Huge AEW World Championship Match Officially Added To Forbidden Door

A new match was added to Forbidden Door, which is AEW’s next pay-per-view.

Scheduled to take place on June 28 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, it will be the first event to be co-produced by All Elite Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), and Stardom.

In the lead-up to the event, AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla has emerged as a focal point due to her past employment with Stardom.

The Austrian wrestler was signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom in Japan between 2021 and 2025, winning multiple titles and honors.

At the 2025 Stardom All Star Grand Queendom event, she faced Sayaka Kurara in a singles match. The stipulation stated that if Thekla lost, she would be forced to join Cosmic Angels.

As fate would have it, Thekla lost, but instead of joining Cosmic Angels, she began attacking everyone in sight. In the process, she put her hands on Stardom President Taro Okada, resulting in her getting fired from the Japanese promotion.

The subject of her firing was brought up during a promo between Thekla and Alex Windsor, where Thekla claimed that she was not fired in Japan, but quickly admitted to it, creating a viral comedy moment.

AEW Champion Thekla’s Forbidden Door Challenger Revealed

On the June 3 taping of AEW Dynamite, Thekla, along with her Triangle of Madness stablemates Julia Hart and Skye Blue, made a huge statement that continued her bad blood against Stardom.

The 33-year-old said that she was not declaring war on the Japanese promotion but instead was declaring death to Stardom.

In doing so, she climbed a steel ladder and spat on the Stardom name, which is being advertised as a co-producer of the upcoming Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

The promo was reviewed on Collision, which led to veteran commentator Tony Schiavone trying to apologize to Stardom. However, he was interrupted by Thekla.

After claiming that none of the “dumb b***hes” on that roster deserved her respect, she issued a challenge to anyone from Stardom, while putting her AEW Women’s World Championship on the line. She also said she would buy a ticket for Taro Okada so that he could see firsthand the monster he created.

Later in the show, Starlight Kid was announced as Thekla’s challenger at Forbidden Door. The 24-year-old Japanese wrestler has earned numerous accolades with the promotion.

The June 28 pay-per-view will also determine the winners of the Men’s and Women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament. Additionally, Kenny Omega will face Zack Sabre Jr. in a singles match after he was challenged by the 38-year-old British sensation.

Also, a 6-on-6 match involving Team Briscoe and Team MJF has been announced. If Briscoe’s team wins, he will earn an AEW World Championship title shot in the near future.