AEW Articles - Page 43

Will Ospreay successfully defended his IWGP United States Championship and immediately gained a new challenger. NJPW star Katsuyori Shibata made a shocking appearance, saving Orange Cassidy from a post-match beat-down. Shibata came down to the ring to a thunderous ovation from the United Center crowd and aided Cassidy in fending off Ospreay and Aussie Open. […]

In the end, if Bryan Danielson’s replacement versus Zack Sabre Jr. was anyone other than the man formerly known as Cesaro, fans of AEW, NJPW, and wrestling as a whole – though maybe not Max Dupri – would have been massively disappointed. Why? Well, for one thing, Cesaro, who has reverted to his indie/real name […]

Forbidden Door has promised a ton of outstanding moments, and it definitely hasn’t disappointed. Former WWE superstar Cesaro made his AEW debut as Bryan Danielson’s replacement against Zack Sabre Jr. Danielson missed the match due to injuries, and will also miss AEW’s Blood and Guts edition of Dynamite on Wednesday. Cesaro will also take Danielson’s […]

Goodness, if you had Orange Cassidy versus Will Ospreay on your match of the year prediction bingo card then you, my friend, are in luck, as the duo came out to the ring in their usual styles, began the match with their hands in their respective pockets, and turned in one of the best matches […]

As you may or may not know, New Japan Wrestling doesn’t have a women’s division. While they do work closely with Stardom and have had women’s championship matches on shows they have promoted before, their co-promotion with AEW presented fans in Japan with a rare opportunity to see Thunder Rosa go against one of her […]

One of Bullet Club’s newest members made a shocking appearance at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. Former IWGP United States Champion Juice Robinson appeared in a backstage segment. AEW commentator Tony Schiavone and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion “Switchblade” Jay White joined Robinson backstage. Robinson cut off Schiavone’s intro to proclaim the “little soiree” later on […]

The Young Bucks haven’t been associated with the Bullet Club since January of 2019, when they officially left New Japan to join the company they helped to start alongside Kenny Omega, Tony Khan, and… some other guy: AEW. And yet, you can take the Bucks out of the Club, but you can’t take the Bullet […]

PAC has been a member of AEW since the beginning, debuting at All Out 2019 well before the promotion had a weekly television show or employed wrestlers like CM Punk, Miro, or FTR. Though he’s wrestled in a few big matches, recorded signature moments, and even had a few title shots, he’s never held a […]

When AEW’s Dax Harwood came up gingerly from a move early on in FTR’s three-way match with Roppongi Vice and NJPW’s United Empire tag team of Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan, it looked like the end of what could have been a guaranteed 5-star match. Harwood rolled under the ropes with Cash Wheeler following close behind […]

On paper, an AEW pairing of Chris Jericho and Minoru Suzuki doesn’t make much sense. They’re like making a bathing suit out of silk or dipping apple slices into fish sauce – two good things are good on their own but seemingly incompatible together. But in the ring, melded together into a make-shift trios tag […]

It’s here, it’s finally here: AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door has officially arrived. Soon, fans will trickle into the United Center, the lights will dim then rise, and nine matches – plus four more on the pre-show – will take place with hundreds of thousands of fans watching in utter disbelief that Tony Khan was […]

Fans have been wanting to see Johnny Gargano in an AEW ring since he initially became a free agent back in December of 2021 and time and time again, they have been let down. Mystery arrival at a Pay-Per-View?  Hasn’t been Gargano. Suprise arrival at a home state show in Ohio? Hasn’t happened either. Heck, […]

AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door is a card for the ages. With nine matches on the books and 28 wrestlers – and counting – set to compete for seven different championship belts, fans will find themselves entertained for hours once the show officially goes underway at 8 pm EST. But hey, just because the Pay-Per-View […]

While the phrase “Forbidden Door” was initially just a fun little phrase coined by NJPW Star Hiroshi Tanahashi, it has since become a title for multiple people in the industry, including Tony Khan himself, the symbol of cross-promotional matches and angles, and an incoming collaborative pay-per-view between New Japan and AEW. Oh, and if recent […]

Blake Christian has wrestled in AEW on two occasions, both of which occurred at Dark tapings in Orlando, Florida. Though he has secured a win in the promotion, besting Rohit Raju in a match televised via Youtube on March 3rd of 2022, Christian, who was known as Trey Baxter during his limited run in NXT, […]

When FTR opted to leave WWE to pursue wrestling opportunities outside of the promotion, it was never supposed to be AEW or bust. Sure, most everyone expected to see the team formerly known as The Revival make their way to Tony Khan’s promotion, as he’s the biggest paying game in town outside of The Fed, […]

AEW has a lot of things going for it as a promotion: A deep roster – despite numerous injuries currently plaguing them – generally good to great to incredible in-ring work, and of course, a solid music department. While yes, Chris Jericho’s “Judas” will always get entire arenas singing the verse and chorus, and Tony […]

There was a time when Johnny Gargano looked like one of the hottest free agents on the market following a successful end to his time in WWE. On paper, he had everything going for him; pre-existing feuds with opponents across multiple promotions, an exciting in-ring style that works equally well as both a heel and […]

Unfortunately, the hits keep on coming for Forbidden Door, as, just 24 hours before the big event, AEW has announced that two more performers, Hiromu Takahashi and Hikuleo had been removed from the card. Now granted, the duo are unavailable for very different reasons; Takahashi reportedly has a fever and was unable to travel from […]

