AEW FORBIDDEN DOOR 2026
JUNE 28, 2026
SAP CENTER
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
MEET YOUR PREVIEWERS:
Suit Williams: Check out SuitWilliams.com for show reviews, including the weekly Main Event Gazette feature where I review the TV main events of the week (returning after the World Cup Round of 16), and long-form watch projects like Williams Watches Wrestlemania and the 1997 retrospective As Good As It Gets! Follow Suit on all social media (while he still has it) @SuitWilliams.
Syed Farzam Kirmani: Junior doctor from Kashmir, Wrestling fan, and an occasional overthinker of both. Check out my reviews and columns on Voices of Wrestling.
AEW Forbidden Door 2026 Buy-In
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Title Match
Divine Dominion (Lena Kross & Megan Bayne) (c) vs. Olympia & Thunder Rosa
Suit: Divine Dominion faces their biggest challenge yet as they take on Thunder Rosa and her partner, CMLL’s Olympia. Olympia is a physical match for both Bayne and Kross, and those staredown spots should get some oohs and aahs. Divine Dominion will retain the titles as they continue their dominant reign as champions. Prediction: Divine Dominion
Farzam: Thunder Rosa teams up with CMLL’s Olympia to take on Divine Dominion in their defense of the tag titles. This should be a more physical match-up, as anybody who’s seen the luchadora Olympia wrestle will attest to, her style will be more of a physical battle than any of Lena & Megan’s previous opponents. That being said, this should be a successful title defense for the champions. Prediction: Divine Dominion
Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Suit: The showcase promotional crossover match for this show will see Kenny Omega face Zack Sabre Jr. Zack issued the challenge because he’s the one guy who consistently gets singles matches on these shows. This should be a straightforward match with good heat between two big names. We’ll probably get some tummy work, with Zack stretching Omega for a while before Omega gets the win. Zack is cycled down right now in New Japan, so this isn’t screwing up any big plans for them, but Kenny is ramping up as he’s still circling MJF and the World Title. Prediction: Kenny Omega
Farzam: Omega and Zack Sabre Jr. is a match that surprised me hasn’t happened more. They have had one singles match together in the 2018 G1 Climax B block match up which Kenny won. I expect this match to have a similar result. That match was built around Zack attacking Kenny’s leg and the latter selling it throughout the match, this one might be built around Kenny’s “gut”. Zack is currently being used in less important roles and used down the card in New Japan, and Kenny is perhaps one win away from challenging (and winning?) the AEW World title. This should be a hell of a match built around the submission expertise of Zack and Kenny’s athleticism and explosiveness. Prediction: Kenny Omega
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. El Sky Team (Mascara Dorada & Mistico) vs. Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi & Titan)
Suit: This match is a prime example of how easy this Forbidden Door concept can be, and why the bad-faith critics, whom I only acknowledge due to their wide reach, need to be wholly ignored. Tony Schiavone’s explanation when this match was announced on Collision was perfect: these three teams represent three of the top units in their respective promotions, and they will wrestle on this show to showcase the best of all three men’s promotions collaborating on this show. That’s all most anyone needs to understand why this match is happening.
This match will also be a prime example of how great the Forbidden Door concept can be, because good lord, this is inspired match-making. These are six people with styles that will mesh beautifully. The Bucks and Shingo have been great forever. Dorada has already showcased himself to the AEW audience in another awesome three-way match last September against Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita. Titan is criminally underrated worldwide and will show out in a match like this. And then you have the charismatic superstar, Mistico, who will get in where he fits.
