All Elite Wrestling and NJPW return to pay-per-view tonight (Sun., June 30) with Forbidden Door 2024. The show comes our way from Long Island, New York’s UBS Arena with a Zero Hour pre-show at 6:30 pm ET, leading right into the main card that begins at 8 pm ET. The main card is available at Triller TV, Bleacher Report, other streaming outlets, and via cable & satellite providers.
Will Ospreay just isn’t ready to win the AEW world championship
Will Ospreay is undefeated thus far in AEW, beating the likes of Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Konosuke Takeshita, Rey Fenix, Kyle O’Reilly, Powerhouse Hobbs, Roderick Strong, and more. He became the AEW International Champion along the way, and then won a Casino Gauntlet match last month to earn an AEW world title match against Swerve Strickland at Forbidden Door.
Swerve and Ospreay are very familiar with each other, and the world champ has pointed out that Ospreay isn’t willing to to whatever it takes to beat him for the gold. Hesitation from either man will be their downfall in this main event match; Swerve has proven that he won’t hesitate to go for the kill shot on his opponents, but Ospreay refuses to use the most dangerous move in his arsenal, the Tiger Driver ‘91. This is why Ospreay isn’t ready to be the world champion just yet; he is going to hesitate once again when it comes to using that move, and it’s going to cost him everything.
There’s one other factor working against Will in this title fight. Ospreay recently said he doesn’t need Don Callis to beat Swerve for the belt. Whether Will knows it or not, publicly dismissing Don like that was a huge mistake, as Callis is now surely figuring out a cruel way to break ties with Will. It’s no coincidence that Don is recruiting RUSH to potentially join up with him.
To his credit, Ospreay is more confident than ever in his unmatched skills in the ring, telling anyone who will listen that he’s on another level, and also booking his first title defense as the reigning world champion even though he has yet to win the belt.
Is Ospreay just so damn good in the ring that he can still win the world championship without relying on his most devastating move? We’ll find out the answer to that question at Forbidden Door.
The rest of the main card
These nine matches are also currently advertised for the main card of Forbidden Door:
Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Moxley beat Naito for this belt over two months ago at Windy City Riot. Was the plan all along for Jon to drop it back to him at Forbidden Door, or could Jon’s reign with NJPW’s top prize extend all the way to All In at Wembley Stadium? For what it’s worth, Moxley says this match isn’t just a typical title defense; he’s looking to end Naito’s career and maybe even bury him six feet deep.
Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer (c) for both the TBS Championship and the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship
This is only Mercedes’ fourth match since she returned from the injured list in late May, and she already has a good chance to become a double champion. The NJPW Strong Women’s Championship was originally created for her to win, after all, so she’s simply looking to fulfill her destiny by beating Vaquer. But does Mercedes have an answer for the numbers game, given that Zeuxis might be lurking in the shadows?
Toni Storm (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa for the AEW Women’s World Championship
Mariah May adores Storm and Shirakawa, and will probably accompany both of them to the ring for this title fight. Unfortunately for Mariah, one of them has to lose, and they will each expect her to provide an assist if an opening pops up for it. Shirakawa accidentally broke a bottle over Mariah’s head on Dynamite, so maybe it’s time for Mariah to “accidentally” return the favor and prove her loyalty Storm.
Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Jack Perry vs. Konosuke Takeshita in a ladder match for the vacant TNT Championship
This six-way ladder match for the TNT title has potential to be the most thrilling match on the card, filled with high spots galore that will leave you breathless. Let’s hope Dante Martin doesn’t destroy his leg again in the process. Jack Perry is the favorite to win given his position in The Elite and the group’s vow to bring home all the gold in AEW.
Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi in the men’s Owen Hart Tournament
Takagi crossed the line of respectful competition by trying to injury Bryan’s ally, Wheeler Yuta. Danielson is pissed off and looking to finally win a PPV match in 2024. The winner of this bout advances to a match in the next round against The Bastard PAC.
The Acclaimed & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. The Elite (Young Bucks & Kazuchika Okada)
The Acclaimed recently defeated EVPs Matthew and Nicholas Jackson to earn a future shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Before that happens, though, they will try to make an example out of The Elite at Forbidden Door in this trios match, with NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi stepping in for Daddy Ass. Will there be an angle here with implications for July’s Blood & Guts match?
Samoa Joe, HOOK & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Chris Jericho, Big Bill & Jeff Cobb
Jericho has gone all-in on The Learning Tree gimmick ever since he defeated HOOK to win the FTW championship. Meanwhile, Joe has taken HOOK under his wing as they try to get their revenge on Jericho’s group. Joe has a team of killers on his side, so Jericho brought in badass Jeff Cobb to fight with him in this match and replace the injured Bad Apple. If Jericho walks out of Forbidden Door in one piece, it looks like he has an FTW title defense against Minoru Suzuki in his future.
Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre says he’s been waiting a full year to beat Cassidy, referring to Forbidden Door 2023 where ZSJ came up short in a four-way match that was won by Freshly Squeezed. Orange has a ton of distractions weighing on his mind due to recent betrayals by Trent Beretta and Kris Statlander, so he appears to be ripe for the picking.
MJF vs. Hechicero
This is MJF’s first PPV match since he returned to AEW last month. There’s zero reason to think Hechicero can beat him, so it seems like a filler match just to get MJF on the card.
Zero Hour pre-show
For those of you who crave even more AEW x NJPW action, you can check out the following four matches on the pre-show, for a total of 14 matches on the evening:
Mariah May vs. Saraya in the women’s Owen Hart tournament
Willow Nightingale & Tam Nakano vs. Kris Statlander & Momo Watanabe
Mistico, Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Titan, Yota Tsuji & Hiromu Takahashi
House of Black (Malakai Black & Brody King) vs. Kyle O’Reilly & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Private Party vs. Gabe Kidd & Roderick Strong
Summary
It’s going to a ridiculously long night if you actually plan to watch all 14 matches, starting with the pre-show. Most of the intrigue for tonight is centered on Ospreay vs. Swerve in the main event, and curiosity over whether or not Ospreay will already win the AEW world title just a few months into his run with the company.
What will you be looking for at Forbidden Door?
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