WWE‘s Mustafa Ali knows a thing about being underrated. After a fairly successful initial run with the promotion and its various brands that saw the “Prince” secure big wins over the likes of Tony Neese, Drew Gulak, The Miz, and Darby Allen via EVOLVE 116, Ali found himself the leader of Retribution and eventually off […]

Well, AEW and NJPW’s Forbidden Door is almost upon us, and although the match card has been fully revealed – probably – there’s at least one surprise that will be closely guarded until the entrance music hits in a packed United Center Arena in Chicago: Who is Bryan Danielson’s replacement for the match against Zack […]

AEW Dynamite is a very good show. Sure, it has its detractors, some more vocal than others, but the promotion’s flagship program consistently racks in a ton of viewers each week and often ranks near the top of the 18-49 key demo. The show has a little bit of everything; high flying matches, hard-hitting bouts, […]

As if Forbidden Door‘s card wasn’t already loaded enough, AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling have added two more bouts to the big-time card on this week’s edition of Rampage, with the pre-show now featuring three matches and 16 total wrestlers for good measure. That’s right, joining the already intriguing eight-man tag match featuring Max […]

Unlike Mercedes Martinez, who has been consistently defending the Ring of Honor Women’s Championship on AEW Dark and Dark Elevation for months now, Jonathan Gresham, the Tony Khan-owned promotion’s main champion has been notably absent since March, when he wrestled on AEW’s Battle of the Belts II two weeks after unifying the belts at Supercard […]

As you may or may not know, Andrade El Idolo and Rush – plus the Lucha Brothers – are not allowed to wrestle at AEW’s Forbidden Door due to the relationship between CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling. That’s the bad news, especially since Andrade already disclosed what could have been a very interesting angle […]

Tony Khan and AEW are in full-throttle hyping up the upcoming collaborative Pay-Per-View Forbidden Door, even despite an absolute ton of speed bumps along the way. Between an absolute truckload of injuries both new – see Tomohiro Ishii bowing out of the All-Atlantic Championship four-way – and old – see Kenny Omega, who made it […]

When news broke that Tomohiro Ishii was unable to go at AEW/NJPW’s Forbidden Door, it left many a fan of both promotions with a major case of the bummers. Though he may not be a household name to fans outside of Japan – though he did win the Ring of Honor Television Championship back in […]

AEW is on a roll heading into Forbidden Door. They’ve reportedly pulled in a $1 million gate, are expected to draw big money on the Pay-Per-View circuit, and, according to Tony Khan, have already begun discussing Forbidden Door II, which could be very intriguing indeed for all of the potential dream matches that still need […]

Brand synergy is a beautiful thing, and AEW knows brand synergy all too well. From ex-roster member Cody Rhodes’ game and reality show excursions, to the gloriously goofy Elite Space Jam 2 tie-in, these collaborations can be strange at times, but they’re also a good sign that Tony Khan’s promotion and their TV partner, Warner […]

When addressing the media before Forbidden Door, AEW‘s owner, Tony Khan, had a lot to say. He discussed when wrestlers became available for the show, when more matches for the show would be announced, and even suggested that the two promotions have been discussing Forbidden Door 2, despite the first show having yet to officially […]

Forbidden Door is almost upon us and fans of AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and independent wrestling as a whole are hyped. The card is (mostly) set, the vast majority of the stars are booked, and for the price $49.99, fans will get to watch it all from the comforts of their own home – […]

AEW started off this week’s edition of Dynamite with a classic example of good news, bad news. The good news? Bryan Danielson is not retiring from wrestling due to a lack of desire or a career-ending injury. He is very much still committed to Tony Khan’s promotion and will continue on as a member of […]

Social media is truly a wonderful modern tool for wrestlers to sharpen their character work and build up feuds, and AEW wrestlers understand this just as well as anyone. Though when arguably one of the main catalysts for the entire promotion stemmed from a certain tweet to Dave Meltzer, AEW’s roster should absolutely understand the […]

After a blisteringly paced go-home edition of AEW Dynamite, fans of the promotion have just one more show, Rampage, between themselves and Forbidden Door, which will feature matches from Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada, the Young Bucks returning to Bullet Club for one night only, and quite a few more surprises that you just know […]

As things presently stand, AEW has two Women’s World Champions: Thunder Rosa and Jade Cargill. Yes, Britt Baker is the Owen Hart Cup Women’s winner, which does technically come with a belt, but as Tony Khan detailed when explaining the concept, the strap is more formal than functional, and thus can’t be defended. But did […]

Despite his best efforts, “Hangman” Adam Page just couldn’t get himself a singles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at AEW‘s Forbidden Door. He tried asking for a match versus Kazuchika Okada, then asked for one against Jay White, who beat “The Rainmaker” for the belt at NJPW Dominion, and even after taking a […]

After watching along live as “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii secured the third spot in the four-way bout to decide on the inaugural All-Atlantic Championship of AEW – or, more realistically, watching a replay of the Japanese-held event the next morning – there was one qualifying match left for the final spot in the match […]

The Bullet Club and The Young Bucks; the wrestling equivalent of peanut butter and chocolate. On their own, both are great; peanut butter is one of the best flavors ever created, and as for chocolate? Well, you can have chocolate on its own or with just about anything else, and it remains good. So naturally, […]

When news broke that there was a Bryan Danielson speaking segment scheduled for this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite, it left more than a few fans worried about what he had to say. Was “The American Dragon” going to announce his opponent at Forbidden Door? Or would he instead inform fans that he’s just too […]