Forbidden Door 2025, the latest entry in All Elite Wrestling’s annual crossover event, kicked off August 24th 2025 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Previous years would have AEW’s All In event take place during the United Kingdom’s August Bank Holiday Weekend, but this year saw Forbidden Door take that spot instead. To those unfamiliar, Forbidden Door is co-produced by both AEW and the legendary Japanese company New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), featuring wrestlers from both companies as well as partnered indpenedent companies World Wonder Ring Stardom, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Revolution Pro Wrestling. Following on from dual episodes of Dynamite and Collision taped in Glasgow, Scotland, and acting as the next major Pay-Per-View event in AEW’s annual line-up, Forbidden Door comes at an important point for the company, riding high on the renewed interest in wrestling seen in popular culture across the last two years.
The thirteen matches (four in the pre-show, and nine in the main card) that took place across Forbidden Door act as the climax to mulitple storylines building across promotions across the past few weeks and months, and act as the biggest ‘home’ show yet for British wrestling legend Will Ospreay, who recently announced he was seeking treatment for a potentially career-ending injury. Additionally, it is to be Japanese wrestling icon Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final time wrestling in the United Kingdom, in light of his upcoming retirement. For the sake of brevity, not every storyline will be discussed in full length, and focus will instead be portrayed on the quality of the matches themselves and how it felt to witness them live.
Pre-show commentators include Renee Paquette, RJ City, Jeff Jarrett and Madison Rayne, whilst the PPV itself featured commentary work from Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Ian Riccaboni, Bryan Danielson, Walker Stewart, Don Callis and Jim Ross. Japanese commentators included Haruo Murata, Miki Motoi and El Desperado. Special appearences were made by Tony Khan, alongside Oje Hart and Martha Hart, who announced it as the highest attendance for any wrestling event in the history of the O2 Arena and I believe it.
Zero Hour
Before the actual event itself, there was an hour long pre-show titled Zero Hour. Doors to the venue opened at around 4:00pm, with Zero Hour kicking off at 5:00pm. Due to the immense crowding getting into the venue, I mostly missed the first two matches of the night. The first was an eight man tag team match in which Paragon (Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong), El Desperado and Yuya Uemura defeated CRU (Action Andretti and Lio Rush) and the Don Callis family (Hechicero and Josh Alexander). Watching it back after the event, it’s a solid albeit crowded match to kick off the card. I do think AEW is suffering at the moment from having so many factions, teams and alliances, making it hard to keep up with, but certain individual wrestlers shined here, namely Uemura. The second match of Zero Hour was a trios match that pitted The Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona) and Ricochet against Jetspeed (Kevin Knight and ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey) and Michael Oku. The Gates Of Agony and Ricochet take the win here, with Ricochet continuing to do great work as a heel. At this point I was arriving into the venue itself, and you could hear the boos and chanting against him as soon as you walked through the doors. The heat was palpable.
The first match I actually got to witness was The Triangle of Madness (Julia Hart, Skye Blue and Thekla) alongside Megan Bane, who defeat Harley Cameron, Kris Statlander, Queen Aminata and Willow Nightingale in an eight woman tag-team match. Another crowded lineup, much of the audience’s support went towards Willow Nightingtale, who got a respectable pop during her entrance and even some themed chants during her big moments, even if she was on the losing side of the fight. The fourth and final match of Zero Hour was The Opps (Katsuyori Shibata, Powerhouse Hobbs and Samoa Joe) in a trios match for the AEW World Trios Championship against The Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney and Robbie X). It was a great match, featuring some fun and impressive wrestling from all involved. The Opps reigned victorious, and Samoa Joe had a truly ridiculous level of support and hype from the crowd. I firmly believe that Joe’s spot in which he simply moves out of the way to avoid aerial moves to be one of the most beautiful recurring spots in wrestling, and loved seeing it with my own eyes. With that done, the pay-per-view itself was ready to begin.
