All Elite Wrestling/New Japan Pro-Wrestling/CMLL/STARDOM
Forbidden Door 2026
June 28, 2026
SAP Center
San Jose, California
Watch: HBO MAX / Prime Video / MyAEW / YouTube / DAZN / & more!
Post-PPV Review Show: Instant Reaction LIVE!
Meet our reviewer:
Corey Clark: Corey is a lifelong fan who has a silly Substack like the rest of the internet wrestling community here, a podcast about WCW, and a YouTube channel with various interviews with cool indie wrestlers where I ask them strange questions.
Forbidden Door 2026 The Buy In
Drilla Moloney def. Daniel Garcia
It’s the battle of two mid-card guys that have ebbed and flowed through their runs in their respective companies, and I see the vision there. I also thought they had good chemistry, and the crowd was hot, whether that was for this match or just the start of the show, or not, I’m not sure. Drilla winning with his finish is interesting, perhaps a prelude to the future? 7/10 Cool Points
Forbidden Door 2026 The Buy In
Survival Of The Fittest Qualifying Match
Maika def. Skye Blue
I’ve traditionally been low on Skye in the past, I just didn’t see what others claimed they did about her being a good worker or anything. Here, I saw a lot of drive out of here and I mean, she’s in there with Maika and she would have made her work anyways. Maika being super over in San Jose didn’t hurt Skye stand out either since she went right into working her heel best. She also rose to the occasion and brought the heat with those elbows, when can we get her over to STARDOM for a tour? Honestly surprised at the outcome but very thankful. More Maika in AEW! 7/10
Forbidden Door 2026 The Buy In
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Titles
Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) (c) def. Olympia & Thunder Rosa
This feels more like “oh shit, we gotta make this more of an interpromotional looking card, hey Olympia what’s up?” more than a real deal title match but hey, that’s the nature of the Forbidden Door beast over the years. I also hate to be negative, I try to, but Thunder feels like she’s lost a step since her latest return and it tends to really drag down the tempo and effectiveness of things. Luckily, she can hide a little in a tag match and Olympia kicks ass! Thunder’s walloped Bayne with a forearm on a pretty wonky corkscrew dive, just for Olympia to immediately redeem it with a slick dive of her own. Divine Dominion is just so good together, as awful as it was for Penelope Ford to get injured it has given us a really solid tag team for the women. For whatever reason, I felt like Lena Kross really leveled up and stood out more than usual here with her selling and timing. Eventually, they lost the crowd and there’s no wonder why. 6/10
Three-Wag Tag Team Match
The Young Bucks def. Unbound Company (Shingo Takagi & Titan) & Sky Team (Mascara Dorada & Mistico)
Really bold opener but this is AEW after all, and boy did Titan and Mistico start this thing off hot. THIS felt like an adequate match for this show, something bizarre that you won’t see anywhere outside of maybe Arena Mexico these days. Dorada kind of stuttered a bit in their early stuff, I’m not sure if it was nerves or what but he finally got it together and it started with the really interesting segment he had with Shingo. Talk about a timeless classic, Shingo was just so awesome in this, utilizing all those years as a super base in Dragongate. Scary hurricanrana spot with Nick but he seemed fine after. Dorada gets the alley oop into a somehow even scarier hurricanrana fuck up on Titan and it’s just a nasty fall for everyone involved which was…everyone. Mistico is the smartest man in pro wrestling, he’s over and yet his big dive is just a Ricky Steamboat cross body. Fun, but I can’t call it great or anything. 7/10
Kenny Omega def. Zack Sabre Jr.
