FORBIDDEN DOOR IV - 8/24/2025

[Curt McGirt]

If the Ospreay neck thing is phony-bologna, they sure did go out of their way to make it look real at the end there. 

Of course I missed the whole thing, forgot about it and didn't check in last night. What was the best match of the show? 

[NoFistsJustFlips]

My understanding is he legit needs surgery on his neck. They did the All In neck chair deal to write him out. Found out he'd be okay to work one more without doing any more damage, so they let him work London. Then re-ran the angle because he needs surgery and they wanted Deathriders to be the cause of it.

[Craig H]

6 minutes ago, NoFistsJustFlips said:

There's no reason to jump to talking down to someone because they disagree with your views on wrestling. I've noticed you do that to a few people here and its not nesicary.

-Teaming together for a month doesnt make you a team. They have so many legitimate teams, why are they forcing the top singles wrestler of ROH (usually what being the world champion means) into a team? Its legitimately no different then Jeri-show or Show-miz. Its two singles guys they want to feature being shoved in the tag division because there's no other spot for them to be featured right now.

-Being one of 3 monster tropes in a group of 8 is much different than being one of 3 in Tge Hurt Syndicate. My point being you stuff him in an already iver stuffed group he's instantly gonna be lost in the shuffle. Maybe in 12 months we'll get Wardlow vs Takeshita which would be dope, but there's an equal chance we dont. They tease a lot of shit they dont deliver.

-What in saying about the cash in is, you could have used an obvious bullshit cash in attempt as your catalyst for changing the rule. Doing it in the middle of someone's reign seems like an unfair thing to do (in kayfabe). There was a better way.

-The Ospreay shit is lame. You *break* his neck at All In but then retcon it so you can get one more match. Im fine with that. What Im saying is lame is just repeating the same exact attack and going no but this time its for realsies.

Im making total sense. You have your blinders on because youre vibing with the product right now. I am too, but that doesnt prevent me from being allowed to voice opinions on where I think they're fucking up.

If questioning you on circular logic or something that is false or illogical is talking down to someone then you're going to have a much harder time with life. Did I call you a fucking moron? An idiot? A dumbass? To take this shit elsewhere? No. I didn't. I said you weren't making sense and I pointed out why because your complaints were based on either circular logic or just not paying attention.

People want Bandido on TV more. Brody has no tag partner. Brody is an ally with the luchas. Brody is friends with Bandido. Let's make them a team. Neither guy is remotely close to the top in AEW even if one of them is the ROH champion. The ROH champion is the equivalent of the TNT champion on AEW TV. The examples you listed were top acts or frequently featured acts. Brody was doing jobs and they struggled to find ways of getting Bandido on TV. It made sense to make them a team.

A bullshit cash in attempt is the exact reason why they're changing the rule so there isn't a bullshit cash in attempt to begin with. The catalyst for changing the rule is Max being a chicken shit and teasing cashing in whenever he wants. It's his out. Now he doesn't have that out. And it's unfair?! Cashing in is inherently unfair to the point that it's fucking dumb and that's within kayfabe. It's the easy way out of having a title change hands and from a business aspect you can't even promoted it.

And finally, the difference with Ospreay this time is that before it was Claudio doing it. He didn't get the job done. This time Moxley tells Claudio no, I'm doing it, and it's the straw that breaks the camel's, uh, neck?

None of this is having blinders on. It's simple, easy to understand booking. That's the last I have to say on the matter. If you want to go 12 rounds with this then I'm not interested because there's no where else to take it and nothing else to say.

[Matt D]

Popping here in between the sniping to post my take on Athena vs Toni:

https://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2025/08/aew-five-fingers-of-death-818-824.html

[Craig H]

13 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

If the Ospreay neck thing is phony-bologna, they sure did go out of their way to make it look real at the end there. 

Of course I missed the whole thing, forgot about it and didn't check in last night. What was the best match of the show? 