Copeland and Cage, back together again
The first match of the actual Forbidden Door card was Adam Copeland and Christian Cage against Killswitch and Kip Sabian. Copeland and Cage’s first match as a tag team since 2011, the hype in the audience was palpable, as the London crowds sang along to every word of Copeland’s theme music, even after the speakers stopped playing it. Initially scheduled to include Nick Wayne, who is currently out due to a broken foot, the match serves as the latest entry in the ongoing redemption of Copeland’s character, as well as the dissolution of Cage’s former group, The Patriarchy. It was a fun match, with Copeland doing most of the heavy lifting out of the two, at least for the first half of the match whilst Cage was on the sideline. Cage definitely was well-loved by the audience as well, with the match featuring possibly my favorite chant of the whole evening: “He-ey Christian, Oh, Ah, I wanna kno-ow, won’t you be my dad?”. Sabian and Killswitch do a good job in this match, particularly Sabian who impressed me with his solid in-ring chemistry with everyone involved. Cage and Copeland take the win, and the audience bathes in the joy at seeing the two of them back in the ring together once more.
The protostar continues his hunt
Next up, the protostar Kyle Fletcher continues his journey to challenge legends of the industry, with the support of Don Callis and Lance Archer, facing off against NJPW’s Hiromu Takahashi for the AEW TNT Championship. This was a real heater of a match, energetic from the get go as the two wrestlers had excellent chemistry with one another. Fletcher continues to prove himself as one of the best wrestlers in the company, and Takahashi is beloved for more than good reason. Brilliant technical wrestling ensued as the two made one another shine, with a truly divded audience who duelled chants of ‘Kyle-Fletcher’ and ‘Hiromu’. The finish to this match was intense, as it seemed neck and neck until the very last second, but Fletcher reigned victorious, much to the faux-frustration of the NJPW fans in the crowd. This is one of many matches from the card where no matter who won, you knew you’d be getting a great match, so the real winner is the audience.
Here comes the Mone
Following up from that was a four way match for the AEW TBS Championship as AEW’s Mercedes Mone faces RevPro’s Alex Windsor, Stardom’s Bozilla and CMLL’s Persephone. All four women are representing different companies, and much of the audience seemed relatively unfamiliar with Bozilla and Persephone. The crowd was riotous in their support for British wrestler Alex Windsor, as well as the much beloved Mercedes Mone. From the start, this was a solid match, with each wrestler putting in the effort to get over no matter how familiar or unfamiliar the audience was with them and their work. Particularly impressive was Stardom’s Bozilla, who stands over 6’0 feet tall, and consistently displayed a ludicrous level of strength and power that easily won over the crowds. One particularly fun spot involved all four women tumbling down from the buckle, like a tower collapsing into the mat, which shook with the impact. Mercedes Mone took the win, in a compotent but slightly underwhelming finish. One great thing about matches like this is that they introduce indie talent to bigger audiences, which will always earn goodwill from me.
ZSJ and McGuinness make magic
NJPW’s Zack Sabre Jr and AEW’s Nigel McGuinness are two of the best technical wrestlers on the planet, in my humble opinion, and so the excitement to witness the two sharing the ring was palpable. Both British wrestlers, competing in a singles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, had lots of support and chants from the crowd, both entering the ring and during the match. Whilst we couldn’t hear Bryan Danielson on commentary, he looked visibly excited and invested, which was a fun sight to see. There was a lot of love for McGuinness especially, who went a prolonged period of time without wrestling, but had the full support of the crowd. The fight between the two was like a beautifully intricate dance of matwork and sophisticated grappling, without sacrificing a sense of fun and humour as the two traded submission locks or were playful with each other. It was the longest match on the card so far, but earned that length without a doubt, and still ultimately ended at under twenty minutes. Ultimately, Zack Sabre Jr came out victorious, and both men shook each others hands to commend an excellent match and great work from them both.
Brodido continue to impress
Immediately following that match, we are treated to a three way tag team match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Up and coming stars Brodido (Bandido and Brody King) take on The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) and FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood). Brody King especially had the full support of the crowd, as well as his tag partner Bandido, and as soon as King was tagged in, the whole audience went ballistic, including chants of ‘Meat! Meat! Meat!’ as he faced off against the other wrestlers, as well as barks and howls. The Hurt Syndicate as well had a fair share of love thrown their way, with chants of ‘We Hurt People’ in like with their ongoing heel presence and story. The weak link of the match was probably FTR, who never necessarily won the crowd over as much as either two tag teams, and mainly played additional back up roles in spots for the other two teams. It was a well paced match and did not feel as cluttered as some of the other group matches from the day, and ultimately had a feel good ending as Brodido take the championship. Both wrestlers are doing incredible work and deserved to be pushed to the stars, and it’s exciting to think about all the possibilities for where things can go next for them.
A terrific showing from Swerve Strickland
Next up, in a singles match for the AEW Unified Championship, Kazuchika Okada is challenged by Swerve Strickland. The audience response to Strickland was next level, with a ridiculous pop for his entrance, consistent chants of support, and the whole energy of the crowd behind him. His ring gear was modeled after Mr Terrific from the 2025 film Superman, which was a lovely sight to see and a great moment. Okada has been doing fun work as a heel for AEW, and got hit with another one of the most hilarious chants of the night, ‘Okada is a bitch!’ playing on his current habit of referring to others as such. The match itself was good, albeit Okada was a little stiff, which weakened some otherwise fantastic moments. Strickland gave his all to make the match work however, and the two ultimately powered through the initial tension to create something that became really special towards the end. After the match, Strickland was viciously attacked by Okada again, before being unceremoniously attacked by a masked group, leaving him seemingly seriously injured. I think this opens the door for Strickland to take some time off and have a rest, which was absolutely well-earned in my opinion.
A ‘Timeless’ champion reigns supreme
The much beloved and current AEW Women’s World Champion ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm faces against challenger Athena, who cashes in her Casino Gauntlet championship contract to face possibly the most over wrestler in the whole company. Now, I’ll be up front in my opinion that Toni Storm is possibly one of the best wrestlers in the world right now, who is consistently incredible both in ring and on the mic. Going into this match, I did believe she would drop the belt to Athena, who had everything to gain from this match whilst Storm had nothing to lose. I was surprised then, that Storm retained, in a mildly shocking ending. The match itself is solid, but unfortunately not either wrestler’s best work, but it does have some of the ridiculous bumps and awesome moments that you would expect from a Toni Storm match. She brings back the original Storm Zero for a fantastic moment, as well as throwing Athena into an LED screen to fix it back up. It’s still a fun match, and works well on the card, but doesn’t shine as much as you’d expect it to. Going forward, I am curious to see who they build up next to challenge Storm, who’s got quite a roster of victories now.
A cowboy defends himself
Finally, we approach the main events of the night. ‘Hangman’ Adam Page faces off gainst MJF for the AEW World Championship. Had Page been disqualified or counted out, the belt would still switch hands to Friedman, leaving Hangman in a situation where he has to get a clean win, even if MJF attempts to cheat his way to victory. Hangman entered the arena to loving cheers and chants of ‘Cowboy shit’, reminding me in a weird way of the audience support for Cody Rhodes following his big victory at WWE’s Wrestlemania 40. MJF had his fair share of support from the crowd too, another match where you knew no matter what happened that it would be a good time. Unfortunately, I do think this match ran a little long, running for over half an hour. The prolonged and truncated finish was supposed to be frustrating as Hangman’s patience and morals are tested by MJF, who wants to get him to give in and cheat and get disqualified. That whole section worked well for me, but unfortunately some of the early moments of the match did feel like padding until we got there. Both wrestlers do a great job here, and I enjoy how they infused humour and heat into the match, making it feel energetic and alive even when it ran for a bit too long. The finish itself left me, and the rest of the audience, on the edge of our seats, before Hangman ultimately emerged victorious, without entirely sacrificing himself to do so. It’s a great moment for his story, and I’m enjoying his current title reign, so I hope it lasts a bit longer still.
All out madness in a Steel Cage
The final match of the night, and the big conflict the entire day had been building towards, saw an unsanctioned lights-out steel cage match where Will Ospreay, Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi and The Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) against The Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley), The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) and Gabe Kidd. If you think you read that wrong, think again. That’s multiple of the best wrestlers in the world all in one match, with as much weaponry and sadistic acts of violence as they can handle. Tanahashi’s final time wrestling in the United Kingdom, Ospreay’s final match before surgery, Darby Allin’s rivalry with Jon Moxley and a reunited Golden Lovers are all story threads flowing into this match, and each introduction got vivid and visceral reactions from the crowds, myself included. I screamed like a young child as my favorite wrestler of all time, Kenny Omega, entered the arena, and I sang along to every word of Ospreay’s theme, as well as cheering on the one and only ace. The mayhem began pretty much immediately, with so much – almost too much – going on, before it calmed down and focused on individual moments and rivalries, for the better. Jon Moxley tortured Allin by shoving a fork into his ear, but revenge was achieved when Moxley was thrown into a table of barbed wire. The Golden Lovers teamed up against The Young Bucks, who were forced to eat gummy bears in one of the funniest and most despicable moments of the night. Ibushi stole the show with his joyous demeanor and insatiable urge to do things to his body no one should do. The whole team have to work together to stop Tanahashi from climbing a ladder and doing something ridiculous, but that won’t stop Will Ospreay from taking some of the most ridiculous bumps I’ve ever seen. It all comes to a head when Darby Allin sacrifices himself to take Gabe Kidd down with him straight off the cage through four tables, with the crowd watching in shock, horror and awe, chanting ‘Please Don’t Die’. Oscutters, One Winged Angels, V-Triggers, Golden Triangles, a veritable buffet of some of the most ridiculous and brilliant moves in the entire world of wrestling. In the end, Hiroshi Tanahashi gets the finish, a beautiful moment and nod to his exceptional career, whilst the rest of the faces leave Will Ospreay to soak in the sights of his home town supporting him fully…
Only for Moxley to attack, viciously beating Ospreay including a ridiculous chair / neck bump that genuinely made me believe I might have just watched one of the best wrestlers to ever live die in front of my very eyes. As the night concluded, and all Ospreay’s allies attempted to come to his aid, the entire crowd sat and waited to see what fate might await one of the United Kingdom’s most beloved wrestlers.
To conclude, I just want to share a personal anecdote on the experience. My first ever time going to a live wrestling event was a WWE house show in 2024, following Wrestlemania 40 and the explosive acclaim of that event. I had a great time, and got a kick for wanting to see more wrestling. I’ve always loved wrestling, but not really lived in places where I could go and see it easily. This was my first time ever being in the audience for a major PPV event, and it could not have gone better. The value for money was far more than my experience with WWE, where I paid around 80 pounds but got over five hours of wrestling for it and a solid view of everything that was going on. Compare that to several hundred pound tickets for episodes of Smackdown or Raw, and you’ve got one hell of a bargain, that AEW should capitalise on, especially as fans like myself turn away from WWE following repeatedly baffling creative decisions. The audience was brilliant at every turn, consistently keyed in to every turn and vibe shift and knowing exactly what to do at every moment. I felt a wonderful sense of belonging and comfort, and never felt a rancid vibe like some other live events I have attended at the O2. I got to see multiple of my all time favorite wrestlers work their magic live, including my favorite wrestler of all time, Kenny Omega, and it was just a legitimately beautiful thing to witness where it was hard not to get emotional about it. Even after the show itself ended, the crowd waited for the better part of half an hour until Ospreay was evacuated by medical personnel, chanting his name and making it known that he was loved and appreciated, and on the off chance this would be the last time, it was a great time. It was a sort of mixed kayfabe, where real life feelings of concern blended in with the narrative. I wanted to get myself something to commemorate what ended up being a very special experience to me.
My friend and fellow comics journalist Owen Likes Comics summed up the ending of the night well, as I verbally weighed up what to get at the merchandise stand whilst we watched Ospreay was being escorted out by medical personnel:
‘We just watched a man die, and you’re thinking about merch.’
I ended up picking out the hat pictured below, and every time I see it or wear it, I will be reminded of what a fantastic day and experience I had. Forbidden Door 2025 was a brilliant evening of wrestling with an excellent crowd, packed full of almost too many good matches for one card, and a great experience all around. Ospreay deserves the time off and then some, and I wish him nothing but the best and AEW continues to prove itself as a company worth watching.
