Reviews

The John Report: AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 Review

By John Canton • Published Aug 24, 2025 18:08 EDT
TJR AEW NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 Review

It’s AEW-NJPW featuring “Hangman” Adam Page facing MJF, a Lights Out Steel Cage 10-man tag team match, and more.

The Forbidden Door PPV is back for the fourth straight year. It felt like such a big deal in 2022 when they did it for the first time. This year, there are only a handful of NJPW people and a few others from different companies. This feels like just an AEW show, with the NJPW logo on the poster only because of the Forbidden Door concept’s history.

It’s a show in London, England, with a big crowd and a 1 p.m. ET start time for the main show, which is great for me because I love an afternoon show. These AEW shows can go 4+ hours sometimes, so it’s a lot better than staying up past midnight. AEW All In Texas last month was 6 hours long, not including the pre-show, and I thought it was way too much.

I am watching on Amazon Prime Video in Canada for $62 (including tax) because it’s the best choice, and it’s also cheaper than YouTube. How much have I spent on AEW PPVs in six-plus years? Thousands of dollars. You’re welcome, Khan family. I hope there is a day when AEW dumps the traditional PPV model and that it’s cheaper to watch these shows, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen any time soon.

My review will include some experimentation, where I won’t go full play-by-play for all the matches. I’ll do a full play-by-play for a few of them, but not all. I want to try out different styles, and I’m sure most of you don’t read the full play-by-play anyway. The analysis is what really matters.

I’ll post the results of the Zero Hour pre-show matches here. They throw tag team matches on there to get more people on the show. I don’t watch the pre-show because AEW shows are so long.

* Paragon (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong), El Desperado, and Yuya Uemura defeated CRU (Action Andretti and Lio Rush) and Don Callis Family (Hechicero and Josh Alexander) (with Lance Archer and Rocky Romero) by pinfall. Uemura beat Rush with a suplex move called Deadbolt. After the match, Tomohiro Ishii suplexed Lance Archer to save the babyfaces against the Don Callis Family.

* Ricochet & GOA (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona) defeated Jet Speed (Kevin Knight and “Speedball” Mike Bailey) and Michael Oku (with Amira Blair) by pinfall. GOA hit a double team spinebuster on Oku, and Ricochet hit a Spirit Gun lariat for the win.

* Megan Bayne and Triangle of Madness (Julia Hart, Skye Blue, and Thekla) (with Penelope Ford) defeated Harley Cameron, Kris Statlander, Queen Aminata, and Willow Nightingale by pinfall.

* AEW Trios Championships: The Opps (Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Powerhouse Hobbs) (c) defeated Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, and Robbie X) (with Gedo) by pinfall.

As a reminder, I have reviewed every AEW PPV in company history. Let’s get to it.

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AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door
Sunday, August 24, 2025
From The O2 Arena in London, England

They had a video package to start the show. That’s good to see because they don’t always have those, but I like seeing those videos.

The commentary team was Exaclibur, Tony Schiavone and the great Bryan Danielson, who is tremendous on commentary.

It was Adam Copeland and Christian Cage up first with their entrance. The fans sang along with Cope’s legendary “Metalingus” theme song and even sang after it was done playing. Christian Cage was cheered, which is rare for him.

Killswitch & Kip Sabian (w/Mother Wayne) vs. Adam Copeland aka Cope & Christian Cage

There were “Luchasaurus” chants from the crowd early on. Cage refused to fight Killswitch, so he brought Cope in. Killswitch nailed Cope with a superkick to take control. After Cope got some offense, Killswitch came back with a slam on the apron. Kip was being disrespectful to Killswitch by tagging in without Killswitch wanting to do it. They did an assisted cannonball where Killswitch tossed Kip onto Cope. Killswitch remained in control of Cope with a sidewalk slam. Kip wanted a tag, so Killswitch slapped him hard on the chest. Kip was bleeding by the left eye. Mother distracted Cage, so Kip knocked Cage down to the floor. Some fans are going to like the close up shots of Mother, just saying. Killswitch put Kip on his shoulders and Cope hit a shoulder tackle off the turnbuckle. That was bizarre.

Cage finally got the hot tag against Killswitch, who hit a headbutt that knocked Cage down. Cage sent Killswitch shoulder first into the ring post. Cage hit a cross body block off the top onto Killswitch on the floor. After Cope hit a Powerbomb, Cage hit a top rope headbutt for two because Killswitch did a power kickout. Cope and Cage hit a double Impaler DDT on Killswitch, but Kip was legal and Kip got a rollup for two. Cope saved Cage by giving Killswitch a Spear off the apron to the floor. Cage launched Kip into the air, Cope went into the ring illegally and hit a Spear. Cage covered Kip for the pinfall win after about 15 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Adam Copeland aka Cope & Christian Cage

Analysis: ***1/4 It was cool to see Cope and Cage as a team again, especially since I saw them early in their careers before they were in WWE. They did a nice job of telling a story in the match with Cage being reluctant to fight Killswitch, but once Cage got back in there and showed babyface courage, the fans got behind him. I would have had Mother Wayne interfere more to give the heels some nearfalls. Kip and Killswitch didn’t get along in the match, and of course, Kip got pinned, so Killswitch was protected. I expect to see Cope & Cage against FTR soon.

After the match, Cage extended his hand and Cope shook it. Cope wanted a hug, but Christian is not a hugger, so they shook hands again. The fans sang Cope’s song again.

A video aired about the Kyle Fletcher-Hiromu Takahashi match for Kyle’s TNT Title. There’s not much of a story here.

TNT Championship: Kyle Fletcher (w/Don Callis and Lance Archer) vs. Hiromu Takahashi

The presentation of Kyle Fletcher has improved a lot in recent months. He looks like a star and he has a very bright future. Walker Sterwart from NJPW joined commentary, replacing Tony. Don Callis was on commentary, supporting his guy Fletcher.

Kyle was trying to slow down Hiromu, but Hiromu hit a cross body block, and Kyle came back with a boot. Kyle hit an elbow smash to stop Hiromu’s offense. After a few minutes, Hiromu hit a hurricanrana, followed by a headscissors where he pulled Kyle over the top to the floor. Back in the ring, Hiromu hit a dropkick. They exchanged holds, and Hiromu hit a dragon screw leg whip across the ring. Kyle hit Half n Half Suplex, Hiromu came back with a German Suplex, and Kyle hit a Michinoku Driver, and both guys decided to sell at that point. Kyle hit an impressive back suplex off the turnbuckle and a Ligerbomb for two. Kyle kicked Hiromu, who kicked out at one, so that fans popped for that. Hiromu reversed Kyle on the apron and hit a DDT on the apron. Hiromu hit a sunset flip Powerbomb on the floor. Hitomu hit a lariat (great flip bump by Kyle) for a two count. Hiromu countered a move with a Destroyer. They countered moves, and Kyle hit a jumping Tombstone for two. Kyle hit two running kicks to the head, but Hiromu countered a brainbuster with a cradle for two. Kyle hit a sheer drop Brainbuster for the pinfall win after 17 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Kyle Fletcher

Analysis: ***1/2 A very good match with a result that was never in doubt. It was obvious that Kyle was going to retain, so it was tough to get into it when Hiromu was on offense, but with that said, Hiromu’s chaotic style is fun to watch. I am really impressed by Fletcher, and I hope he has a meaningful TNT Title feud soon. I don’t think the match needed to be as long as it was, but it’s AEW, and they love long matches.

The TBS Championship was next with “Nine Belts” Mercedes Mone facing three women from different companies: AEW’s Alex Windsor, CMLL’s Persephone and Stardom’s Bozilla. A video package narrated by Renee Paquette was used to highlight the women in the match, as there wasn’t much of a story to go into.

TBS Championship: Mercedes Mone vs. Bozilla vs. Persephone vs. Alex Windsor

There was a big ovation for Alex Windsor, who is engaged to Will Ospreay and is from England. There wasn’t much of a reaction for Bozilla or Persephone. Mone got a big reaction, and the fans sang her song.

The first fall or submission wins. Bozilla used her power early and Mone did a great job of bumping. Alex and Persephone hit a double flapjack on Mone. Bozilla hit a double back suplex on Alex and Persephone at the same time. The action spilled to the floor. Persephone hit a suicide dive and her feet hit the ropes a bit, but she was able to complete the move. There were a lot of nearfalls by three of the women until Bozilla got back in there to suplex Persephone over her head. The trio of Alex, Persephone and Mone each hit strikes on Bozilla to knock the powerhouse down. They did a Tower of Doom double German Suplex/superplex spot to put all four women down. That looked cool and drew a pop. Mone took down Alex and Persephone at the same time, leading to a Crossface submission, but she couldn’t win. Alex did a poor job of doing a double Sharpshooter. I know a certain Hart granddaughter who does it a lot better. Anyway, Bozilla was back in to use her power and take control. Bozilla hit a moonsault off the middle turnbuckle onto two opponents and Mone made the save. Mone hit a Reverse Rana on Bozilla for two. That looked like a rough landing on the head/neck. Persephone got some momentum going with a Razor’s Edge on Bozilla. Alex hit a forearm on Persephone for two. Alex applied a Sharpshooter on Persephone, but Mone was back in with a Lung Blower on Alex. Mone countered Persephone’s Razor’s Edge and Mone applied a hurricanrana for the pinfall win after 15 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Mercedes Mone

Analysis: ***1/2 An entertaining 4-way match with a lot of nearfalls as usual in a match like this. We see this all the time in multi-person matches where it’s all about getting nearfalls and having somebody else in the match break it up. I like how the match was structured with Bozilla looking like a powerhouse early in the match and when you do that for a few minutes, it means a lot when the other women take her down. Persephone and Alex got plenty of offense as well. Mone didn’t get that many nearfalls in the match, but she was able to hit an impressive counter move for the win. That shows that it was a tough match to win, so that’s why she needed a move that wasn’t her finisher.

Mercedes Mone celebrated by hugging the TBS Title in the aisle.

Analysis: I’m not sure when Mone will lose that title, but I hope it’s to a babyface that is built up well as a challenger. It should be a singles match.

The battle of the Brits was next as Zack Sabre Jr. defended the NJPW IWGP World Heavyweight Title and a video package aired to set it up.

Nigel McGuinness was shown in a video talking to UK wrestling legend Johnny Saint, who gave Nigel tips about how to beat Sabre. Saint said that everybody is vulnerable.

The fans were loud for entrance of England’s own Nigel McGuinness. He only wrestles a few times a year, but I’m sure this one means a lot to him in his home country. The IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. was cheered heavily too.