I can’t stop thinking about how great this match could end up being. With time, and these AEW pay-per-view matches always get time, this can be one of those matches that people are raving about for years to come. There’s a world where this ends up high on Match of the Year ballots because half of the ballots have it fifth or sixth. I hope we live in that world because this match has every capability of being the true definition of a show-stealer. Bucks win to build to their eventual return to AEW tag title contention. Prediction: Young Bucks
Farzam: This match was added without any sort of build, “story,” or any other synonym you wish to use. From the moment it was announced, it climbed up to be one of my most anticipated match-ups. This is exactly how Forbidden Door should be used as a PPV, deliver high-quality bonkers match-ups that will blow everyone’s socks off. Shingo is one of my favorite wrestlers who proves at any opportunity given why he is one of the best wrestlers in the world. Titan is great and has had a really good year in-ring in both CMLL and NJPW. The other two teams are both great in their own right. Young Bucks are, well, Young Bucks, and you can expect them to perform at their usual elite (pun intended) level, given this is their first time in the ring with Mistico or Dorada.
That being said, I expect Young Bucks to win this as I believe they are slated to be the challengers (or, one of the challengers) for the tag team belts against Cope & Christian. Prediction: The Young Bucks
IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match
Shota Umino (c) vs. PAC
Suit: We’ve got Death Rider lore, as Jon Moxley’s original young boy, Shota Umino, takes on PAC. Umino won the Global belt at Dominion, pinning the champion Andrade in a three-way match. He was jumped by Gabe Kidd, who declared that Umino was never a Death Rider. With Kidd and Umino in the same block of the upcoming G1 Climax tournament, they’ll settle those issues on the cerulean blue mat. With Forbidden Door coming up and big-time, money-drawing superstar Yota Tsuji deciding not to make the town, PAC made the challenge for Umino to make his first defense of the Global Title here.
This will serve as Umino’s V1 defense and a New Japan win on this joint show. I can’t bring myself to watch much of modern New Japan, but Umino has gotten a bit more comfortable in his own skin in the few times I’ve seen him. He gets the win, and we may get another Gabe Kidd sighting to set up their G1 clash on August 8 in Yokohama. Prediction: Shota Umino
Farzam: Yota Tsuji is the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion and made a statement regarding not defending the title outside the promotion or in positions down the card. He cited examples of retired wrestlers challenging for the title (Nigel v ZSJ) and the IWGP Title match being treated like a sideshow in AEW. Given that stance and you can make arguments for or against Tsuji’s stance (Ospreay certainly has on Twitter), it has led to a situation where the only New Japan title being defended on the show is the Global title.
Umino is the newly crowned IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion, which he won in a three-way against Drilla Moloney & the previous champion, Andrade El Idolo. More importantly, he was the person the audience least wanted to win, and they made it vociferously clear whenever he would be at an advantage in that match. Umino is a charisma vacuum, and watching him makes me feel like he should go on an excursion again. His work is good, and he can deliver in big matches or when put in important spots, but he feels incredibly cold to me, and New Japan’s booking hasn’t done him any favors.
He looks to make his V1 defense against PAC, who has been good since his return from injury. His spot has been cemented as upper midcard, viable challenger to the stars but never winning the big title matches. They will probably deliver a really good match, but Umino will most probably get the win and make his first defense of the Global title. Prediction: Shota Umino
AEW Continental Title Match
Jon Moxley (c) vs. Bandido
Suit: Mox Al Ghul defends the Continental Title against Bandido. Bandido got the pin in a tag match between Brodido and a Death Rider team of Mox and Danny Garcia, then asked for a Continental Title match, which Mox granted. I’ve heard a rumor that this was going to be Moxley vs. Callum Newman to play off the Will Ospreay stuff, but Newman hurt his shoulder to some degree at Dominion, taking that theoretical match off the table. Bandido has settled into the upper midcard babyface role, where he can be slotted into matches like this, the Swerve match at Double or Nothing, and the Andrade match at Revolution. He’ll put on a good performance and put the other guy over on their way to their eventual destination. I have a vague idea of Mox’s destination, but I’ll keep the fantasy booking to my EWR save. Prediction: Jon Moxley
Farzam: This is an exciting match that stems from a tag match, Brodido taking on Mox & Daniel Garcia. Bandido got the pin and challenged Mox to a Continental Title match. I’ve heard this was originally supposed to be a New Japan wrestler, but it speaks to the depth of AEW’s roster that they can make such a match as a pivot. Bandido always delivers in important spots, and being placed in a title match on a PPV against Moxley is a recipe for success in my book.
