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AEW and NJPW Announce “Forbidden Door” PPV Event on June 26

By John Canton • Published 20th April 2022
aew njpw forbidden door june 26

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) will work together to put on a special pay-per-view event taking place in Chicago on Sunday, June 26th.

Going into tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite, AEW President Tony Khan teased a major announcement was coming. During the broadcast, Tony appeared on stage with NJPW President Takami Ohbari. However, their announcement was interrupted by AEW wrestler Adam Cole, who decided to make the announcement himself.

The Forbidden Door pay-per-view will take place at the United Center in Chicago, which is the home of the NBA’s Bulls and NHL’s Blackhawks. It will take place on Sunday, June 26th. Tickets go on sale on Friday, May 6th and will likely sell very quickly.

The full press release from AEW was posted on their website and we have posted it below.

April 20, 2022 — Moments ago on AEW: Dynamite live on TBS, the hinges were fully ripped off the Forbidden Door, as it was announced that AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling will present their first ever joint pay-per-view special this summer. “AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door” will take place live on Sunday, June 26, at the United Center in Chicago, featuring marquee matchups between members of AEW and NJPW’s world-class rosters.

Tickets for the historic PPV event go on sale on Friday, May 6, at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT at AEWTix.com and Ticketmaster.com. Fans in the United States and Canada can watch the PPV via purchase on the Bleacher Report app or via their local Cable or Satellite provider. The program will be available with both English and Spanish commentary. The PPV will be available in international markets on FITE.tv. Fans in Japan can watch on iPPV on NJPWWorld.com with live Japanese commentary.

“As the world continues to reopen, I’m making sure the Forbidden Door follows suit and we can finally give fans the dream events they’ve always imagined,” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “The United Center was home to one of AEW’s biggest events of all time, The First Dance, where CM Punk made his return to wrestling after a seven-year hiatus. This summer, fans of AEW and NJPW can expect the unexpected during this extraordinary, first-of-its-kind pay-per-view between our two incredible companies.”

“As we have done for more than 50 years, the power of pro-wrestling can energize people by fulfilling their dreams,” said Takami Ohbari, President of NJPW. “Now, it’s quite an important mission for us, the pro-wrestling industry as a whole. We are not only opening this door. We will show you NJPW’s genuine Strong-Style beyond the Forbidden door.”

This announcement furthers the opening of the Forbidden Door, coming just over a month after Tony Khan announced that he agreed to acquire the assets of Ring of Honor, and less than three weeks after he produced the ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view in Dallas, featuring a number of major title changes and ROH alumni appearances including Samoa Joe, The Young Bucks, Wheeler Yuta, Jay Lethal, Lee Moriarty, Matt Sydal, Sonjay Dutt and Mercedes Martinez.

Normally, AEW has four pay-per-view events in a calendar year: Revolution, Double or Nothing, All Out and Full Gear. Now we can add Forbidden Door, the AEW & NJPW special, to the calendar this year.