AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2025
August 24th, 2025
The O2 Arena
London, England
Watch: PPV / Amazon Prime Video / TrillerTV / YouTube / PPV.com
Meet our reviewers:
Sean Sedor: After an exciting NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona last night, Sean is ready to review the 2025 edition of Forbidden Door! You can find Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994 and on BlueSky @sasedor2994.bsky.social. If you’re interested in some of Sean’s other escapades, you can watch him play the Formula 1 games on YouTube (just search his name and you’ll find the channel), and you can also go to the Be The Booker forums if you’d like to check out Sean’s EWR Diary, where he plays as WCW (started in 1998, currently in January 2004).
Suit Williams: You can read Suit’s long-form previews and reviews of wrestling from around the world here at Voices of Wrestling. Check out his blog Williams Watches Wrestling, where he engages in watch projects like As Good As It Gets, his newest project, watching the best of 1997! Follow Suit on all social media platforms @SuitWilliams.
Forbidden Door 2025 Zero Hour
El Desperado, Kyle O’Reilly, Roderick Strong, & Yuya Uemura def. CRU (Action Andretti & Lio Rush) & The Don Callis Family (Hechicero & Josh Alexander)
Sean: When El Desperado came out, you can really tell the toll that the death matches he’s done over the last few years have taken on his body, at least visually (his torso and back are all scarred up). After a fun exchange between Desperado and Hechicero, O’Reilly and Strong (who had a very good match on Collision last night with The Young Bucks) went on a brief offensive flurry before Andretti and Rush cut them off. They worked over Strong for a bit, and then O’Reilly managed to do some damage before tagging Yuya Uemura in. After a fun exchange between Alexander and Uemura, things broke down (as you would expect), and ultimately, Uemura hit the Deadbolt Suplex on Rush to score the pin. A post-match attack by the heels led to Tomohiro Ishii coming out to make the save, culminating with Ishii hoisting up Lance Archer for the Vertical Drop Brainbuster. Good action in this opening contest. Certainly didn’t light the world on fire, but perfect for its spot on the card. ***1/4
Suit: I hid in the bathroom at work to watch this one. What I saw was a fun opening match with the energy that I want Forbidden Door to have. I would’ve taken this on the PPV proper, as a fun showcase of talent from the Forbidden Door Conglomerate. Uemura got the win with the Deadbolt, as it IS possible for a new generation New Japan star to get a pinfall win on a big time event. ***1/4
Forbidden Door 2025 Zero Hour
Ricochet & The Gates Of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) def. JetSpeed (Kevin Knight & “Speedball” Mike Bailey) & Michael Oku
Sean: I’m happy that they were able to find a spot for Michael Oku on this card. He was able to get the early edge on Ricochet before being jumped by the Gates Of Agony. The babyface side was quick to fight back, but then a dive attempt by Oku was stopped by Toa Liona, who sent Oku flying over the top rope and crashing hard on the floor (that was a nasty bump). Ricochet and GOA worked over Oku for a bit until he was finally able tag in Knight. From there, we got some good back-and-forth action between both sides. Oku successfully connected with the Fosbury Flop on the second attempt. A series of aerial attacks on JetSpeed led to Oku locking in the Half Crab on Ricochet, but he managed to escape the hold after gouging the eyes of Oku. GOA then took out JetSpeed, and Ricochet hit the Spirit Gun on Oku for the pin. A very good match between these two sides. It’s worth seeking out just to see Oku’s crazy bump to the floor. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Oku more in AEW in the future. Given Ricochet’s recent involvement in the Hangman/MJF story, I’m curious to see if Ricochet is being set up for a future title match with Page down the line. ***1/2
Forbidden Door 2025 Zero Hour
Megan Bayne (with Penelope Ford) & Triangle Of Madness (Julia Hart, Skye Blue, & Thekla) def. Harley Cameron, Kris Statlander, Queen Aminata, & Willow Nightingale
