AEW: Forbidden Door 2024 Preview

The third annual Forbidden Door takes place this Sunday, live on PPV and streaming on multiple platforms, including PPV.com, Bleacher Report, and Triller, respectively. With AEW’s big London show “All-In,” taking place exactly eight weeks from the date of AEW’s good faith event with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), this Sunday offers the promotion to do what they do best: put on amazing wrestling matches. Expect a great crowd, the kind that sucks you right in from your screen and adds to the atmosphere of the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, which will undoubtedly be MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) country.

One Door Opens, Another Window Closes

Of course, the storyline is everything when appealing to casuals, so the delicate nature of walking a tightrope interwoven by threads of needing to draw in fans to your weekly TV with that of a dedicated promotion towards programs designed for a single night payoff is an intricate balance. To make it more difficult, your dance partner operates primarily outside of the U.S. territory and carries with them names that are unrecognizable to the casual fan, not to mention far outside the phonetic purview of the typical American.

Those extra syllables aside, the quality of wrestling is bumped up a full letter grade, or full star, when co-opting a fight card with NJPW. So, if you must put your storylines aside for the sake of anything, then at least it is done with the purest of wrestling fans in mind, but anytime AEW puts anything behind a paywall, they make it count with debuts and returns and major shifts in storyline (but hopefully not one that happens after the feed fades to black).

AEW Forbidden Door PPV Preview

Swerve Strickland (c) vs. Will Ospreay (AEW World Championship)

On a recent episode of Infighting, Abraham Gonzalez (FightsATW) made the point that these two offer an interesting contrast and one that can either frustratingly clash or find a middle ground capable of raising both performer’s levels. There was also a conversation regarding a potential rush to put the strap on Will Ospreay after he won the opportunity by running the ‘gauntlet,’ which would be a shame as Swerve Strickland has proven he can rise to the occasion. While Ospreay has bigger feuds in the future with Daniel Garcia and MJF, he does not need the strap to continue raising his profile stateside.

MJF vs. Hechicero

No title is on the line, but make no mistake, this is the ticket seller. This will be the loudest match of the night without any gold or gimmicks. And it would have been the loudest match regardless of who MJF squared off against, but could AEW have gotten more from this outing?

MJF brilliantly shilled in the opening segment of Dynamite, but it was not with his opponent. Hechicero is a guy MJF referred to as a ‘poorly drawn comic book character’ and mentioned by name only once in his promo. Now, AEW knew MJF’s homecoming would get over no matter who was standing opposite him, so they gave the thought process little matter when deciding on Hechicero.

Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer(c) (AEW TBS Championship and NJPW Strong Women’s Championship

This is Mercedes Mone’s match to lose as she already defeated Vaquer once before in NJPW. However, this time, a victory over “La Primera” will ensure her the NJPW Strong championship that previously eluded her. This is her chance to become “Multiple Mone,” eh, not as catchy, but the point is made.

It has been a long time since Mone has had to wrestle on a PPV card with the weight of the entire women’s division on her back, and luckily, she does not need to do it by herself, but let it only be a reminder of what she is capable of on any given Sunday.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. TBD AEW TNT Title (Ladder Match)

This is the only gimmick match on the card, and it was booked to showcase the best of the competitors, as Dante Martin and Lio Rush are certain to put on a show. However, if you have never seen Mark Briscoe in a ladder match, then you’re also in for a treat.

This match is part of the main arching storyline involving The Elites’ attempt at a hostile corporate takeover, inserting Jack Perry into the match when he failed to land it on his own. Expect shenanigans in the finish, but I don’t hate a returning Adam Copeland coming back to claim what is his from the man who had one of AEW’s most memorable feuds with Christian Cage.

Jon Moxley (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito (IWGP World Heavyweight Title)

This is one of the matches that captures the very essence of fan’s excitement when the term “Forbidden Door” was being thrown around un-copyrighted. To truly understand and respect this feud (and the potential plots that stem from it), you have to take in the NJPW-recommended reading.

This encapsulation feels special, and this ‘wrestling crowd’ will certainly help to give it the ‘big match’ feel it deserves. The issue is with the event and not the match, and if ‘return the favor’ booking is all that is ever gained and expected, then these kinds of super-matches will never be put over to the degree they deserve.

Toni Storm (c) vs. Mina Shirakawa (AEW Women’s World Title)

Mariah May is the crux of this program, and she is playing the role of Switzerland in a battle between her old friend in Storm and her pupil in Shirakawa. Storm has had a terrific reign, but the title needs some new blood injected into it. Is that Shirakawa? Probably not.

Bryan Danielson vs.  Shingo Takagi (Owen Hart Cup Tournament)

This match has it all. Style, psychology, tempo, Danielson, and Shingo encompass the most well-rounded attributes and skill set of any two wrestlers pitted against each other this weekend. Shingo is the perfect Danielson opponent as he can be technical one minute and the next go blow for blow in a pure exhibition of ‘Strong Style.’ Adding the Owen Hart Cup to the stakes is perfect because it is subtle and not forced.

Owen would be proud of a tourney in his name, so much so that a match of this quality is merely the opening round. Even with Danielson putting on clinics in his latest AEW runs, other plotlines could convolute the finish. Regardless, the winner faces Pac, the stakes that make the fans the true winner.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

This is AEW’s version of the classic “Twitter Reply” to all those Cassidy haters who use his style and gimmick to poke holes in the company’s wrestling prowess. Instead of replying to each of those mistaken individuals, they booked him with one of the most technically sound wrestlers of the past decade, deserving of a place on the GOAT list next to Dean Malenko. If you’re betting on a clunkfest, you’re a misguided soul, and if you’ve been paying attention, then you know “Pockets” can go with the best of them. Look for this to be the potential show stealer.

The Learning Tree (Chris Jericho, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith) vs. Samoa Joe, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata

To say linking up Joe and Hook was a no-brainer is unfair and takes credit from the ‘booker’ in the back with the power to make that call, but they feel like the spectrum for which Taz’s imprint on the business is measured for both time and bad a**-ery. Jericho’s latest gimmick is a little too deliberate at times, but Big Bill has been doing some special things. AEW nailed the match specifics—when you get to Shibata, stop adding tag partners.

Mario Mungia

Mario Mungia Jr. has a decade worth of experience as a combat sports journalist and correspondent which began with ThaBoxingVoice (TBV) as a podcast co-host, writer and editor-in-chief. Aside from his online resume, Mario spent a fair portion of his early career working for Spanish/English magazine Premier Round and the Mexican website Izquierdo. Mario has also contributed to NYFights while simultaneously working for MIC Sports Network as part of the broadcast crew covering local high school sports. Since then, he has launched his own podcast/live stream (Infighting/Work In Progress) and is covering pro wrestling for FightsATW.

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