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Nigel McGuinness (w/Daniel Garcia)

It was Walker Stewart back on commentary and Tony Schiavone was out for this match.

They did some technical wrestling holds on the mat and did counter moves for the first few minutes. Sabre worked on Nigel’s hand a bit, so then Nigel worked over Sabre’s arm. Sabre pulled on the arm and drove his foot into Nigel’s arm. Sabre stomped on Nigel’s left arm to continue the attack. Nigel was able to get some momentum after a forearm to the chest. Nigel hit a lariat and Sabre took a great bump off of that. Sabre kicked Nigel, followed by a cross armbreaker, along with a leg capture. Garcia was pushing the ropes forward, so the referee yelled at Garcia to back off. They traded uppercuts and it looked like Sabre was bleeding from the nose. Sabre tripped Nigel and got a bridging pin for two. Nigel hit two lariats in a row where Sabre’s head/neck hit the mat. Garcia continued to be close to the ropes, so the referee was admonishing him. Sabre applied an armbar by the ropes and Sabre trash talked Garcia at ringside. Nigel hit his Tower of London neckbreaker off the turnbuckle for a two count because Sabre’s boot was on the bottom rope. Sabre had a good nearfall after holding the arms for two. Nigel and Sabre each went for pin attempts, then Sabre flipped Nigel over, used his feet to trap the arms and Sabre pinned Nigel for the win. It went about 16 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Zack Sabre Jr.

Analysis: ***1/4 A very good technical wrestling match that was very slow early on, and then it picked up. The Zack Sabre Jr. style of wrestling isn’t my favorite, so some people may like his matches more than me and that’s fine. I think the pacing is too slow and it takes a lot of time for his matches to get going. Nigel was impressive in the match and looks like a guy in the prime of his career, instead of somebody who is in his 40s and only wrestles part-time. The finish was a bit flat because the fans barely reacted to it, as it seemed to come out of nowhere.

After the match, Nigel McGuinness and Zack Sabre Jr. shook hands. Sabre bowed down to show respect. Daniel Garcia hugged Nigel McGuinness after the match.

Tony Schiavone was in the ring and claimed it was the largest pro wrestling crowd in the O2 – 18,992 fans in attendance.

There was a backstage scene showing Thekla and Queen Aminata fighting. They went out to the arena where they continued their fight. The fans chanted, “Fight Forever” at them. Queen headbutted Thekla to put her down. Skye Blue and Julia Hart went out there to attack Queen. Welcome back, Jamie Hayter, to her home country. Hayter unloaded on Hart and Blue with forearms. Thekla ran away while Hayter posed for the fans.

Analysis: Welcome back, Jamie Hayter, who is back in a babyface role again. Good spot to bring her back in her home country of England.

The AEW Tag Team Title match was next. There was a video package about that.

AEW Tag Team Championships: The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin vs. Brodido – Brody King & Bandido vs. FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler

There were a lot of “We Hurt People” chants for the THS entrance. No sign of MVP with them. Tony Schiavone was back on commentary for this one. The first fall wins this match.

It started out as a brawl with all three teams fighting on the floor. Things slowed down as Dax worked over Bandido. Lashley did a blind tag and ran over both FTR guys with a double clothesline. Danielson said the logical thing by saying that if there are no disqualifications, then why are guys tagging in the match? They should just say it’s Tornado Tag Team Rules instead of having tags. Anyway, Lashley hit a Dominator slam off the shoulders on Bandido for two because Cash broke up the pin. Shelton hit an impressive overhead suplex. Lashley and Shelton were in control of Bandido for a few minutes as the fans chanted for King. Bandido hit a twisting splash on Shelton. King tagged in against Dax, so King was a flurry of offense and hit a sitout spinebuster for two. King hit cannonball splashes on both FTR guys. Lashley faced off with King as the fans were going crazy for that. Lashley and King exchanged moves, Lashley hit a spinebuster, and King no-sold it, leading to a lariat. I had no idea who was legal as Shelton hit several suplexes on multiple people and a jumping knee on Bandido. Cash was back in and hit a Shatter Machine on Lashley. Bryan wondered who was legal and the announcers had no idea because it’s AEW lol. Anyway, it led to multiple dives on the floor, including a dive by King. Bandido gave Dax a fallaway slam off the top onto the other four guys on the floor.

Lashley hit a Spear on the floor and Shelton hit a running knee. Lashley hit a Spear on King in the ring. There were two guys in NJPW track suits fighting with Benjamin and Lashley in the aisle. We never saw who the guys were. Lashley was hit in the ribs with a pipe in the aisle. King punched Cash in the ring and Dax smashed King with a chair to the head for two. It was Ricochet, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun who attacked Benjamin and Lashley. Dax hit a superplex on King and Bandido hit a Frog Splash on Dax. King launched Bandido in the air for a monkey flip splash onto Dax. Bandido wasn’t on top for a great cover, the referee stopped his count and restarted it. That meant that Cash had to stop himself from making the save. Anyway, Bandido covered Dax for the pinfall win to win the titles. It went about 17 minutes.