Bandido plays second fiddle to “the stars” and almost always delivers a very good to great match. I’m betting this’ll be a sneaky good match that will surprise folks as it doesn’t look as glamorous as some of the other marquee matchups. Prediction: Jon Moxley
AEW World Tag Team Title Match
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) vs. The Dogs (Clark Connors & David Finlay)
Suit: Cope and Christian look to make their first defense of the World Tag Team Titles against The Dogs. The angle after Double or Nothing with The Dogs jumping the champs before the five-second pose had very good heat, and they’ve built The Dogs up with TV wins over former tag champs The Gunns and The Young Bucks. And while they’ll lose this match, they do seem to have a feud simmering with the Bang Bang Gang as Juice Robinson has threatened to cut their nuts off or stick toothpicks up their dicks or something. That Juice Robinson is one wacky guy. Anyway, this should be a straightforward match where Cope & Cage get their revenge and retain the titles. Prediction: Cope & Cage
Farzam: I’ve been more excited than most to see The Dogs in AEW. Both Connors & Finlay have started to come into their own as they’ve gotten more match time and been involved in feuds. This is a good opportunity for them to really shine in the match. Smart money is on Cope n Cage winning this as they head to what seems like an inevitable match up with The Young Bucks and maybe a third team currently on hiatus, but we shall see in the coming months how that unfolds. As far as this match goes, I expect The Dogs to take most of the match before taking the loss as Cope and Christian defend their Tag Titles.
It will probably be among the weaker matches of the show, but not for a lack of trying from the participants. There just isn’t much heat or hype for this match. Prediction: Adam Copeland & Christian Cage
2026 Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Final
Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World
Suit: The women’s Owen brackets were in tatters before the tournament even started, leaving us with a final of two injury replacements. Mercedes Moné returned from her hiatus and took Willow Nightingale’s slot after Willow had to vacate her spot and the TBS Title due to a shoulder injury. Maya World was an on-the-night replacement for Sareee, who wasn’t cleared by doctors due to a neck injury. While Mercedes slotted right into a marquee PPV match, returning to the finals of the tournament she won last year, Maya World came out of nowhere to advance past Skye Blue and ROH Women’s Champion Athena.
Much of Maya’s AEW career has come down to showing up at the right place at the right time. She was a name earning some buzz on the indies and doing TV jobs during AEW TV stops in Texas. When Nixon Newell and Miranda Alize walked out of a Collision taping rather than doing a television job, Maya World and Hyan jumped at the opportunity and earned contracts in the process. The night Sareee was ruled out of the tournament, Maya came to work despite being offered time off after her brother’s sudden death. The saying goes that the best ability in sports is availability, and Maya making herself available is partly what got her this shot.
Maya getting this shot is also due to her status as a talented young prospect, and whether it works or not, I commend AEW for using this unfortunate situation to attempt to elevate a new star at a time when the women’s division could use another name. Maya’s got the perfect opponent for this scenario as well, as Mercedes can both help Maya through the biggest match of her life while structuring it to showcase Maya’s strengths. This is essentially what Mercedes was doing during her indie bookings as X Belts Mone.
With Mercedes re-establishing herself as a more serious, more vicious heel, this has the makings of a match that can capture the crowd’s attention and get them to buy into the upset. It won’t happen, as Mercedes will get the win to set her up to capture the one belt that’s eluded her in her AEW run. Prediction: Mercedes Moné
Farzam: Pro wrestling is an unpredictable sport. If you’d have told me that this was going to be the Tournament Finals, I wouldn’t have believed you. Days after Maya World lost her brother, Jatwane Anton Wilson, as he was standing outside his disabled vehicle on State Highway 205, and entered a lane of traffic when a Mercedes SUV hit him. It’s an incredibly tragic story, and Maya’s patience and perseverance in such a difficult time have not gone unnoticed.