Sean: Things quickly broke down as this one got started. The babyface side was on the offensive early, until the Triangle Of Madness (they definitely could’ve picked a better name for those three) took out Statlander. The heels continued to work over Statlander after Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford hit a pair of dives to the floor. After a few rough spots from Harley when she was in the ring, Aminata pulled off an awesome counter to Bayne’s attempt at a Tombstone Piledriver before the match started to break down once again. Aminata and Thekla brawled to the back as Harley used her face mask on Bayne before hitting a Tornado DDT. In the ensuing chaos, Statlander collided with Willow, and that allowed Bayne to hit Harley with the running Liger Bomb for the win. A perfectly fine match here, though it was definitely the weakest of the multi-person tags that we’ve had thus far. There’s been plenty of speculation that all of these tags over the last few months are leading towards a potential women’s Blood and Guts Match with Bayne, Ford, and the Triangle Of Madness against the various assortment of babyfaces they’ve been fighting as of late. Even though it’s been primarily a match saved for TV, I can definitely see AEW bringing out that match for All Out, given the competition that night from WWE. **3/4
Forbidden Door 2025 Zero Hour
AEW World Trios Titles
The Opps (Katsuyori Shibata, Powerhouse Hobbs, & Samoa Joe) (c) def. Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, & Robbie X with Gedo)
Sean: With only about eleven minutes or so left on the Zero Hour, I had a feeling that they’d be working this one at a quick pace. The match did indeed get off to a fast start as Connors and Shibata went right after each other. Shibata sent Connors into the barricades a couple of times before Connors took him down with a shoulder tackle back inside the ring. Joe and Moloney then started going at it, and The Opps worked over Robbie X for a few moments until Connors turned the match in the War Dogs favor after tripping Shibata. They worked over Shibata until he finally managed to make the tag to Hobbs, who ran wild. An attempt by Gedo to get involved was thwarted by Shibata, and the rest of the War Dogs were taken out before Joe hit Robbie X with the Muscle Buster to pick up the victory. A pretty fun match while it lasted. Given that they didn’t have a ton of time before the start of the PPV, they managed to pack in a fair amount of action in this one. It’s nice to see these titles getting definitely a little more often. I believe this was only the second title defense for The Opps since winning these titles back in April? While I could go on about how these Trios Titles haven’t been used very well since the Death Triangle/Elite series, I’d just be beating a dead horse at that point. ***1/4
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage def. Killswitch & Kip Sabian
Sean: Kicking off the PPV portion of the show is a match that has absolutely no New Japan connections whatsoever. The crowds singing Metalingus doesn’t always work out (particularly the shows that AEW runs in smaller venues), but on bigger stages like this, it comes off incredibly well. Of course, Nick Wayne suffering a broken foot within the last few weeks led to the returning Luchasaurus/Killswitch (who’s been out of action for a long time after battling double pneumonia) taking his spot in this match. Christian and Copeland managed to work over Sabian early on, but Christian immediately tagged out once Killswitch got in there. After eating a superkick right to the jaw, Copeland was isolated by heels for several minutes, despite their being some….wait for it….dissension between Killswitch and Kip. At some point along the way, Kip got a pretty nasty cut above the eye, and Copeland was finally able to make the tag to Christian, who went on the offensive (which included a big dive off the post to the floor onto Killswitch). A few minutes later, Copeland speared Killswitch to the floor, and Christian popped up Kip for a spear to secure the win. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this match, but by the time it was over, it ended up being a solid tag team bout. The result of this one wasn’t really in question, and presumably they’ll be facing off with FTR next. Will that be for the AEW World Tag Team Titles? I guess we’ll see what happens in the Three-Way Tag a little bit later. ***1/4
Suit: I call Copeland an entrance merchant, but I sing his song every time he comes out, so I can’t say it doesn’t work. I was driving home from work during the opening minutes of this match. I turned on the show and saw Kip Sabian bleeding out of his face, Mother Wayne spilling out of her top, and the crowd singing the Bayley song for…someone. Are karaoke bars big in the UK? All these people do is sing.
We got the faceoff between Christian and Killswitch after a lot of stalling from Christian, which makes good sense with his character refusing to change. Copeland took care of Killswitch, spearing him to the floor, before Christian popped Sabian up into a spear for the win. I won’t rate this one since I didn’t see it all, but what I saw was a fine opener for the PPV proper, which is a much better spot for Copeland than the back end of the card. I’ll note here that Bryan Danielson is at the desk, and he was a quality addition to the desk.