Winners by pinfall AND NEW AEW Tag Team Champions: Brodido – Brody King & Bandido

Analysis: ***1/2 I liked most of the match, but the way that THS was taken out was lame. I understand wanting to protect them by not having them take the pin (which I predicted), but it was lame to have them fight out of the ring and not even try to get back into the ring. It would have been a better match if there no tags and if it was just a Tornado Tag Team match. Bryan Danielson even questioned the rules and strategy of the match. I still liked a lot of the spots, but the finish was also messed up a bit. It wasn’t a smooth ending. I thought FTR would win. Instead, Brodido gets the win and that’s fine because they are also a great team.

Brody King and Bandido celebrated with the AEW Tag Team Titles.

The AEW Unified Title match between Kazuchika Okada and Swerve Strickland was next. Once again, there’s not much of a story, but they are top guys.

AEW Unified Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Swerve Strickland

The legendary Jim Ross joined commentary to replace Tony. Don Callis was on commentary as well to support Okada. Prince Nana had to leave ringside due to Continental Title rules.

There was an impressive move early on by Swerve, who hit a backflip dive over the top onto Okada on the floor. Swerve was selling the knee injury since he talked about it before this match. Swerve hit his classic elbow to the back, followed by some dance moves. When Swerve flipped over the top to the floor, he was selling his right knee injury. Okada followed up with a kick to the head. Swerve teased a move on the steel steps, but Okada blocked it and hit a DDT on the steel steps. Okada caught a charging Swerve, leading to a backbreaker onto the knee. Swerve got some offense going with a flatliner, followed by a suplex. They battled by the turnbuckle, where Swerve went for a move and hit an Angle Slam off the top rope for a two count. Okada was on the floor, Swerve went for a move off the apron, Okada avoided it and Okada hit Swerve with a Tombstone on the floor. Okada hit the patented elbow drop off the top rope. Swerve tried to get some offense going, but Okada hit a perfect dropkick. Swerve countered Okada and hit a powerslam. Excalibur: “Are we looking at the next AEW Unified Champion?” Me: “Probably not.” Swerve jumped off the top with a Swerve Stomp and Swerve was selling the knee injury. Swerve had a delayed cover for two. Okada shoved Swerve while he was on the top turnbuckle, so Swerve was in pain again. Okada gave Swerve a kneebreaker onto the top turnbuckle. Swerve managed to come back with his House Call kick to the head. Swerve charged, Okada avoided the kick and Okada hit the Rainmaker lariat for the pinfall win. It went about 15 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Kazuchika Okada

Analysis: **** There’s the first great match on the show because it hit the four-star level in my opinion. A big reason is that they told a story with Swerve selling the knee injury and trying to overcome it throughout the match. A lot of AEW matches feature people wanting to do move after move without selling properly. These guys know what they are doing and told a story by selling big moves. Swerve nearly got the win a few times, but Okada was able to counter him and Okada was relentless in finishing off Swerve for the win.

After the match, Okada trapped Swerve’s right knee against the steel steps. Okada had a steel chair that he used to hit the steps into the knee of Swerve three times. Prince Nana ran out with a steel pipe, so Okada stopped and left.

Analysis: That’s an injury angle to write off Swerve, who is rumored to need knee surgery on his right knee. I’m going to miss Swerve while he’s gone because he is one of my favorite wrestlers in AEW. Plus, Swerve stole “Swerve’s House” from my LA Rams (Rams House), so I like him for that too.

Wardlow is back! Wardlow was in the ring and he decked Prince Nana with a clothesline. Wardlow has been out for over a year as the fans chanted “Wardlow” for the big man. Danielson said that Don Callis had an insurance policy, so Bryan wondered if that was Wardlow. Wardlow punched Nana several times and security pulled Wardlow off. Wardlow beat up the three security guys. Wardlow hit his version of the F5 on a security guy. Swerve was down on the ground, selling the knee injury. Wardlow hit a huge Powerbomb on a security guy.

Wardlow left the ring and shook hands and hugged Don Callis, which drew boos. Wardlow hugged Okada too. Other Don Callis Family members like Josh Alexander, Hechicero, Kyle Fletcher, Rocky Romero and Lance Archer greeted Wardlow as well. The great Konosuke Takeshita also walked out to nod his head at Wardlow.

Analysis: Welcome back to Wardlow after missing more than a year due to injury and filming American Gladiators. The Don Callis Family gets stronger by adding Wardlow to the group, no doubt about that. I’m glad Wardlow is back because he’s a guy that this company has needed to push to the top for a long time, and I hope it happens for him.

The AEW Women’s World Title match is up next with Toni Storm defending against the ROH Women’s Champion Athena. It has been built up well with Athena using her guaranteed title shot for this match.

AEW Women’s World Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm vs Athena (w/Billie Starkz)

Athena signed the match contract to execute her title shot. Tony Schiavone was back on commentary, and Jim Ross was out. I’ll go play-by-play style for the final three matches.