To AEW’s credit, when AEW announced that Sareee wasn’t cleared by doctors in the US, they pivoted and used these misfortunes, and put Maya World in Sareee’s place and gave her what was probably Sareee’s run in the tournament as well. She defeated Skye Blue, and to everyone’s surprise, she got the win over Athena in the semi-final round as well.
The other finalist is Mercedes Mone, who wasn’t originally supposed to be in the tournament and replaced the injured Willow Nightingale, and is the favorite to win the tournament. She had a great match with Hazuki and a decent match with Alex Windsor in which she returned as the surprise replacement for Willow. Prediction: Mercedes Moné
2026 Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Final Match
Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay
Suit: Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay face off in the final of the 2026 Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament. Strickland has been established as Ospreay’s biggest hurdle to the World Title. It was at Forbidden Door 2024 where Ospreay first challenged Swerve for the World Title in a losing effort. The two men wrestled at Summer Blockbuster 2025 to a 30-minute draw before joining forces with him to help Hangman Page dethrone Jon Moxley at All In Texas last year. That same show saw them risk their own abilities to challenge for the World Title, stripping the Young Bucks of their nebulous power as EVPs. One year after fighting together to protect each other’s path to the World Title, they now stand in each other’s way at the final step on that path.
Swerve set up this matchup excellently throughout this tournament, using the Vertabreaker to win both of his matches. He threatened Ospreay with it on the go-home Dynamite before Daniel Garcia saved Ospreay and took the Vertabreaker himself. Meanwhile, Ospreay used his Death Rider Ace Training to learn a new move, a cross-armbreaker called Death Ground, and used it to beat Mark Davis in the semifinals. Swerve and Ospreay questioned each other’s journeys to this point, with Swerve openly wondering whether last year meant anything at all if Ospreay was just going to align himself with the Death Riders. Ospreay continues to avoid calling himself a Death Rider, only saying that he’s accepting Moxley’s help and that he’s seen benefits from it.
I have as little doubt in the quality of this match as I do the result. This will be a phenomenal match, hopefully on par with the unreal 2024 match, and one that will set up Ospreay excellently to challenge for the World Title at Wembley. I do believe that Ospreay isn’t out of the woods entirely, as I expect a Horseman beatdown from the Death Riders sometime in the future. But he’ll stand tall here and earn his spot in the Wembley main event. Prediction: Will Ospreay
Farzam: This has been the logical conclusion of the 2026 Owen Hart Men’s Tournament since the day the brackets were announced. Swerve delivered two great matches against Brody King & Bandido in the previous rounds of this tournament. It does feel like Swerve has stagnated for the past year or so, some of it is due to injury and some due to the top of the card being preoccupied with Hangman, MJF, Darby, and now most probably Ospreay. Anybody who’s been following AEW from even a distance knows that Ospreay is in the Wembley main event. The only question is who it’s going to be against.
Ospreay’s story has been far more interesting, and I covered his character progression and the slow transition into a “Bird of Prey” in my VOW article. The work Moxley & Ospreay have done in using a doctor’s stoppage loss to Mark Davis, which was an excellent match, and built up the attitude change in Ospreay has been commendable.
The rematch with Mark Davis in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament was highly anticipated, and it more than delivered, not just in terms of match quality but also the progression of Ospreay into someone willing to lean more into the “Assassin” part of his “Aerial Assassin” persona. He has been winning his matches with the Armbar, and I expect him to do the same here. Prediction: Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s World Title Match
Thekla (c) vs. Starlight Kid
Suit: Thekla defends the AEW Women’s World Title in a cross-promotional match against the Starlight Kid. This has been the most antagonistic of the Forbidden Door builds so far, with Thekla declaring “Death to STARDOM,” further endearing herself to Joe Lanza (I kid, I kid). She spat on the logo and flew to Japan on her own dime to attack STARDOM President and her forever opp, Taro Okada. Starlight Kid decided to try to shut her up and take her title in the process.