AEW TNT Title
Kyle Fletcher (c) def. Hiromu Takahashi
Sean: While this isn’t Hiromu Takahashi’s first time on a Forbidden Door card, I believe this is the first time he’s been on the main card in a featured match. Walker Stewart also joined the commentary team (which included Bryan Danielson by the way!) for this one as well. After connecting with an early crossbody, Fletcher wiped out Takahashi with a big boot, and then a back elbow. He continued to dish out the punishment with a series of bodyslams (which Danielson really put over). Hiromu finally fought back with a reverse headscissors in the ropes that just ended up sending Fletcher to the floor (not sure if that part of it was intentional). The two would then exchange suplex variations before Fletcher hit a Michinoku Driver. A battle on the turnbuckle led to Fletcher hitting a very cool back suplex off the ropes before a Liger Bomb for a two count. After taking more punishment from Fletcher, Hiromu countered a brainbuster attempt on the apron with a brutal DDT, and followed up with a powerbomb on the floor. Hiromu was able to counter another Liger Bomb with a Destroyer, but Fletcher would respond a short time later with a jumping Tombstone. While Hiromu was able to counter a brainbuster attempt with a small package, he couldn’t avoid it a second time, and Fletcher put him away to retain the TNT Title. This one took a bit to get going, but it ended up being a strong match by the end, just barely reaching notebook territory for me. I think I was expecting this to be a tad better than it was, though again, it was still a great match. Hiromu got in some big shots on Fletcher in the closing few minutes, but it wasn’t enough to put Fletcher away. With the title win over Dustin Rhodes in a brutal Chicago Street Fight, and two big defenses against Ishii and Hiromu, Fletcher’s TNT Title reign is off to a very good start. ****
Suit: I want to remind everyone that Kyle Fletcher’s big push isn’t even a full year old yet. This man has taken every opportunity he’s been given to impress, and knocked them all out of the park. From the blood feud with Will Ospreay, the bloody brawl with Dustin Rhodes to win this title, and the showcase matches he’s had as TNT Champion so far in his reign, he has killed it every time out and put himself in the conversation of best wrestlers in the world today at age 26.
This match with Hiromu was no exception, as this was a fantastic match. Even with there being no doubt on the winner, they built some strong nearfalls for Hiromu, the strongest coming off of a DDT on the apron and the apron powerbomb leading into the Hiromu-chan Bomber. Hiromu countered the brainbuster with a small package, but Fletcher kicked out and herked Hiromu up for the brainbuster anyway to get the win. Another awesome Kyle Fletcher match as he continues the long climb to the top of the wrestling world. ****1/4
AEW TBS Title – Four-Way Match
Mercedes Moné (c) def. Alex Windsor, Bozilla, & Persephone
Sean: Mercedes had a grand entrance (no surprise there) with a bunch of guys dressed as royal guards carrying all of her titles. Early on, we saw Bozilla showing off her power, as she pressed Mercedes over her head and sent her onto Persephone and Windsor on the floor. She would get taken out of the match momentarily, but was quick to recover with a double back suplex. After Bozilla caught Mercedes out of a monkey flip attempt which she turned into a powerbomb, we got a series of dives on the floor which included Persephone nearly killing herself on a dive where her feet got caught in the ropes. A wild Tower Of Doom spot followed a few minutes later, and that led to both Mercedes and Windsor attempting double submissions. Bozilla would easily break all of that up, and followed that with a moonsault off the second rope. The action continued from there, and while Persephone was able to hit a Razor’s Edge on Bozilla (which looked super impressive), her attempt to hit the same move on Mercedes was countered into a pin, and Mercedes managed to escape London with the TBS Title. The match was maybe a tad longer than it needed to be, and was definitely sloppy at points, but on the whole, it was a good match. Even though Persephone and Windsor both had moments to shine throughout, this was a great showcase for Bozilla, who I’m sure a lot of people were seeing for the first time here. She obviously made the jump from Marigold to STARDOM in the last year (and from what I heard, she had a strong showing in the recent Five Star Grand Prix), but it’s very clear that she likely has a future in one of the two big American promotions. Another title match on this card with a fairly obvious result, though it definitely had its moments. ***1/4
Suit: This was a bit of a sloppy spotfest, which will come with four women who work different styles at different paces. There was a ton of spotlight on The Bozilla, who stood out with her size while also being notably green. They tried to do a big four-way match with big nearfalls for everyone, but there was very little drama here. Persephone had Mone up for a Splash Mountain Bomb, but Mone rolled it into a pin for the win. **1/2
IWGP World Heavyweight Title
Zack Sabre Jr. (c) def. Nigel McGuinness (with Daniel Garcia)
Sean: Johnny Saint and Marty Jones were in the front row for this one (Saint was featured in Nigel’s pre-entrance video package). That fact that we’re getting Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Nigel McGuinness in front of a big crowd in the O2 Arena in London is awesome to see. This is the type of cool shit that I love to see from AEW. As expected, we got a ton of technical wrestling right out of the gate, as both men tried to target the other’s arm. After a big European Uppercut in the corner, Nigel followed up by catching Sabre with a huge lariat (incredible timing on that one). Sabre would respond a few moments later by countering the Jawbreaker Lariat into an armbar, before twisting Nigel up like he was a pretzel. The fact that Bryan Danielson is commentary for this one just makes this whole match even better (he’s a great commentator and is the perfect guy to have on the call for this match). More uppercuts are exchanged between the two as Sabre’s nose was bloodied, and mid-ring collision led to Nigel connected with the Jawbreaker Lariat. Another lariat followed, as well as the Tower Of London after Sabre avoided it on the first attempt. The two of them then got into a pinning exchange, and Zack ultimately caught Nigel to get the three count.