Storm hit a running dropkick and a hip attack that knocked Athena off the apron to the floor. Storm went over to Starkz and gave her a Storm Zero on the floor. Athena dropkicked Storm into the LED boards at ringside. Storm had white facepaint on her face. Athena was in control with a chinlock and then she rammed Storm’s head into the turnbuckle a few times. Storm hit a jawbreaker. Athena came back with a running forearm to the jaw. Starkz was still down on the floor, as Athena sent Storm’s head into the ring post, but it was really Toni’s hand hitting the ring post. Athena hit Storm with repeated knees to the head. Athena did a lot of trash talking, so Storm got a rollup for two. Athena sent Storm face first into the middle turnbuckle. Athena mocked Storm’s poses, so Storm came back with a clothesline and a Fisherman’s Suplex for two. Athena bit the leg to block a move and tripped Storm. Athena hit a neckbreaker, followed by a butterfly suplex. Storm hit a spinebuster while Danielson said that Storm’s neck may be bothering her after taking a piledriver on Dynamite. Storm teased a piledriver, Athena slipped out of it and hit a belly-to-back suplex on the back of the neck. Storm hit a DDT and a sitout Tiger Driver for two. Athena and Storm did the “stand and throw forearms” spot that they do in nearly every AEW a match. Storm hit the dreaded Mongolian chops to knock Athena down. Athena hit a superkick and a hard elbow smash to the jaw for a two count. That shot looked good. Starkz was finally back up at ringside.

Athena went for a lifting move, Storm slipped out and Storm kicked Athena down. That allowed Athena to hit a running kick on Storm. Athena hit a hurricanrana off the top. Athena hit a sitout Powerbomb. Athena flipped over Storm with a spinning slam and applied a submission move with a version of the Koji Clutch, but Storm got her foot on the rope to force a break. Storm left the ring, so Athena hit a cross body block forearm to knock Storm down. Athena teased a piledriver on the steps, btu Storm bit the knee and slammed Athena down into the steps. Storm sent Athena into the LED boards at ringside. Back in the ring, Storm hit a headbutt and a Storm Zero snap piledriver for a two count. They went to the apron where Starkz pulled on the ring apron and Storm let Athena go. That led to Athena jumping off the top with an O-Face on Storm across the top rope. The referee was looking at Storm, so Mina Shirakawa went to ringside and took a chair from Starkz, so Mina chased Starkz to the back. Athena and Storm each got inside cradles for two count. Storm blocked O-Face and applied a Chickenwing submission, so Athena tapped out. It went about 16 minutes.

Winner by submission: “Timeless” Toni Storm

Analysis: ***3/4 I thought it was a terrific match with Storm selling the neck injury throughout the match, Athena was on offense for a lot of it, and Storm was able to counter Athena at the end to get the win. While I like Storm a lot, I think Athena winning would have been cool because Storm has been dominating the Women’s Title scene for so long, and I’d like to see something different there. Athena is very talented in a lot of different ways and she showed it in this match. I liked the finish with Athena going for her finish, but Storm was ready and finished her off with the Chickenwing submission. That was well done as a finish.

The AEW World Championship match was next with “Hangman” Adam Page defending the gold against MJF. This has been built up very well.

AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

It felt like both guys went out there quickly because there’s likely a time that AEW wants to end this show so they want to make sure they hit that time. The rules are that “Hangman” Adam Page can lose the title by disqualification or countout in addition to pinfall or submission. MJF is the CMLL World Champion, but that title is not on the line. It’s been 3 hours into the show at this point.

Page was aggressive while MJF was backing out of the ring to avoid the champion. Page sent MJF into the barricade. Page sent MJF into the barricade again. Page clotheslined MJF over barricade to the floor. Page sent MJF into the ring and hit a belly-to-back suplex, so MJF rolled to the floor again. Page charged and hit a running kick to the head to knock Max down on the floor. Page grabbed a chair, so referee Bryce Remsburg told him to think about it and put the chair down, so Page did. MJF sent Page into the ring post. MJF took over with punches in the ring. MJF did a hair pull takedown to remain in control. MJF got a sunset flip for two. MJF jumped over Page and hit a piledriver for a two count. MJF sent Page hard into the turnbuckle. Page sent MJF into the turnbuckle, but MJF came back with an elbow. MJF stomped on the left arm. MJF hit an overhead suplex while holding onto the left arm. MJF and Page did some hip thrusting moves to eachother. Page came back with a flying lariat off the top, along with punches. Page hit a fallaway slam across the ring. Page clotheslined MJF over the top to the floor. Page went up top and hit a moonsault onto MJF on the floor. Page hit a sitout Popup Powerbomb for two. Page wanted a Buckshot Lariat, but MJF leaned forward into the ropes. MJF wrenched on the left arm. Page went for a Buckshot Lariat, MJF avoided it and MJF applied a Salt of the Earth armbar on the left arm. Page got out of that and MJF hit a knee smash by the apron. MJF launched Page into the air and hit a Cutter. MJF hit a Hammerlock DDT on Page for two.

MJF grabbed the table from ringside and set it up beside the ring. MJF put Page onto the table on the floor and MJF took way too long going up top, so you know he wasn’t going to do anything because Page was back up. Page kicked MJF while on the apron. Page did a moonsault onto MJF, followed by a Tombstone on the floor. Page put MJF back into the ring. Page teased a move through the table at ringside, but MJF tried to fight back. Page jumped off the apron and hit a Beach Break through the table. It looked like Page’s knees broke the table, so I feel bad for his knees. Isn’t that a DQ? No. We have seen tables broken in AEW before, so it’s not a DQ spot. Back in the ring, Page got a two count because MJF got his boot on the bottom rope. Page wanted a Buckshot Lariat, but MJF left the ring again. Page charged, MJF moved and gave Page a drop toe hold into the chair at ringside. The referee checked on Page instead of counting him out. They showed replays and Page came up bloody after going into the chair, so Page did a blade job after the chair spot. MJF sent Page into the steel steps. MJF told Danielson: “Just like you, he f**king sucks!” MJF gave Page a Tombstone on a broken half of a table. The referee checked on the wrestlers instead of counting them out, so MJF told Bryce to count. The referee did a very slow count and Page got back in right before the ten count, so the fans cheered that.