Hmmm...that's tough. I wasn't a fan of the lights out match because of a few different reasons. If you're going to do something that is cage of death-esque then go all the way with it. They didn't and it felt like a neutered Anarchy in the Arena or Blood and Guts match. It didn't help that Tanahashi could barely move, Darby was a rag doll and had the shit kicked out of him so he was down for awhile multiple times, and the bulk of the work seemed to be the Bucks and Omega/Ibushi. Other than that it was Omega vs Kidd. Jim Ross of all people did his best in pointing out actual history between some of these guys like Omega and Moxley, like saying Omega was the first guy Moxley even went after, but then after those 30 seconds I don't remember Moxley even doing anything more with Kenny. And Ospreay did some pretty athletic stuff followed by taking a piledriver or tombstone and then he'd sell the neck for awhile.

Hangman vs MJF was really good, but I don't think it was nearly as good as Moxley vs Hangman in Chicago. It was overbooked but the overbooking wasn't exactly bad, it was just something I personally didn't care for and there is a spot where the ref is hurt from taking a bump, Max hits a Heat Seeker, goes for the pin, gets his foot on the rope at one, the ref counts three, and collapses before he can call for the bell so the match doesn't end. I get what they attempted, but it was too cute. Then a couple minutes later after selling like he was dead the ref immediately springs to life and says the match isn't over because Hangman's foot was on the rope. At this point and until the finish MJF cheated about a million times and failed each time and Hangman didn't hesitate pulling the trigger and absolutely waffling MJF on the head with the contract case.

So I'm not exactly selling you on anything to watch...Umm...Maybe the TBS 4 way match? That was...really good but I thought it was clear there was zero chance Mercedes was losing. Okada vs Swerve was really good, but like someone else said, it was hampered by knowing Okada wasn't going to lose because of Swerve's injury. Toni vs Athena was cool.

Oh, and Danielson was an excellent commentator all the way up to the Lights Out match which he had to recuse himself from because of his history with the Death Riders.

I'm still waiting for Eddie to do something, anything, but apparently he's just not healthy enough yet.

[HarryArchieGus]

3 hours ago, JLSigman said:

….whoever was directing the camera cuts in the booths needs to be fired (out of a cannon), there were some egregiously awful wide shots, missed spots, and they managed to catch every single time a wrestler slapped their thigh for a kick. 

2 hours ago, Death From Above said:

I like AEW a lot but man they LOVE getting business exposing camera angles, it's wild. Been a constant feature since day 1.

Julia Hart spanking Aminata in the chocolate kisses spot comes to mind there, but yeah, not the only business exposing and embarrassing angle of the night. It’s a challenging gig to be sure, but countless ball drops does make one wonder what a new director/producer could offer. Further, glad to see others are starting to notice aews want to go wide with shots at inappropriate times - the Lashley-Brody King confrontation was the most obvious. 

[NoFistsJustFlips]

I'll concede the MJF point. He did try and set a man on fire to manipulate the cash in and that's as much of a catalyst to change the rule as anything. So I withdraw that point lol.

There's nothing you can say that will get me to agree it makes any sense to take your secondary brand's world champion and make them also be your main brands tag champ. Or how shoving him with a random dude with no connective fiber makes perfect sense. You can say well the ROH title is more like the TNT champ. Thats fine. Ill accept that. Id also be complaining if a random TNT champ was shoved with someone else and given a tag title reign over actual legitimate teams.

Thats a fundamental pillar I have for my wrestling philosophy. The tag team division should be a division separate from regular wrestling. And you should prioritize a cohessive team over two randoms shoved together.

[Matt D]

I think one thing people need to come to grips with when it comes to AEW is that if something doesn't make a lot of sense, there's generally an injury, interpersonal, or otherwise non-ideal reason for it. It makes talking about this stuff a little frustrating and is one reason why I tend not to talk about the booking, but there you go. Sometimes it's just TK's own preferences, but even then, that's not super enjoyable to talk about. I doubt the plan three months ago was to put the belts on Brodido. 