Insane that this one went second but with ZSJ having to make a red eye to New York for PRODUCE tomorrow it makes sense for everyone. It doesn’t matter where you put it, this match is a big one anywhere in the world. So pleased this went to the mat immediately and Kenny really can do it all and it’s nice to see him challenged in the way he’s challenged technically by ZSJ. My favorite Kenny Omega is what he is forced to become anytime someone wrestles him and doesn’t treat him with care, when the person across from him looks at him as an obstacle rather than a God of wrestling and let me tell ya, ZSJ did not show him any mercy. There’s an early European uppercut that sends Omega hard on his ass in the corner and you see a flash of doubt come over his face. I like how they escalated things rather quickly as well, going from that aforementioned mat wizardry right into a brawl on the floor that definitely resembled a drunken scuffle in some pub during some footie rather than a crisp pay per view pro wrestling match. For that, I really dug it. I also loved how comical it was for ZSJ to slap on an octopus stretch on Omega on the announce table but then legit tumbled off the side after taunting like a goof. That silliness does give us a fun arm stomp as they roll back into the ring, which gives us some heat to play with. That heat ignited Omega deeply, and seems to have given him the metal to perhaps have another run after all. Seeing Omega chop ZSJ so hard he immediately bleeds was some really badass stuff and what makes this wild business fun to me. The slick timing and transitions both men had in this one was really refreshing, not a bunch of near falls for no reason or anything. Also, STIFF! I’m by no means an Omega fan boy but you can’t deny that he’s phenomenal, and ZSJ took his greatness and brought it up to 11. Some of the best shit you’re gonna find on a big stage. 8.5/10
AEW Continental Title
Jon Moxley (c) def. ROH World Champion Bandido
AEW is one of the strangest promotions in history in that they definitely are guilty of throwing random shit together for no reason, but man that roster makes it work. Bandido and Moxley aren’t at all in an angle with each other, in fact the big angle out of this equation is the one between Mox and his newest tree fort friend Will Ospreay but Tony and friends decided to slow burn that. So, we have the best consolation prize maybe ever which is Mox going mano y mano against perhaps the best luchador in-ring alive today. My issue as well here is, and I know I sound like the biggest wrestling boomer alive with this but who’s the babyface? Mox is this strange grey character between waterboarding Ospreay and fighting off the meanie STP faction the other week you can’t track him. Bandido is like THE babyface right now, who could hate him? Moxley, that’s who because he out wrestles the veteran. Control is Mox’s fetish lately, and he’s out of control when Bandido can duck, dodge, and dive at the drop of a hat. Amazing tope con hilo that makes you see the light on if Lucha is religious with how light he becomes mid air and just floats down on Mox. Then, right after that we have the perfect dichotomy when Mox dropkicks Bandido’s lungs out of his ass with a mean anti-air dropkick to the sternum. Then, it spills out to the floor and things get spicy. Bandido might have lost a couple of vertebrae, but it looked damn good when it happened. Then it happens, from that nasty piledriver on the steps comes a stream of blood all over the white gear as if it was willed into action. Mox then just taps into his ultimate rudo self by ripping the mask into a useless thread just hanging onto Bandido’s face. Then he fires up like a babyface hasn’t in this generation, at least according to San Jose. This match went from being low on my priority list to a strong highlight of my night. Did we find wrestling soulmates in the making? That image of Bandido perched on the top right before he goes for a frog splash, his mask destroyed and blood flowing with just one eye laser focused in sight. That sort of moment is what makes this medium special. Give me a best of 7 between these guys. 8.5/10
IWGP Global Heavyweight Title
Shota Umino (c) def. PAC
It’s sink or swim time for young Shota who is finally seeing some semblance of momentum again after years of start and stop, almost Dolph Ziggler like buffoonery booking of his character. PAC is like Old Faithful as of late in AEW, he just keeps having really solid to great showings so it feels like the right match up for all involved. I popped at Daniel Garcia screaming and hyping up PAC pre match like he didn’t just get dog walked by Drilla on the pre show! Right away, PAC doesn’t take Shota seriously at all and I mean you can’t blame him. PAC takes his sweet time in stomping a hole in him and tossing him from barricade to barricade like he’s playing racketball. Then Shota does his best Crazy Kota impression but only here and there, still showing pain and weakness for the most part. PAC couldn’t bully Shota, a man who’s lived under the thumb of an entire fanbase. I like that Shota matched energy with PAC, didn’t feel out of his league like he has in previous big time matches. He actually came across as a defender, rather than a wild eyed kid unsure of himself. PAC says “fuck wrestling” and goes for a table, kicks his stupid face off and then to add further insult hits one of the most death defying Asai moonsaults you could ever see. While I appreciate a sprint, and this was a fun one, I do find this match rushed in certain places especially the escalation from stiff striking in the ring to a sudden death defying spot fest with tables and shit. Then the Awesome Bomb happened and all my nitpicking went away. I’m so glad they addressed the elephant in the room with Mox and Shota, and we got a nice President Tanahashi appearance to tease the future match! Wrestling can rule when you don’t go against the grain for no damn reason. 7.5/10