MJF took the turnbuckle pad off to expose the steel bar. Page managed to block a toss into the turnbuckle and Page sent MJF into the steel. Page wasn’t bleeding a lot. MJF was bleeding heavily after hitting the steel, and that’s a much bigger blade job by Max. The fans chanted, “You deserve it” at Max. They did the “stand and throw punches” spot that AEW wrestlers love to do and then they hit rolling elbows at the same time. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” for them. They battled over a Tombstone spot, and then they each got two counts. They did more two counts like they were a see saw and the fans were chanting “one” after the one counts. Page hit Deadeye for a two count as usual for that move. The fans chanted, “Fight Forever” for them. MJF took out the Dynamite Diamond ring from his trunks and wanted Page to punch him with it. MJF spit in Page’s face so Page teased punching MJF with the Dynamite Diamond ring. Page spit in MJF’s face. Page did a necksnap into the ropes and MJF hid behind the referee. MJF shoved Page into the referee. MJF hit a low blow uppercut on Page and a Heatseeker DDT. MJF covered Page, the referee counted one…two…Page’s foot was on the rope…and three. The referee never saw the foot on the rope. Mark Briscoe went down to the ring, but security made him go to the back. The referee woke up and said he saw Page’s foot on the rope, so MJF did not win. MJF shoved Bryce, who shoved MJF back. Page hit a clothesline. MJF hit a low blow on Page while hugging the referee and MJF got a rollup on Page for two. MJF brought the CMLL title into the ring, the referee stopped that and MJF hit Page in the head with the steel contract of doom and that got a two count because Page kicked out. MJF put the Dynamite Diamond Ring on his hand, but referee Bryce Remsburg stopped him from using it. Page hit MJF with the steel clipboard with the contract. Page hit the Deadeye. Page hit the Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall win after 32 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: “Hangman” Adam Page

Analysis: ****1/2 These guys are awesome and it was an outstanding match. I don’t think it was at the level of the Page/Ospreay match earlier in the year at Double or Nothing, but it was close. The story was that MJF knew he couldn’t beat Page, so he tried multiple things to try to win the match and he nearly won with a dirty trick, but it was prevented. Those last five minutes featured a lot of classic heel moves by MJF, yet Page was able to overcome all the cheating and he found a way to win. Page is on quite a roll this year in terms of incredible PPV matches. I think it’s the best run of his career. MJF is my favorite all-around performer in AEW because I think he’s the best in the company, and he continues to prove it in these big matches. I enjoyed this match a lot. Maybe it went a few minutes too long and maybe there was too much cheating at the end, but as a story, I thought it was very well done.

“Hangman” Adam Page celebrated with the AEW World Title. Excalibur mentioned that MJF still has the contract that he can cash in for a shot at the AEW World Title any time he wants it. Hangman tossed the contract onto a fallen MJF. The fans chanted “Cowboy Shit” to support Hangman.

It was announced that AEW Collision will be in Cardiff, Wales, on December 13 and Dynamite on December 17 in Manchester, England.

Bryan Danielson recused himself from the next match due to personal issues that he has. Bryan left commentary.

Analysis: Great job by Bryan Danielson on commentary all night long.

The Lights Out 10-man tag Steel Cage Match was next.

It’s a “Lights Out” match, so the lights shut off. When the lights went back on, it meant that AEW will not be responsible for what takes place. The Steel Cage surrounded the ring, and there were a few feet of room on the floor so they could do moves out there.

The babyface team was up first, led by Darby Allin, and he got a huge pop. Jim Ross was back on commentary with Excalibur and Tony Schiavone for this match. The NJPW President and legend Hiroshi Tanahashi got a big ovation. Tanahashi is retiring in January. Another NJPW legend, Kota Ibushi, was next. Kenny Omega got a huge ovation from the crowd. He hasn’t been around for the last month, but he’s back for this main event. Excalibur made the storyline point that Omega didn’t have to be cleared to compete tonight since it’s a Lights Out match.

There was a special video about the British superstar Will Ospreay showing highlights from earlier in his career and in his AEW run so far. The video was narrated by his fiancée, Alex Windsor, who said she had always loved him. I think it’s fair to say Ospreay got the biggest ovation of the night. The fans sang Will’s song on his way to the ring, and the announcers should have shut up so that we could hear it better, but they kept talking. Will climbed up the cage and saluted the crowd that chanted, “Ospreay, Ospreay” during his song.

It was time for the heel side as we heard the start of The Young Bucks theme song, but then it stopped. The Bucks were upset about it as their lack of respect continued. It said “Slick Nick” and “Mr. Instant Replay” and it was their first ever music – the “Mmmm Bop” song that apparently the Bucks used early in their career. That was funny. The trio of Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Gabe Kidd made their entrance from the back part of the arena, joined by Wheeler Yuta and Marina Shafir, who were near ringside.

Lights Out Steel Cage Match: Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Will Ospreay vs. Death Riders – Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks -Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson, and Gabe Kidd

The first fall wins this match. No tags or anything like that. It’s just about the first fall and anything goes in this match.