They did tease Daniel Garcia trying to help Nigel throughout (and it seemed like Garcia having a towel was a tease that he would throw in the towel for Nigel), but in the end, the match ended with a clean pinfall. In fact, we got no Garcia turn at all, which was definitely a surprise. As for the match itself, it was pretty freaking great. Sabre was excellent as always, and Nigel continues to look impressive in this return run that he’s been on. Obviously he’s not reaching the levels that he reached during his peak in ROH (though with how badly he damaged his body during that run, I don’t think anyone wants to go that far at this stage), but everything he’s been involved in over the last year has been a lot of fun. Bryan Danielson being on commentary was the cherry on top for this entire presentation. A blast to watch from start to finish, and (for me, at least) my current frontrunner for Match Of The Night. ****1/4
Suit: If more matches had the presentation of Sabre/McGuinness, professional wrestling would be in such a stronger place. There were no bits here; there was no bullshit. This was two high-level professional wrestlers taking professional wrestling seriously. This was such a breath of fresh air in today’s especially gimmicked-up pro wrestling world, and I’m desperate for anybody in the wrestling world to follow suit on this. Nigel worked on Sabre’s arm before destroying him with lariats, while Sabre worked on Nigel’s arm and neck. There was some interplay with Daniel Garcia manipulating the ropes to Nigel’s benefit, to the point where the referee had to tell him to back off. Nigel and Zack got into a pinning predicament, with Sabre catching Nigel long enough to score the win.
After the match, Garcia teased the predicted turn on McGuinness, but instead hugged him and left with him. That’s a bummer, as that would have been a huge spot for Garcia. Tony Schiavone announced that this show broke the pro wrestling attendance record for this building at 18,992, surpassing the record set by WWE Money in the Bank 2023. Eat shit, Paul. ****
Jamie Hayter Returns
Sean: Before the next match, we got a segment where Queen Aminata and Thekla brawled out onto the entranceway (I guess they had been brawling backstage since their Zero Hour match?). Julia Hart and Skye Blue came out to help Thekla, and just as it looked like they were going to do more damage, a returning Jamie Hayter showed up to make the save. Hayter was apparently injured in that Owen Hart Tournament final back in May (likely on the spot at the finish where Mercedes drove her head straight into the mat), so it’s nice to see that her injury layoff wasn’t nearly as long as when she was out previously. As I mentioned earlier, it seems very clear that we’re setting up a Women’s Blood and Guts Match (or perhaps Anarchy In The Arena). What’s interesting is that there have been A LOT of babyfaces battling the five heels of Megan Bayne, Penelope Ford, and the Triangle Of Madness (I hate that I have to keep typing that stupid stable name), so unless the heel side adds another body or two, we’ll have to wait and see which five names on the babyface side they end up picking.
Suit: Queen Aminata and Thekla were brawling in the back before making their way to the ramp. This feud has helped Aminata get over, as these two have strong chemistry. Julia Hart and Skye Blue came out to help Thekla out with terrible strikes before Jamie Hayter made her return. She got hurt in the Mercedes Mone match at Double or Nothing, with the injury attributed to Thekla after a phantom attack on the following Dynamite. Hayter got a big pop as the strong top end of the AEW women’s division gets even stronger.
AEW World Tag Team Titles – Three-Way Tag Team Match
Brodido (Bandido & Brody King) def. The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) (c) & FTR
Sean: So I thought this was supposed to be an Elimination Match? I know they mentioned this being an Elimination Match a couple of times on television. Anyway, for the second PPV in a row, we go into an AEW World Tag Team Title bout wondering if this will be the time that the Hurt Syndicate finally drop the titles amidst the rumors that they uh….don’t like to lose. This one started off with everyone brawling on the floor, but Benjamin and Lashley took control once the action returned to the ring. They worked over Bandido for a LONG time before he finally made the tag to Brody King. He runs wild until he came face-to-face with Lashley. After a brief exchange, Lashley managed to slam Brody down, but Brody popped back up and hit a big lariat. Things began to break down as Brody wiped out The Hurt Syndicate with a dive. Bandido then followed up by giving Dax the moonsault fallaway slam off the top rope and onto the pile of bodies on the floor! That was insane. Then, from out of nowhere, a bunch of masked guys in New Japan track suits jumped The Hurt Syndicate and sent them to the back. It turned out to be Ricochet and GOA, but while all of that was going on, Dax just brained Brody with a chair. Somehow he kicked out, and what followed was a messy sequence that ended with Brodido winning the titles.