It’s an interesting twist to Forbidden Door season, with Thekla having a personal, one-sided grudge with a promotion at large. With Gabe Kidd out, she’s brought the hatred that this concept could use going forward. I’ve enjoyed Starlight Kid the few times I’ve seen her, and I think that masked women’s wrestlers could get over in America in general. I would like to see a Stardom wrestler get her comeuppance on Thekla this year, but it won’t be here. The Toxic Spider retains. Prediction: Thekla
Farzam: This is an interesting matchup and one that has had the most cross-promotional build. Thekla insulted Stardom, spat on its logo. Several wrestlers responded on X, including Syuri & Starlight Kid. SLK sent over a video response, and Thekla cut promos on AEW programming. The escalation came when Thekla went over to Japan and attacked Taro Okada on their most recent Conversion PPV. SLK came out, albeit a bit later than ideal and ran off Thekla and posed with the belt.
SLK is a great wrestler and they have history together, so I expect this to be one of the better matches of the show. I’d like Tony Khan to be a bit brave and have SLK win the title to inject some unpredictability to this PPV, with SLK dropping the title to the Owen Hart winner but I’m not holding out hope for this one. I’m gonna be a bit brave with my prediction, and hope against hope that Tony does something different than usual. Prediction: Starlight Kid
Steel Cage Match
If Team Briscoe wins, Mark Briscoe earns a future AEW World Title match
Team Briscoe (Mark Briscoe, Darby Allin, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong) vs. Team MJF (MJF, Andrade El Idolo, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kevin Knight & Kyle Fletcher)
Suit: In a match that’s almost certainly happening because MJF hurt his knee in a title defense against Rush on the June 3rd Dynamite, we have a big all-star tag team steel cage match. Mark Briscoe wants a title shot, and MJF won’t give him one, so Briscoe went to Tony Khan and asked for this match, with both men picking teams of six to go to battle in the cage. I would’ve just asked for an eliminator match, but that Mark Briscoe is crazy like a fox.
This is an amalgamation of the big feuds in AEW right now, with Darby Allin & Kevin Knight paired off after Knight’s big turn at Double or Nothing, Takeshita going up against the Callis Family after his exile, and the Conglomeration helping out their boy Briscoe in his quest for a title shot.
We got a preview of this match on the 6/17 Dynamite, which was just the match in a standard setting. Team MJF won, and a beatdown followed the match, with a completely reluctant Andrade holding up Briscoe for a kiss from the Dynamite Diamond Ring. I expect that to set up the finish to this match, with MJF accidentally hitting Andrade with the ring to lose the match and set up the long-teased MJF/Andrade match for Grand Slam Mexico.
At least, that’s what I thought the finish would be until the go-home segment on Dynamite where this exact scenario took place. So instead, I expect Andrade to turn on MJF and possibly the Callis Family to officially take on the mantle of Babyface Hunk. Team Sandy Fork will win to set up Briscoe’s title match, which will probably be on TV between here and Redemption in July. Otherwise, I just hope Jake Doyle does something Mike Awesome-coded to Darby Allin. DOYLE RULES. Prediction: Team Briscoe
Farzam: With MJF nursing a knee injury sustained in his title defense against Rush, we get an all-star cage match with two star studded teams facing off against each other spearheaded by MJF and Mark Briscoe. This match has all the feuds and mini feuds that have been brewing in AEW coming to a head, with Takeshita facing off against Kyle Fletcher, Darby against Kevin Knight, and Mark Briscoe against MJF. There are also mini feuds and clash of egos that we have to look out for, with the heel side showing cracks already in the 6/17 Dynamite match up and in the go-home Dynamite with MJF accidentally hitting Andrade with the Diamond Ring.I’m excited to see the different creative spots they come up with during the match.
There’s Darby in it, so I expect something that will make me shudder or scream in fear for Darby’s life as Jake Doyle tosses him around. I expect it to be a barn burner, and I expect Mark’s team to get the W, ensuring he gets a title shot. Prediction: Team Briscoe