There was room for the wrestlers on the floor, so several guys were fighting on the floor. Tanahashi sent Nick out of the ring and hit an arm drag on Claudio. Kidd nailed Tanahashi with a forearm. Moxley was choking Allin with a kendo stick. Ospreay flipped over Kid and kicked him in the head. Ospreay ran the ropes and did a backflip over the top onto Kidd on the floor. Allin hit a somersault dive on some dudes on the floor. The Bucks faced off with Omega and Ibushi, so the crowd cheered for that confrontation. It’s so nice that the other guys in the match waited on the floor doing nothing during this. Nick hit a dropkick. Omega and Ibushi each hit hurricanranas. Omega and Ibushi each hit moonsaults onto opponents on the floor. Moxley and Allin had their left wrists handcuffed together. Allin hit a Code Red on Claudio and Moxley bumped too while the handcuffs were broken. Omega hit a rolling senton on Kidd and Omega went for a moonsault with a trash can, but Kidd moved out of the way. Matt hit a move on Omega to send him into the mat. The Bucks hit assisted Sliced Bread and Nick hit a running knee on Ibushi. The Young Bucks dumped out a bag of gummy bears, which drew laughs. Will hit a running forearm. Nick hit a spinning kick on Will. Tanahashi bulldogged Nick into the gummy bears and the fans popped for that. Omega put the gummy bears into Matt’s mouth, and Ibushi kicked him. Ibushi hit an elevated German Suplex for two because Claudio made the save. Claudio hit double foot stomps on Ibushi and Omega. Claudio hit a forearm on Will. The Bucks hit Will with a ladder and Will bumped into the steel cage. The Bucks hit Ibushi with the ladder. The Bucks gave Allin a Powerbomb onto a ladder. Nick went up top and hit a senton bomb on Allin onto a ladder.

Will was busted open after bumping into the steel cage, and he was bleeding a lot, so good job by him blading after that. Will hit a jumping kick. Will smashed Moxley with a chair to the back. Will put the chair around Moxley’s neck, so Kidd grabbed Will and Kidd hit Will with a piledriver, so everybody was freaking out because of Will’s neck injury. Omega battled Kidd by the ropes and the Bucks did a double foot stomp leading to a Powerbomb. Claudio did a Giant Swing on Omega, and Kidd hit a dropkick while Nick jumped onto Ibushi on the floor. Nick jumped off the top with a missile dropkick on Omega for two. The Bucks hit a TK Driver on Ibushi for two because Allin made the save. Claudio press slammed Allin over his head and Claudio sent Allin smashing into the cage. Ouch! There’s no way to really take that bump or break your fall, but Allin is willing to put his body on the line like that. Tanahashi fought the five heels by himself and hit a back body drop. Tanahashi hit a neckbreaker on Claudio. Moxley hit a DDT on Tanahashi. Moxley worked over Allin with punches. Claudio brought in some duct tape that he used to tape Allin to a steel chair in the middle of the ring. Moxley had a fork, so Moxley used the fork to Allin’s right side by his ear. Moxley used the fork to dig into the ear and the fans were going crazy while Moxley was making crazy faces and there was a lot of blood coming from the ear. That was gross. Allin spit in Moxley’s face. Claudio gave Allin a body slam while the chair was on Allin. That was disgusting with the fork. Gross.

The Young Bucks had a barbed wire table at ringside. Yuta and Shafir stacked four tables on the floor. Claudio tried to put Allin to the top of the cage, but Allin broke free. Allin sent Claudio into the cage. Nick kicked Allin in the head. Tanahashi stopped himself before they could him through the barbed wire table. Tanahashi sent Moxley’s head into the barbed wire on the table. Kidd punched Tanahashi, who came back with the Slingblade. Tanahashi hit Slingblade on Moxley too. Claudio kicked Tanahashi and Claudio hit a Neutralizer on Tanahashi. The Bucks hit a BTE Trigger double knee for two because Will made the save. Moxley tried to do a move to Will, but Will tackled Moxley through the barbed wire table. Omega hit three Snapdragon Suplexes in a row, along with a fourth Snapdragon on Kidd. Moxley was back up somehow and Omega hit a Snapdragon on Mox while Ibushi hit a Snapdragon too. Ibushi dove onto the Bucks on the floor. Omega hit a somersault dive onto some heels on the floor. The camera was on Shafir as she said: “F**k you, Kenny.” Nice timing there. Tanahashi wanted to climb a ladder for something, but Will and Ibushi told him not to do it. Will said I’ll do it. Will climbed to the top of the cage and Will hit a moonsault onto a bunch of wrestlers waiting patiently on the ground for him. That was very impressive by Will, of course.