Something happened on the final pinfall, as Paul Turner had to restart the count. Not really sure what happened at the finish, but it took down what was shaping up to be a relatively entertaining three-way tag. It took some time to get going, though the action definitely picked up after Brody King tagged in. I definitely wasn’t expecting Brodido to win the titles, but it was a nice surprise, to say the least. The good news is that Hurt Syndicate finally lost the titles, and the fact that they weren’t even involved in the deciding fall was not a shocker. They tried to tie the involvement of Ricochet and the GOA into the MJF/Hurt Syndicate split, so I’ll give them a little bit of credit for trying to make sense of. A good match overall, though it could’ve been better if not for the final minute or two. ***1/4
Suit: This was advertised as an elimination match on television and on Twitter multiple times, so something changed on the day. I’ve had this in the holster for a while with the Hurt Syndicate, but I’m just gonna let it fly here. These guys were the strongest pushed act in the weakest creative period in WWE history. They’ve never been a money-drawing act, and they weren’t a strong performing television act before MJF decided to jump in. These guys are not valuable enough to be causing the problems they seem to be causing.
As you could tell from the sudden stipulation change, the Syndicate lost the titles without getting beaten. They had the match well in hand before getting attacked by Ricochet and the Gates of Agony. Bryan Danielson and Excalibur did an excellent job of relaying why they would have an issue with the Syndicate, citing Ricochet getting rejected by the Syndicate as well as their recent alliance with MJF. A solid way to get these guys out of the way, but I wouldn’t mind if they brawled their way out of the company at this point.
The match came down to FTR and Brodido, and after a fucked up pin off of a rocket launcher 450, Brody and Bandido won the titles. A surprising result given the Cope & Christian feud, and an unfortunate ending that took some steam off the pop, but I’m glad they put the belts on King and Bandido here. Those two have built a strong connection with the crowd, and getting the titles on them here shows a real dedication to moving them up the card. A better result than match. ***1/4
AEW Unified Title
Kazuchika Okada (c) def. Swerve Strickland
Sean: This is the first time Okada has defended the new Unified Title since All In. Swerve got the upper hand early on, as he managed to connect with his Fosbury Flop to the floor. However, it wouldn’t take long for Okada to start targeting the injured leg of Swerve. If the knee issues weren’t enough, Swerve’s head and neck also became a target, with the biggest shot being an Okada DDT onto the steel steps on the outside. A few more in ring exchanges followed, and Swerve managed to respond with (what looked like) an Angle Slam off the top rope. An attempt at a Swerve Stomp moments later was thwarted with a tombstone on the floor. Once back in the ring, more back and forth action followed. Swerve managed to avoid the Rainmaker a few times, while Okada managed to survive a couple of Swerve’s bigger shots (mainly thanks to the damage that had already been done to Swerve’s knee). Okada always went back to the knee, and while Swerve was able to recover from getting dropped knee first on the turnbuckle, he wasn’t able to capitalize after connecting with the House Call again. Okada then followed up with the Rainmaker to put Swerve away. The post-match would see Okada smash Swerve’s knee with a chair, which seems to set up Swerve for some time off to deal with his legitimate knee issues.
The post-match attack wasn’t done, however, as a returning Wardlow appeared, and attacked Prince Nana while Swerve was trapped in the steel steps. So Wardlow is the newest member of the Don Callis Family (at this point, they’ll be showing up on Dynamite in two limos like the nWo used to on Nitro), and he had a brief staredown with Konosuke Takeshita after the match as the rest of the Don Callis Family looked on. Now the match itself was great, as you would expect. Swerve did a very nice job selling his knee, and Okada continues to play his role extremely well. Despite the various issues with Okada’s AEW run in terms of his character on television, he continues to show that he can deliver strong matches in PPV settings. While this was far from Okada’s best PPV outing from AEW, it was still a pretty great match from start to finish. It’ll be interesting to see how long Swerve is out for (I’m sure this sets him up for a longer feud with the DCF when he returns), and we also continue to get teases of the eventual Takeshita babyface turn, which I’m sure will lead to an eventual showdown between Okada and Takeshita. ****1/4
Suit: I’ve heard enough: Bryan Danielson needs to be on the call full-time. His putting over of Okada as the most dangerous man in wrestling after taking out Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland was such a stellar way of putting Okada over that wasn’t “hey, it’s Okada!” They’ve also done a great job of establishing the Rainmaker as a death blow, as the old meme was that Okada matches didn’t start until he hit the first Rainmaker. Swerve sold the bad knee well, first tweaking it on a successful Fosbury Flop, then hurting it worse on a Swerve Stomp attempt on the floor. Okada worked over Swerve’s knee and his neck after a DDT on the steps.