[AxB]

Stardom made a really good call in sending Bozilla as their representative. Partly because she was a real eye opener, and people might start watching Stardom to see more of her. But also because if she's now immediately made a hot free agent that WWE and AEW will both be bidding for, that's not actually that much of a loss for them, because she's only started in Stardom quite recently and isn't actually a pillar of the promotion or anything.

For a second, I was worried that Killswitch had Goldberg'ed Cope on that kick to the jaw that actually hit him hard in the jaw. But it seemed like he took it well.

[Craig H]

Bozilla made me not really care about Megan Bayne anymore. Then again, Megan Bayne has been making me not care a whole lot about Megan Bayne these days.

I thought same about Killswitch's thrust kick. My first thought was, holy shit, he went full Goldberg on Cope. At least it was on Cope and not Christian though.

[Niners Fan in CT]

Maybe this isn't the best place for it but as fun as the fatal 4 way was,  I thought Mercedes best match of the weekend was against Emersyn Jayne on Friday at RevPro. I didn't know much about Jayne before that match but I do now. This is what it's all about, as she said in the press conference,  spotlighting women around the world to help grow their following. 

[Craig H]

Oh yeah, I do agree that some guys being paired up is a pivot when someone's tag partner get injured. I still think Brodido is a better pairing than Brody and Matthews if just because Brody was friend of luchas and Brody paired up with a smaller more effective guy looks better plus both are less likely to do jobs on TV now.

[Matt D]

I thought the four way did a great job of highlighting all the wrestlers, but it did it through the use of some pretty goofy multi-person sequences. 

[HarryArchieGus]

This Zero Hour was the best in awhile. Cru/Hechicero/Alexander-Desparado/Paragon/Uemura was so fun. Great showcase for every talented motherfucker in that match. Kyle O’Reilly is showing great fire lately, and the crowd seems to be noticing. This match and the many combinations had me wishing for a true ‘Forbidden Door’ season where singles and tags would follow. I gotta go looking for Hechicero-Desparado singles matches. Cru, O’Reilly/Strong, and Alexander are all underrated craftsmen.

Edited August 25 by HarryArchieGus

[AxB]

If only they had booked a House of Torture vs Dark Order 6 Man tag. We could have finally seen what happens when Evil Uno faces off with EVIL.

It would have been like that Fletcher vs O'Reilly match, only with far less cumulative talent.

[The Natural]

Who do we think ends Timeless Toni Storm's AEW Women's World Championship reign? I'd be happy with one of: Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander or Willow Nightingale. That's probably my order of preference as well.

[The Natural]

4 minutes ago, AxB said:

If only they had booked a House of Torture vs Dark Order 6 Man tag. We could have finally seen what happens when Evil Uno faces off with EVIL.

It would have been like that Fletcher vs O'Reilly match, only with far less cumulative talent.

Made me smile. For shits and giggles, House of Torture vs. Death Riders. The two most hated stables/factions in wrestling today. My idea of Room 101.

[HarryArchieGus]

GOA/Ric-Jetspeed/Oku was pretty gnarly. That pounce spot was unreal. Horrible bump. It ought be noted - a spot like that on a show where arguably the best current wrestler is leaving because of neck trauma. I really hope Oku is alright. That spot and the suplex were ridiculous. Awesome finish to a really good TV match. The Womens Tag was a mixed bag. The Chocolate Kisses spot on Julia was a bit embarrassing – if unintentionally hilarious. On a brighter note, Willow continues to look better and better, especially lately, That said, I fear she’s settling into somekind of gatekeeper role. I want gold and PPV singles matches for Willow Nightingale.

Edited August 25 by HarryArchieGus

[Curt McGirt]

Forbidden Door is missing from the site I used to use for PPVs so I probably won't get to see anything, but Toni/Athena and ZSJ/Nigel are the ones I would probably seek out besides the main. And I really probably only want to see the main for blood and amusement at all the broken-down guys trying to pull it together.