AEW Women’s World Title
Thekla (c) def. Starlight Kid
Perhaps the match I was most excited for going into this one. I think Thekla is just a revelation to this AEW women’s division and also, Starlight Kid is criminally underrated as one of the best of all time. Loved SLK’s ode to Liger and Tiger Mask with her gear. It’s rare for Thekla to be the larger person in her matches but she definitely is here and she uses it by just beating the piss out of SLK and San Jose is all about it. I loved Thekla getting SLK’s own hand in her mask to fuck with her, that’s the goods right there. SLK showed great fire, as always and brought it. I like that the angle with the STARDOM owner wasn’t overshadowing, but used to help SLK gain momentum when needed or this would have felt like a squash. This was more entertaining than good I would say, clunky in spots and overall felt like a foregone conclusion but sometimes it isn’t about a great match, sometimes it’s about having fun with it and I think both ladies did that here. Although I really loved the whole stretch muffler drama and the Thekla rope break dramatics. 7/10
AEW World Tag Team Titles
Adam Copeland & Christian Cage (c) def. The Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors)
They do the MNM entrance, but with disposable cameras and jabronis for The Dogs to lay out…it gets over like a fart in church and that’s pretty much how I feel about this entire match. I’m probably one of the lowest on this whole “C and C” reunion run, and honestly any reunion runs as I find them to overstay their welcome and derail good creative. I liked when The Dogs debuted and felt like a force to be reckoned with and unpredictable. Now? They’re just dudes positioned to elevate the 50 year olds so they can go to All In and do a TLC again? Also, stop chanting Copeland’s theme. It always comes off really cringe to me. With all that said, I did like the early stuff with Clark and Cage because they actually went after it. I admire what they tried to do by making this a traditionally structured tag match and how they used the Cage arm injury from previous matches and angles. I think that lit match gimmick that Clark is doing sucks, but at least the crowd likes it. Also love The Dogs’ high-low spear and chop block double team, how did Finlay and Clark get so good as a tag seemingly out of nowhere? Copeland being the bigger man on his team giving the hot tag to Cage is a choice but hey, it was a fine enough match. Finlay got bladed! 7/10 match, 10/10 return
Women’s Owen Hart Tournament – Finals
Mercedes Moné def. Maya World
I’ve seen firsthand how great Maya World is. I was live for the Athena vs Maya World match that happened this Spring at one of the early Jacksonville ROH tapings, and that match is still the best live match I’ve seen this year. Obviously the tragic death of her brother and the cinderella rise through the Owen is the story here but Mercedes’ big redemption arc post title losses is a big elephant in the room. Right away, Maya feels like she’s in her element, rolling with Mercedes in her usual mat work early but where some get lost in the deep waters and get eaten alive, Maya thrives. The San Jose crowd sees this and erupts into a back and forth chant of each woman’s name. Maya taunts her idol, she doesn’t want to beat her but she knows she has to. Then Maya’s gear breaks and things just freeze for a second, then Mercedes kicks the shit out of her to the floor. Mercedes then spam buttons the meteora and it’s clear this wardrobe malfunction has completely fucked this match which is a shame. Even with all that, this does find a groove that I really got into with Maya sort of selling it all as being beaten down by all the early offense of Mercedes and firing up out of it. I’d say this is a distracted, but good match that really had all the makings of great in another universe. Post match we have a promo from Athena…so Maya was better than her, won the match and yet we’re supposed to be excited about a rematch? Strange but maybe it’s just me 7.5/10
Six-On-Six Steel Cage Match – Mark Briscoe Gets An AEW World Title Shot If His Team Wins
Team Briscoe (Darby Allin, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle O’Reilly, Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, & Roderick Strong) def. JF & The Don Callis Family (Andrade El Idolo, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, Kevin Knight, & Kyle Fletcher)
I’m a massive mark for huge, clusterfuck cage matches and this is a prime example of that. Really love the Lion’s Den like cage for this it seems a lot easier to shoot for whatever reason. This rendition of West Side Story was a little different, complete with all kinds of plunder and various moments where someone gets tossed into the cage. In short, it ruled. I especially love that because of the rounded cage, when someone hits it they bounce off that bastard like a super ball which really ticks the box of my sick fascination with people getting wrecked. Huge pop for the painted table with MJF and Don Callis on it. MJF and Andrade still don’t like each other so they have a pissing contest until Roddy Strong breaks it up with a ridiculously large tote bag. Lots of backpacks, there’s a damn NES! A controller whip! Now that’s a damn weapon! Fletcher eats the NES, part of me cries. Loved the tetter totter spot with MJF almost falling to the tacks just for Darby to quite literally eat them himself and it is grotesque. Another