The closing stretch was Swerve trying to avoid the Rainmaker at all costs. Swerve hit the Swerve Stomp, but the knee was hurt too badly to make a quick cover. Swerve did more dodging, but missed a House Call, allowing Okada to hit the Rainmaker for the win. After the match, Okada worked over Swerve’s knee with a chair to write him off for a while.
Then, out of nowhere, Wardlow showed up to lay out Prince Nana and some black shirt security. Wardlow joined the Callis Family with a big hug to Don Callis, and the entire Family came out to embrace him. Konosuke Takeshita came out by himself to a huge pop and stared Wardlow down before uneasily standing beside the Family. If adding Kazuchika Okada to the Callis Family was akin to the Golden State Warriors adding Kevin Durant, this would be akin to the Warriors adding post-Achilles tear, ring chaser Boogie Cousins. He probably won’t make a major contribution, but maybe he can give you some good bench minutes. ***3/4
AEW Women’s World Title
“Timeless” Toni Storm (c) def. Athena
Sean: Athena won this title shot in the Women’s Casino Gauntlet back at All In. After the opening exchange, Toni Storm immediately went to the floor and wiped out Billie Starkz with the Storm Zero. However, that left her wide open for Athena, who sent her hard into the barricade with a shotgun dropkick. From there, Athena was firmly in control as she worked over Storm. While Toni would get her shots in here and there, Athena would always manage to regain control of the match. When the action spilled out to the floor again, Storm would send Athena into the barricade, and hit a Storm Zero for a close nearfall. A distraction by Starkz led to Athena hitting an O Face in the ropes, and another attempt at interference by Starkz behind the referee’s back was thwarted by Mina Shirakawa. Back in the ring, Athena tried to follow up with the main version of the O Face, but Toni blocked it, and locked in the TCM Chicken Wing to score the tap out victory. This was a good match, though given all the hype and buildup over the last month, it certainly fell short of expectations. The actual wrestling was perfectly fine, and the story they told was decent enough, but again, this felt like a MUCH bigger bout then it ended up being. Ultimately, it just seemed like it was missing something, and the crowd reactions throughout weren’t exactly stellar either. I felt pretty confident that Storm would retain, so the result didn’t shock me. As for Athena, I guess this means that her run in AEW proper (for the time being) is over, as she heads back to her primary domain of ROH, where she has a title defense against the aforementioned Mina Shirakawa next weekend. Again, this by no means a bad match, but it won’t be one you’ll remember a few weeks from now. It probably would’ve worked out better as a big time main event on an episode of Dynamite as opposed to a major PPV. ***1/4
Suit: Alright, time to be honest. AEW doesn’t think Athena is a top-line star in this company, and after this match, they might be right. This was Athena’s big shot to prove that she belonged, being programmed with the top star in the division and one of the top stars in the company. They ran a full program since All In, with Athena getting plenty of screen time and matches to get her act over. When the match came, she just wasn’t over. She felt like a challenger of the month for the real star, and outside of hitting her finish to Storm on the apron, people didn’t care about this match. All the reaction was Toni related, whether it be her hitting her big moves or Mina Shirakawa boobily running off an interfering Billie Starkz. Toni got the win with the TCM Chickenwing in a very disappointing outing. **1/2
AEW World Title
“Hangman” Adam Page (c) def. MJF
Sean: Strap yourselves in, folks. Given the stipulations attached to this one, and given the horrible angle from Wednesday on Dynamite that led to MJF regaining his title shot contract, I’m sure we’re in for a lot of sports entertainment silliness. We got teases of the stipulations early on, as Hangman nearly got himself disqualified. After taking a beating on the floor, MJF recovered and managed to take control of the match. He managed to connect with a piledriver, but Hangman would respond with a big flying clothesline off the top rope, a fallaway slam, and a big moonsault to the floor. Following an exchange of submissions, MJF brought out the timekeepers table and set it up on the other side of the ring, though he would end up going through it after Deadeye off the apron. MJF would get to use the table a short time later, as he managed to hit Hangman with a tombstone onto the broken table.
At this point, both men were busted open. We got a nice exchange of pinfalls, and at this point, it was time for the shenanigans! Bryce Remsburg got taken out after MJF tried to get Page to use the Dynamite Diamond ring. This led to MJF hitting the Heat Seeker, which seemingly got him the win, as the referee didn’t see Page’s foot on the ropes. Mark Briscoe tried to come out to protest, but for….some reason was dragged away by security? The match did continue when Bryce recovered and saw the foot of Page on the ropes, and the last minute or so saw more attempts at MJF to cheat, though all of them ultimately backfired, and Page. The actual wrestling through most of this match was very good (MJF and Page are both excellent wrestlers), but it was hard to get super invested when you just knew the bullshit was coming. I’m sure some will be very angry with how this was all handled. I was certainly annoyed watching all of the nonsense unfold, but again, I came into this fully expecting this stuff, so I guess it didn’t impact me as much (am I numb to it?). It sucks. 1000%. Every single time MJF gets close to the main events, they get worse, and turn into WWE style spectacles, which is not what I want to see in AEW. The fact that he still has his silly contract means we’re probably getting another MJF title shot, meaning that there’s going to be this dark cloud hanging over the rest of Hangman’s title reign (wonderful). I’ll just throw a rating on this one and move on. **1/2
Suit: This match was…a lot. There was 20 minutes of clean, straight-up action that was as good as you would expect from these two cornerstone stars of the company. It felt like a big-time match as both guys bled and did a lot of great spots throughout. It was the work both men are capable of putting on, but then we got the nonsense. MJF got a pin with Hangman’s foot on the ropes, but Bryce Remsburg never rang the bell. Mark Briscoe came out but got dragged away by security. MJF went to take Hangman’s foot off the rope, but Remsburg caught him and continued the match. We then got assorted nonsense with MJF cheating and the ref never seeing it, before he finally caught him with the Diamond Ring. Hangman hit MJF with the contract behind the ref’s back, which will probably be MJF’s out for a rematch, then hit the Buckshot for the win.
Much like a lot of MJF’s work, it was too cute by a half. The first twenty minutes of this match were a flashing neon sign that MJF is an excellent professional wrestler, but for whatever reason, that’s never enough. There’s so much fluff and bullshit around it that it takes away from this guy, who is more than talented enough to hang with the top names in the world without it. It’s frustrating, but after six years, it’s hard to believe that it will ever change. Tony Khan deserves some blame as well, as a good editor would help MJF refine his ideas for AEW’s audience. But, this is only a me problem, as the crowd in the O2 ate this stuff up. Maybe this is just what wrestling is now, and while that’s disappointing to me, I can’t blame these guys for playing to their current audience. This match was a personally frustrating look at what AEW could be, and what it actually is. ***1/2
Lights Out Steel Cage Match
Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay, & The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) def. Gabe Kidd, The Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley), & The Young Bucks
Sean: So the Steel Cage they’re using here is interesting, as they’ve gone with the design that’s closer to the Dog Pound Cage Match from New Japan (or the ROH vs. CZW Cage Of Death style cage from 2006, as another example), with plenty of room around the ring, though it definitely seems a little bit higher by comparison. During the entrances, we got a payoff to a Young Bucks backstage segment from the Zero Hour, as they came out to the entrance music that they used in PWG.
As expected, we got a massive brawl to start this one off, and everyone paired off. Kidd got taken out with a Sasuke Special to the floor by Ospreay, Darby hit a wild dive to the floor onto the Death Rides, and The Young Bucks had some exchanges with the Golden Lovers. A trash-can moonsault by Omega didn’t pan out, and that led to The Young Bucks bringing out a bag of what they thought were (probably) thumbtacks, but were instead gummy bears. That led to a funny spot where Tanahashi planted Nick Jackson head first into the gummy bears. Things would get a little more serious after that, as The Young Bucks would bring out a ladder to dish out some punishment (which would lead to Ospreay getting busted open). Ospreay tried to fight back, but that led to him getting wiped out with a piledriver from Kidd.
The heel team was firmly in control at this stage. Claudio military-pressed Darby Allin over the top rope and into the wall of the cage, and Tanahashi’s brief comeback was ultimately thwarted by Moxley. We then got a truly disgusting spot where Darby (who was duct-taped to a chair) got his ear absolutely destroyed with a fork by Moxley. A barbed wire board was set up in the ring by The Young Bucks while Marina Shafir and Wheeler Yuta set up a stack of tables outside the cage. Moxley would end up going through that barbed wire board thanks to Ospreay, and that kicked off the comeback for the babyface side. Ospreay managed to recover enough to hit a moonsault off the top of the cage onto the pile of bodies on the floor. At this stage, the action had really picked up, with bodies flying all over the place and everyone getting the chance to hit some pretty big moves.
