee stops Ospreay from hitting the back of Swerve’s head with forearm shots, saying that Swerve is out… so he starts a ten-count, which Swerve gets up from at nine, only to take a Hidden Blade… that gets a 2.999 count. Sheesh.
House Call that sees Ospreay kick out at one, followed by a Hidden Blade that sees Swerve kick out at one. That’s going to piss a lot of people off.
“Fight forever” chant from the crowd, who clearly don’t care about the health and safety of either man.
Another Hidden Blade, followed by a Stormbreaker, and that’s enough… for another 2.999 count!
A kick to the willie of Willie, followed by a Vertebreaker, and that’s enough… for another 2.999 count!
We’re reaching pretty wild levels here.
The Death Riders have made their way to the ring, cheering on their recent “trainee,” Ospreay. Ospreay is hit by a House Call, but no-sells it completely before taking Swerve out. Will then hits a Buckshot Hidden Blade for another 2.999 count! He then gets a Paradigm Shift, a Death Rider, and then a Tiger Driver and that is FINALLY enough to get the win.
I don’t know the exact time of the match, but by looking at my clock, it fell about two-ish minutes short of being longer than last year’s Owen Hart Cup Final.
The match was absolutely fantastic… but I think they went overboard with the kick outs at the end. I better not see either man lose another match from anything short of a literal decapitation after that. I’ll say this… I’m giving the match 4.75 Stars, but I think it could’ve been even better without the end playing out like that. It should’ve been a 5 Star bout. I really believe that. Some people are going to love that type of thing, and you’re going to see a lot of “Match Of The Year” calls from people, if not stuff like “Best AEW Match Ever” calls. I don’t mind kicking out of finishers, but like I said, I think they went overboard with that here. Your mileage may vary.
What a night of wrestling. One of the better pay-per-views from top to bottom that you’re ever going to see. I’m exhausted, and I’ve just been sitting here. Forbidden Door 2026 gets a definite recommendation from me.
Thank you for reading, everybody.