huge pop for MJF playing the part of Mittens in NHB with the industrial broom to get rid of the tacks! He forgot to watch his balls though and got cocky…ok I had to. Willow sends orange slices for a nice little hydration break…Fletcher isn’t into the whole thing and he gets orange juice in his eye! Takeshita and Okada trade shots and Takeshita gifts him a middle finger before having a fun ass segment with Fletcher. Darby and Kevin Knight hate each other, who knew? Doyle kicks all kinds of ass too, Kevin Knight has a beautiful Coast to Coast. That big tote bag? It had a Golem in it. This was a hell of a lot of fun, it was insane but didn’t feel like a bunch of bullshit for no reason at all, with the exception of Lio Rush in some ways. Some will hate it, but those people tend to hate everything about modern wrestling. I think it was a really neat means to an end, and I’m a sick blood freak from way back in the day. Also, what in the hell is wrong with Knight and Darby? Did anyone tell them they don’t have to take sick bumps? On second thought, I’m fine with it. Andrade has purpose and that’s scary for the rest of AEW. 8/10
Men’s Owen Hart Tournament – Finals
Will Ospreay def. Swerve Strickland
This is a strangely built match. On one hand, Swerve is the absolute devil of AEW after taking out Kenny Omega and showing his evil side yet again after a babyface run. Then with Ospreay, he’s trying to recapture the magic he had before his neck got injured last year and has gotten mixed up with the Death Riders in this macabre, abusive relationship. They save him, they make him pay for it, rinse, and repeat. This should feel like the pinnacle of something and sure, it still does in some ways but I can’t help but feel like this landed flat as a narrative. Ospreay comes out as Bane because, of course he does. Swerve shows up as Lobo and comes off substantially more kick ass. At least the match started intense and with back and forth, vicious looking right hands and forearms which fit what was supposed to be the heat between these guys.
These guys can go in the ring though, so despite whatever story errors there may be this is a meeting of two of the best in the world. Swerve grinds down Ospreay, hanging with him athletically but taking short cuts because he’s desperate and simply he can. I especially love that he targets the neck and does it using a classic Randy Orton move of an argentine backbreaker into a neckbreaker, a move I always gave my CAWs on the SmackDown vs RAW games a whole generation ago. Ospreay deals with that like he does anything in the ring, shrugs it off and does a flip and that works for a spell. I appreciate the shout out from Excalibur when Ospreay rushes into the corner for a “helluva kick”. It doesn’t do much, and Ospreay finds himself again being punked out by Swerve who calls him a little brother like he’s always been and that lights a fire in the Bruv and we get a whole explosion of offense by both men.
Ospreay shows off his new, ouchie making armbreaker on the floor and Swerve taps of course because it won’t stop the match. This causes issues, Nana throws coffee in his stupid face and he gets his spine realigned thanks to Swerve’s apron bomb, perfect for someone that just had serious neck surgery. Then he gets his face smashed into an exposed turnbuckle to give us the important gift of blood, and a shit ton. Looks like Bruv hit a gusher, and that gusher had a whole flock of baby gushers. I was kind of bored before, but now I’m wide awake. Even when he does some of the stupidest shit I’ve seen in a major company, Ospreay always brings it and especially when he’s forced into a corner and then when he’s firing up again he gets chopped down by a backfist straight from the very depths of Hell. Stuff happens, then Ospreay does this big sunset flip to the floor, holds on and slings Swerve in what looks like orbital bone first and now somehow, Swerve is leaking worse than Ospreay ever did. Somewhere 2000 Steve Corino is in the Tesseract feeling mighty jealous. There’s a neat image of Swerve lying face first on the steel steps with a literal puddle forming under him, and tell me again how wrestling isn’t the highest form of performance art. That bastard Nana robs us of Swerve’s public execution just for that distraction to lead to a House Call that looks like it rattles whatever work has been done on Bruv’s vertebrae. Fuck it, we ball I guess. We get an anticlimactic Styles Clash onto the announce table that just sort of splats rather than breaks. The puddles of blood all over the arena are hard to ignore, this is starting to feel morose. The ref gets mad that Ospreay wants to win when he goes for the kill, the crowd shits on that for good reason. Then when Swerve does the exact same hammering shots to the back of Ospreay’s neck, Paul Turner acts like he’s oblivious. This kind of shit annoys me, and while I’m not going to say it ruined the match for me it definitely didn’t help it. I by no means hated the match, hell I gave it pretty high marks but I don’t think this beats Omega/ZSJ or Mox/Bandido for me. The whole bullshit with the outside influence of the Death Riders didn’t do it any favors, along with the bizarre ref favoritism 8/10
Final Thoughts
Well, AEW did it again where they hit a home run with a pay-per-view. So much of this card going into this show felt rather flat or just built badly, but after it is all said and done it feels like a great show. With the huge return of Jay White, the emergence of Maya World as a legit star in the women’s division, Thekla vanquishing the STARDOM threat, and that bonkers cage match I am very excited for where AEW is headed going into Redemption and of course, All In at Wembley.