Wheeler Yuta climbed up the cage to help Moxley out of the cage. Darby followed, and sent Yuta crashing through the Japanese announce desk. It looked as though Darby was going to put Mox through the set of tables on the floor, but instead, Gabe Kidd climbed to the top of the cage, and he and Darby BOTH went crashing through the stack of tables on the floor (Kidd in particular had a nasty landing). That proved to be the beginning of the end for the heel side, as The Young Bucks got completely wiped out in the ring. An awesome Hidden Blade/One Winged Angel combo led to the High Fly Flow from Tanahashi that got the babyface side the win.
This was an absolutely wild match from start to finish, and it was a blast to watch. AEW continues to prove why they’re an incredible hardcore promotion. Of course, you had the incredible action that you would expect from all the wrestlers involved in this one, but you also had some absolutely insane spots, from Darby getting his ear massacred with a fork, to the insane bump off the top of the cage with Darby and Kidd, and everything else that happened in between. Everyone involved in this match worked very hard, and everyone had their turn to take some pretty crazy spots (including Tanahashi, who ate a piledriver on the apron from Kidd at one point). I don’t have much else to say about the match, to be honest. Like I said earlier, I had a ton of fun watching this one, and it totally delivered as the main event of this show. After all of the issues I had with the Hangman/MJF match, it was nice to just sit back, relax, and close out the show watching ten guys bloody each other up and do some truly wild things inside of a Steel Cage. ****3/4
While the babyfaces emerged victorious, the show ended on a down note as the Death Riders attacked Ospreay inside of the cage (with all of the babyfaces locked outside of it) and crushed his neck with a steel chair. Obviously we all know the story with Ospreay likely needing neck surgery, so my reaction to this was that they’re probably just setting something up for Ospreay when he eventually comes back. I don’t think we’ve ever gotten that Jon Moxley/Will Ospreay singles match in AEW (unless it did happen and I’m completely forgetting it), so that should be a big match for something next year, or whenever Ospreay comes back.
Suit: Holy fuck. AEW once again knocked it out of the park with a multi-man mayhem match, as the level of violence here was breathtaking. We got some Young Bucks levity to start it off, as they came out to their music when they first broke out in the independent scene, MMMBop by Hanson. They also had the production team put something incredibly violent under the ring, which was gummy bears. Part of me was annoyed that the Bucks comedy schtick was bleeding into this deathmatch, as again, it wasn’t necessary in this setting.
But, the violence amped up soon after as Ospreay started bleeding after a ladder shot from the Bucks. Darby Allin, in his first wrestling match of 2025, made up for lost time as he did some genuinely insane shit in this match. Him getting gorilla pressed from the ring into the cage, which extended out to the floor, was maybe the fourth most dangerous thing he did here. Jon Moxley was teaming with a War Dog, but he got his Reservoir Dog on tonight as he carved up Allin’s bloody ear with a fork. The tape Moxley had on his fingers made it look for a second like he clipped a vein, which would’ve ended this show on a far darker tone. Darby, who wasn’t dead yet, then took the Nestea Plunge with Gabe Kidd off the cage through four tables on the floor. Kidd, who took Darby’s weight on top of him and fell like a stone through the tables, was still dead on the ramp after the post-match angle. Here’s hoping he’s okay.
Eventually, the babyfaces isolated the Bucks as The Death Riders bailed out. Everyone hit their finishers, ending with Hiroshi Tanahashi getting the pin in his final match in the UK. Tanahashi may have gotten the pop of the match climbing the ropes for the High Fly Flow, in a classic sign of working smarter instead of harder. It may have been more dangerous for him than anything Darby did.
The story coming out of it was the end-of-show fakeout, with Ospreay receiving a round of applause from the crowd before the Death Riders attacked him and locked themselves in the cage with him. It was a Freebirds/Von Erichs type deal, with the babyface team fighting to get in the cage as Yuta and Shafir beat them away with sticks. Moxley repeatedly dropped Ospreay with Death Rides before making sure to Pillmanize Ospreay’s neck himself, as Ospreay dared him to do on the Glasgow Dynamite. I already had my skepticism on the severity of Ospreay’s injury, but with how hard they hammered it home here, I’m now sure that Ospreay will be back well in time for Wembley next year. Does this mean that Moxley will get the title back, and we get the main event we were close to getting this year? Will Ospreay get his revenge on them before then? One thing I’m sure of is that Ospreay will be standing tall next year in Wembley Stadium. ****1/4