Actually, looking at the results, I bet Fletcher/Hiromu was great, if Hiromu picked up his sticks. Fletcher probably can't have an actively bad or even sub-par match right now. 

[HarryArchieGus]

Copeland/Cage-Lucha/Sabian was an odd match, but I didn’t not like it. It probably needed some Heyman touches to get it right. The post match hug/non-hug/handshake was one of the of highlights of the night. I take back any ill feelings over the rushed reunion, and am fully ready for peculiar companions.

[TheVileOne]

Kind of an underwhelming return for Wardlow. All he did was attack Nana and powerbombed a security guard. Why not have him be the one to injure and write off Swerve Strickland? That generates some actual heat for Wardlow and gives Swerve a guy to target when he comes back.

Also, joining the Don Callis Family, another heel stable is another lateral move for Wardlow. When we last saw Wardlow, he was part of the Undisputed Kingdom and was pretty much a non-factor, and he disappeared after losing to Samoa Joe again. Now he's back, and he's simply doing the same things, except he can't even be the guy to take out Swerve. The damage was already primarily done to swerve by Okada. Having Wardlow run in just for a low-effort beatdown on Nana and security dudes doesn't make him look like a scary monster.

What purpose does Wardlow serve in a stable like Don Callis Family? Their top guys are Takeshita and Fletcher. It's a stable that already has Lance Archer and Brian Cage. They already have the big powerhouse/enforcer roles covered. What is Wardlow going to do as part of the group now? It just feels like we are washing, rinsing, and repeating the same mistakes with Wardlow and expecting different results. 

I think part of Wardlow's problem is that he can't talk and sounds awkward on the mic. All he can do is raise his voice and get loud and serious. But he doesn't sound authentic. He's super athletic for his size and build, and has the aura and it-factor of a superstar. But his promos are bland as hell.

I think the problem with the Death Riders beating down Ospreay is that it didn't look like his teammates made much of an effort to try and save him. Like, climb the cage, guys. 

Likely losing Ospreay and Swerve at the same time is rough for AEW, but they do have Darby back now. AEW can still make due with its roster. They simply have to use who they have. Even without Ospreay and Swerve, it's still a jam-packed and loaded roster. And Killswitch is finally back too. I think it's okay to shuffle guys around the card especially if what they are doing now isn't working. Like I dunno, give Juice Robinson a push, have him feud with Don Callis Family or Okada. 

Instead of waiting for guys who are injured to plug them back into where they were before, find something fresh and new for them to do.

In terms of a Forbidden Door show, there wasn't much of that. There was very little AEW and NJPW crossover, other than Nigel and Sabre. I realize they had the G1 Climax right before this, but AEW and NJPW literally had months to figure this out. So much so that this didn't really need to be a Forbidden Door event.

That said, happy for Nigel getting to have a title match in the UK against Sabre. Not sure how many more matches Nigel intends to have, but it's cool to see him back in the ring and looking good.

Edited August 25 by TheVileOne

[HarryArchieGus]

Mone-Windsor-Bozilla-Persephone was a mixed bag as it was going to be. Dug the Bozilla power spots. Did not dig the overly goofy double submissions. It’d be nice to see a Windsor-Mone singles bout. The First fall 4 way rules often make it difficult for me to keep engaged. Not unlike the 3 Way Tag. Such a bummer to find out it's first fall after the advertised Elimination rules. Taking the Hurt Syndicate out of the match as they did felt incredibly lame to me. The ‘Fight to the Back’ is so fucking contrived. I understand why you wouldn’t want Big Bob eating any pins, but why on earth is Shelton Benjamin not able to do a job? BTW Shelton looked great in this match. Too bad on the botched finish. Bandido is wonderful, but he does have a knack for minor disasters. Totally understandable on the poor flip, but how did he slide off Dax so far that they had to restart the count? Ugh, but generally good action. I'm very happy for Bandido and big Brody King - talented hard working dudes. 