Omega faced off with Kidd in the ring as they did the “stand and throw strikes” exchange that every match on this show has. Omega hit Kidd with strikes. Omega hit a knee on Kidd and a V-Trigger knee. The Bucks hit a double superkick on Omega. Tanahashi hit a dragon screw leg whip on Nick. Claudio suplexed Tanahashi. Ibushi hit a Pele Kick on Claudio. Moxley with a Cutter on Ibushi. Darby the wild man hit a Scorpion Death Drop. There were more strikes by guys, including Will hitting the Hidden Blade on both Bucks. Will caught Kidd and hit a Styles Clash on Kidd. Omega and Will hit a V-Trigger/Hidden Blade combo for two because the heels made the save. The fans chanted, “This is awesome” for them. Nick gave Ibushi a DDT on the apron. Will hit an Oscutter and Kidd hit a piledriver. Allin hit a Coffin Drop off the top onto Claudio on the apron. Omega and Moxley exchanged clotheslines and Omega hit a V-Trigger knee to the face. Omega hit Mox with another V-Trigger. Omega hit One Winged Angel on Mox for two because The Bucks and Claudio were there for the save. Wheeler Yuta climbed to the top of the cage. Moxley went up to the top and over the top to the other side. Allin bit Yuta’s head. Allin punched Yuta and Yuta bumped onto the commentary table. Allin went outside the cage and went after Moxley on the floor, where there was not much room. Allin hit Moxley with kendo sticks and Allin sent Moxley into the barricade. Allin set up Moxley underneath two tables and there were two tables under Moxley. Allin went up to the top of the cage, but Marina Shafir was there to save Moxley. Allin was at the top of the cage and Kidd used a ladder to hit Allin with a low blow. The fans chanted “Please don’t die” as Kidd got a hold of Allin on the top of the cage. Allin gouged Kidd’s face and Allin & Kidd went crashing through the four tables on the floor! That was nuts. Claudio worked over Ibushi with uppercut shots to the chest. Ibushi hit a half n half suplex on Claudio. Omega hit a ripcord knee on Claudio and Will hit a Stormbreaker on Claudio. Omega and Ibushi hit a knee smash on Nick and a Golden Trigger double knee. Will hit a Hidden Blade elbow on Matt. Omega held Matt, leading to a Hidden Blade into a One-Winged Angel by Omega. Tanahashi went up top and hit the High Fly Flow, aka Frog Splash, on Matt for the pinfall win after 33 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Will Ospreay

Analysis: ****1/4 It’s a hard match to rate because it was a bloodbath, and it was full of so many crazy spots that it’s hard to remember them all. I think the most memorable moment was Moxley using a fork to bloody Allin’s ear. It was brutal to watch. It was like the Blood & Guts match in a lot of ways, but it’s a different kind of cage. I was exhausted just watching that match because there was so much going on and I can only imagine how the wrestlers feel. It made sense for the babyfaces to win, and I liked how they had Hiroshi Tanahashi getting the pinfall since he is retiring as a wrestler in January. I was impressed by a lot of people in the match, like Darby Allin taking big bumps, Kenny Omega was terrific, Will Ospreay did some big moves, but he didn’t kill himself as he does sometimes, Ibushi did a nice job, and Tanahashi had his moments to shine too. The heels were very good in their roles, too. Like I said, it’s a hard match to rate, but it was definitely entertaining.

After the match, the babyface team celebrated the win. Omega helped Allin to his feet, and Allin shook hands with Ospreay. The other babyfaces left the ring so that Ospreay could salute the home crowd. Will saluted the fans and kissed the mat.

Analysis: I will miss Will Ospreay while he is gone due to a neck issue. We don’t know exactly what kind of surgery he’s going to have and how long he’s going to be out, but Ospreay will be missed because he is truly one of the best wrestlers alive.

When it looked like Will was going to leave, Claudio hit Will with an uppercut. Moxley put Will in the ring, and Moxley hit the Paradigm Shift DDT on Will four times in a row. Moxley hit a fifth Paradigm Shift on Will. The babyfaces were outside the cage because the cage was locked. Samoa Joe of The Opps went to ringside along with Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata. They couldn’t go in the ring because the heels were keeping them out. Moxley stomped on a chair that was around Ospreay’s neck. The fans were chanting, “F**k you, Moxley” at the former AEW World Champion. The cage was lifted finally, so the heels ran away while the babyfaces went to ringside to check on Ospreay. The AEW medical team went into the ring to check on Ospreay as well. The announcers used SERIOUS VOICES~! to talk about how serious the situation was. The medical team called for help, and that was the end of the show.

Analysis: That’s how you get some heel heat on a guy like Ospreay, who is going to be out for a long time with a serious neck injury. Whenever a guy is going to be out like that, we often see pro wrestling companies do angles like that in order to capitalize on the situatio,n so that whenever Ospreay comes back, fans will want to see him get revenge on Moxley for what he did. I think it’s great as an angle.

AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door had a runtime of 4 hours, 33 minutes on pay-per-view.

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Five Stars of the Show

  1. “Hangman” Adam Page
  2. MJF
  3. Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Will Ospreay
  4. Death Riders – Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks -Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson, and Gabe Kidd
  5. Kazuchika Okada

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Final Thoughts

It gets a 7.75 out of 10 from me.

I liked the show about the same as All In Texas. The first couple of hours had some good matches, but nothing stood out. The second half of the show was a lot better and had some outstanding matches.

You can tell that this AEW roster loves the piledrivers and Tombstones because there were a lot of them throughout the show.

The Hangman/MJF match was the best of the night, but I know some fans may like the Lights Out Steel Cage Match more and that’s fine too.

Did it need to be 4.5 hours long? I don’t think so. I think 4 hours would be better, but it’s AEW and they love doing these obscenely long shows. It’s not up to me.

Here are my AEW PPV reviews of 2025 so far:

Revolution – March 9 (8.75 out of 10)

Double Or Nothing – May 25 (8.5)

All In Texas – July 12 (8)

Forbidden Door – August 24 (7.75)

Dynasty – April 6 (7.5)

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