Live from London’s O2 Arena, the third PPV from England’s capital city provides a card of style clashes, interpromotional team-ups, dream matches, and storylines to satisfy pro wrestling fans. As someone who will be there and who attended the previous two Wembley All Ins, I genuinely feel this could be the best show the UK has yet.
Ignore counterprogramming and the wider Battle for Britain. This PPV has reunions of a classic tag team, the UK retirement of a Japanese legend, the return of a British legend, and a dinosaur!
Start playing Oasis!
How to Watch AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door
- Date: Sunday 24th August
- Time: The main broadcast starts at 4 pm ET / 1 pm PT/ 6 BST
- Watch in the U.S.: Amazon, Triller TV, PPV.com, YouTube, Fubo, and traditional cable and satellite providers. Selected locations of Dave and Busters, and Tom’s Watch Bar
- Rest of the World: Amazon, Triller TV, PPV.com, YouTube
AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door – Announced Card
- AEW TBS Championship: Mercedes Mone © vs. Alex Windsor vs. Persephone vs Bozilla
- AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Hurt Syndicate © vs. Brodido vs. FTR
- Nick Wayne and Killswitch vs. Christian Cage and Adam Copeland
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr vs. Nigel McGuinness W/ Daniel Garcia
- Lights Out Steel Cage Match: Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Vs. Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks, and Gabe Kidd
- AEW TNT Championship: Kyle Fletcher © vs. Hiromu Takahashi
- AEW Women’s World Championship: “Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Athena AEW Unified Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c). vs. Swerve Strickland
- AEW World Championship: Hangman Adam Page © Vs. MJF. The title can change hands on a DQ or countout.
Lights Out Steel Cage Match
Jon Moxley and the Death Riders have turned the corner from apathy-inducing to recapturing the intimidating and violent magic that made Moxley the embodiment of the alternative.
On Dynamite, Will Ospreay made it clear this was a lights-out match because he is not medically cleared. The prospect of upcoming surgery adds both to the stakes of the match and sympathy for Ospreay, while also perhaps suggesting a big finish involving an Ospreay being grounded or paying for his hubris.
Let’s be honest, it’s not like a steel cage in AEW keeps everything contained to the ring. That’s rarely to the detriment of the action or story. By challenging Moxley to finish him off, has Ospreay set himself up as the sacrificial lamb to add heat to an eventual/inevitable clash with Darby Allin?
Odd Choices but Perhaps Clear Intentions?
Two events on Dynamite provide odd, unexpected twists in two world title matches. On paper, the AEW World Tag Team Championship match seems repetitive. The Hurt Syndicate’s last defence was in a three-way. However, subtly, it kind of fits with their characters and reign so far. The Syndicate hasn’t faced an equal challenge.
I outlined in this week’s Dynamite preview why, separately, each team would push the tag champions. Yet in a three-way, it gives the champions space and breathing room. Transparently, does it signpost the result? Keeps FTR free for Cope/Cage or MJF? Or is a twist coming?
Elsewhere, the added stipulations to the AEW World Championship match scan as WWE-esque. It hints at a screw-job finish. It’s MJF. Manipulation is what The Salt of the Earth does. It challenges Page. Puts the Cowboys’ reign at risk. Plus, with the contract still in MJF’s hand as a backup…
As I’ve discussed in my history of the rivalry here, is this just another midpoint milestone to set up something later down the road?
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8 pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube
