Post by sethisthegoat on Jul 5, 2024 17:53:36 GMT -5
Road to Forbidden Door
Hosted by Pat McAfee and Taz
In the fallout from May’s Double or Nothing event, a lot has happened on the road to Forbidden Door on June 29.
Following Dean Malenko, Jake Hager and Shaq defeating Logan Paul and Wardlow, Wardlow challenged Shaq to a one-on-one match, which the NBA Hall of Famer put off due to “commitments” with the NBA Playoffs. During Inside the NBA’s Finals Wrap-Up show on TNT, Wardlow confronted Shaq. But he enlisted Lucha Underground’s Bronson Reed as backup, and Reed put Wardlow through a table. Reed vs. Wardlow is happening at Forbidden Door, while Shaq and Wardlow are set for a match at Battle of the Belts in July, where Dean Malenko will also defend his TNT Championship against Logan Paul in a submission match.
Brian Cage, Tay Melo and the rest of Natural Selection (Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander) celebrated getting Sammy Guevara out of AEW. Cage wants championship gold, and Melo has also set her sights on Britt Baker’s TBS Championship. The Natural Selection men’s trio will face the winner of this year’s King of Trios Tournament at Battle of the Belts for the AEW Trios Championship.
After this brief recap of non-Forbidden Door happenings, commentary ran down the rest of the card for the event.
McAfee - “Forbidden Door is truly breaking down some doors never before thought possible in the wrestling world, including two matches in-particular, but we’ll get to those later.”
Taz - “This show has plenty of dream matches; we’ll see some hard hitting; some feats of strength; maybe a couple of title changes and a slew of never-before-seen matches. But the match that’s kicking off the show is actually the only match featuring AEW competitors squaring off, in what should be a technical masterpiece”
Match 1: AEW’s Kenny Omega vs. AEW’s Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre remains undefeated since coming to AEW, as he has racked up a series of wins against a variety of stars. His first 3 opponents have all been since released from AEW, and while he was making a big deal about being the “contract killer” and that he should be next in line for the International Championship, Kenny Omega also threw his hat in the ring after defeating Goldberg with no help from the Young Bucks. The two argued over who is the better technical wrestler, and the match was set for Forbidden Door.
Match 2: LU’s Bronson Reed w/ Shaq vs. AEW’s Wardlow (as previewed above)
Match 3: AWA’s Midnight Express vs. AEW’s FTR
FTR has been the standard-bearer wherever they’ve gone, and the former UWA Tag Team Champions want to make a name for themselves in AEW. When Forbidden Door was announced, they sought this match with the Midnight Express. The OC tried getting in their way and challenged them for this spot, but FTR was able to defeat them during a recent episode of Dynamite. FTR just wants to prove they’re the best team in history.
Match 4: WCW’s Tessa Blanchard vs. AEW’s Bianca Belair
Simply, a battle between two physical specimens in Women’s Wrestling. Both want to prove they belong at the top and that they deserve a shot at their promotion’s women’s championship, if not the UWA Women’s Title.
Match 5: UCW’s Charlie Haas vs. AEW’s Chad Gable
A battle of Kurt Angle’s former protoges? And another chance at a mat wrestling clinic. Gable, like Sabre Jr., is undefeated in AEW and has his sights set on proving he can win a singles championship.
McAfee - “While the first four matches of the night are big in their own right, we’re now going to start talking about our quadruple main event. Each of these matches deserves to Main Event a show, so AEW Owner Tony Khan determined that all 4 are main eventing. First, we’ve got a former AEW champion trying to win the International Championship back to the company from WCW’s Nick Aldis.”
Match 6: AEW International Championship - WCW’s Nick Aldis © vs. AEW’s Jeff Jarrett
Jarrett’s shot was lined up after defeating Triple H last month. Aldis is still riding high on his recent streak, and the former UWA World Champion wants to keep a stranglehold on the International Championship as long as he can.
Match 7: 8-man tag team action: AEW’s True Bloodline (Jimmy and Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu) w/ Rikishi vs. AEW’s Roman Reigns and AJPW’s Wild Samoans and Umaga w/ Peter Maivia
The Usos are tag team champions, after beating (and later defending the belts against) the New Day. Rikishi has promised that the True Bloodline will be champions and will dominate all of AEW - and also rid the wrestling world of the “imposter” Roman Reigns.
But the Samoan wrestling dynasty spreads far and wide, and Reigns took a trip to Japan to recruit his father and uncle, as well as Umaga, to help him face off with Rikishi’s Bloodline. They’ve also enlisted the High Chief Peter Maivia to help even the odds, with Rikishi also on the outside.
Can Reigns finally break through against the family that betrayed him? Rikishi also sowed some doubt into Reigns’ mind, asking if he can truly trust the Wild Samoans, much less the wild card of Umaga.
Match 8: WCW’s Dusty Rhodes vs. AEW’s Cody Rhodes
In the fallout from Double or Nothing, Sting and Jon Moxley came to blows, as Mox wanted a fair shot at the belt. Sting and Mox have yet to settle their issues. In the meantime, Sting had a unique challenge and opportunity for Cody Rhodes, while playing some mind games. Sting set up a door in the middle of the ring and invited Cody to open it. Cody retreated in shock as WCW World Champion (and his father) Dusty Rhodes stood on the other side. Cody said that “this can’t be real,” while Sting said that anything is possible at Forbidden Door, and we’re having some good old-fashioned father-son violence. Dusty promised to knock some sense into his boy.
Match 9 (and the final Main Event): UWA Women’s Championship: LU’s Awesome Kong vs. AEW’s Jade Cargill ©
This match was set up at Double or Nothing with the appearance of Kong. The two have been kept separate since that night. Weekly on Dynamite, we’ve seen Cargill training montages as she prepares to face the monster that is Awesome Kong.
Hosted by Pat McAfee and Taz
In the fallout from May’s Double or Nothing event, a lot has happened on the road to Forbidden Door on June 29.
Following Dean Malenko, Jake Hager and Shaq defeating Logan Paul and Wardlow, Wardlow challenged Shaq to a one-on-one match, which the NBA Hall of Famer put off due to “commitments” with the NBA Playoffs. During Inside the NBA’s Finals Wrap-Up show on TNT, Wardlow confronted Shaq. But he enlisted Lucha Underground’s Bronson Reed as backup, and Reed put Wardlow through a table. Reed vs. Wardlow is happening at Forbidden Door, while Shaq and Wardlow are set for a match at Battle of the Belts in July, where Dean Malenko will also defend his TNT Championship against Logan Paul in a submission match.
Brian Cage, Tay Melo and the rest of Natural Selection (Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander) celebrated getting Sammy Guevara out of AEW. Cage wants championship gold, and Melo has also set her sights on Britt Baker’s TBS Championship. The Natural Selection men’s trio will face the winner of this year’s King of Trios Tournament at Battle of the Belts for the AEW Trios Championship.
After this brief recap of non-Forbidden Door happenings, commentary ran down the rest of the card for the event.
McAfee - “Forbidden Door is truly breaking down some doors never before thought possible in the wrestling world, including two matches in-particular, but we’ll get to those later.”
Taz - “This show has plenty of dream matches; we’ll see some hard hitting; some feats of strength; maybe a couple of title changes and a slew of never-before-seen matches. But the match that’s kicking off the show is actually the only match featuring AEW competitors squaring off, in what should be a technical masterpiece”
Match 1: AEW’s Kenny Omega vs. AEW’s Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre remains undefeated since coming to AEW, as he has racked up a series of wins against a variety of stars. His first 3 opponents have all been since released from AEW, and while he was making a big deal about being the “contract killer” and that he should be next in line for the International Championship, Kenny Omega also threw his hat in the ring after defeating Goldberg with no help from the Young Bucks. The two argued over who is the better technical wrestler, and the match was set for Forbidden Door.
Match 2: LU’s Bronson Reed w/ Shaq vs. AEW’s Wardlow (as previewed above)
Match 3: AWA’s Midnight Express vs. AEW’s FTR
FTR has been the standard-bearer wherever they’ve gone, and the former UWA Tag Team Champions want to make a name for themselves in AEW. When Forbidden Door was announced, they sought this match with the Midnight Express. The OC tried getting in their way and challenged them for this spot, but FTR was able to defeat them during a recent episode of Dynamite. FTR just wants to prove they’re the best team in history.
Match 4: WCW’s Tessa Blanchard vs. AEW’s Bianca Belair
Simply, a battle between two physical specimens in Women’s Wrestling. Both want to prove they belong at the top and that they deserve a shot at their promotion’s women’s championship, if not the UWA Women’s Title.
Match 5: UCW’s Charlie Haas vs. AEW’s Chad Gable
A battle of Kurt Angle’s former protoges? And another chance at a mat wrestling clinic. Gable, like Sabre Jr., is undefeated in AEW and has his sights set on proving he can win a singles championship.
McAfee - “While the first four matches of the night are big in their own right, we’re now going to start talking about our quadruple main event. Each of these matches deserves to Main Event a show, so AEW Owner Tony Khan determined that all 4 are main eventing. First, we’ve got a former AEW champion trying to win the International Championship back to the company from WCW’s Nick Aldis.”
Match 6: AEW International Championship - WCW’s Nick Aldis © vs. AEW’s Jeff Jarrett
Jarrett’s shot was lined up after defeating Triple H last month. Aldis is still riding high on his recent streak, and the former UWA World Champion wants to keep a stranglehold on the International Championship as long as he can.
Match 7: 8-man tag team action: AEW’s True Bloodline (Jimmy and Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu) w/ Rikishi vs. AEW’s Roman Reigns and AJPW’s Wild Samoans and Umaga w/ Peter Maivia
The Usos are tag team champions, after beating (and later defending the belts against) the New Day. Rikishi has promised that the True Bloodline will be champions and will dominate all of AEW - and also rid the wrestling world of the “imposter” Roman Reigns.
But the Samoan wrestling dynasty spreads far and wide, and Reigns took a trip to Japan to recruit his father and uncle, as well as Umaga, to help him face off with Rikishi’s Bloodline. They’ve also enlisted the High Chief Peter Maivia to help even the odds, with Rikishi also on the outside.
Can Reigns finally break through against the family that betrayed him? Rikishi also sowed some doubt into Reigns’ mind, asking if he can truly trust the Wild Samoans, much less the wild card of Umaga.
Match 8: WCW’s Dusty Rhodes vs. AEW’s Cody Rhodes
In the fallout from Double or Nothing, Sting and Jon Moxley came to blows, as Mox wanted a fair shot at the belt. Sting and Mox have yet to settle their issues. In the meantime, Sting had a unique challenge and opportunity for Cody Rhodes, while playing some mind games. Sting set up a door in the middle of the ring and invited Cody to open it. Cody retreated in shock as WCW World Champion (and his father) Dusty Rhodes stood on the other side. Cody said that “this can’t be real,” while Sting said that anything is possible at Forbidden Door, and we’re having some good old-fashioned father-son violence. Dusty promised to knock some sense into his boy.
Match 9 (and the final Main Event): UWA Women’s Championship: LU’s Awesome Kong vs. AEW’s Jade Cargill ©
This match was set up at Double or Nothing with the appearance of Kong. The two have been kept separate since that night. Weekly on Dynamite, we’ve seen Cargill training montages as she prepares to face the monster that is Awesome Kong.