[Niners Fan in CT]

The roster is loaded but losing Will and Swerve as two MAJOR babyfaces at the same time is a big hit.  Maybe Omega helps out with co-headlining some shows.  It's not that they don't have a loaded roster,  they just need to elevate a few people.  

Also,  now is a great time for more women's matches.  They've started to do more non-title feuds on regular TV like Aminata and Thekla as an example.  Let the women shine. 

[JLSigman]

55 minutes ago, TheVileOne said:

What purpose does Wardlow serve in a stable like Don Callis Family? Their top guys are Takeshita and Fletcher.

To me, (a person who had never seen any of those dudes before) I had no idea until Takeshita shook the bad guy's hand that he was actually in the group. He looked like he was sizing someone up for a takedown. If they want to peel someone off, Wardlaw is low level enough that a beatdown by him would get him heat, but not so low that it would kill the victim.

[ExcellenceofAirPollution]

4 hours ago, HarryArchieGus said:

This Zero Hour was the best in awhile. Cru/Hechicero/Alexander-Desparado/Paragon/Uemura was so fun. Great showcase for every talented motherfucker in that match. Kyle O’Reilly is showing great fire lately, and the crowd seems to be noticing. This match and the many combinations had me wishing for a true ‘Forbidden Door’ season where singles and tags would follow. I gotta go looking for Hechicero-Desparado singles matches. Cru, O’Reilly/Strong, and Alexander are all underrated craftsmen.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that Zero Hour was really solid.  The crowd seemed close to full too and were hyped for everything which really helped.  I also love CRU, they do some really cool shit, it's just a shame there's no mobility for them in AEW currently.  ZH is worth watching for The Opps entrance alone.....probably the most badass they've seemed to date walking out as a trio......

Swerve/Okada was really good too but there was zero drama.  When the program started I thought there was a small chance they might do a short term switch......but Swerve doing the promo talking about his knee injury killed that.  In hindsight it was a mistake revealing that.....should have just had Okada work the knee all match then continue attacking him afterwards

I thought about my initial post some more and I don't think I'm being too harsh on the booking of the tag titles or world title matches.  This is ALL ELITE WRESTLING and these are supposed to be the top two titles.  That bullshit with the leg and the ref in the title match was hokey as shit full stop, it's all I'm going to remember from what was up until that point a great match.  And protecting the Hurt Syndicate is completely different from putting the tag belts on them for 6 months and having them lose without being beaten.  That is serious WWE "we don't want to beat the real stars" booking bullshit and I really don't care how they got there because all the explanations suck.  If Tony got himself in this situation AGAIN I have zero fucking sympathy, and if it's a "work the sheets" wink wink thing to get meta heat on HS it also sucks

The show was good, and overall I'd recommend it with the crowd and atmosphere being big selling points.  But every big AEW show is good.  This was a show with an uneven build that peaked a week early and a go home that actively turned people off (I legit forgot the show was at 1pm and didn't watch it live.....a direct result of that shitty show on Wednesday leaving a bad taste in my mouth.....I forgot to watch Collision too)......and It didn't have that one, two or even 3 matches that I'd be telling people to see either....so yeah....I'm gonna focus more on the booking when it sticks out like a sore thumb, and when it's happening on a show that's supposed to be geared more to the hardcore fans

I've been watching AEW since day 1.  We've seen how good the product can be when Tony is locked in.....and we've seen it when he's got a lot of distractions and a lot of cooks in the kitchen.  It's officially football season and the product has overall been trending in the wrong direction since All In.  Calling it now but we're in for a downturn in quality of storytelling and product for the next few months.  It's like clockwork at this point.

AEW is Tony's baby and WWE is out to kill it.  It's time for him to focus on AEW full-time and leave the football shit to the professionals.  You're a rasslin promoter now Tony, it's what you always wanted.....devote your full fucking energy and attention to it or AEW won't be around for our kids to enjoy

Edited August 25 by ExcellenceofAirPollution