Forbidden Door 2026

[Blehschmidt]

This show has been really good so far.

Omega/ZSJ, Pac/Umino, and Thekla/SLK have been the stand out matches, at least for me.

[Blehschmidt]

Mercedes/Maya was better than I thought it would be, despite Maya having some wardrobe/wig issues.

Cage match was ridiculous, over the top fun. Glad they are leaning into the fans being behind Andrade.

[sek69]

A great show. Long of course, but that's how AEW rolls, so its expected. Thekla vs all of Stardom has been my favorite feud of the year by miles. 

My only quibble is I would have had Maya win, but the post match seemed to telegraph that she's going to be the one who finally beats Athena for the title. 

[Tetsujin]

Omega/ZSJ was so unbelievably boring, such a generic, lame match. Not something really bad, but a kind of match I've seen soooo many times already, and done better, that I couldn't get behind it a single time. I can't believe Kenny dragged ZSJ, one of the most unique pro wrestlers today, to such an uninspiring performance.

Mox/Bandido and both Owen finals were pretty good. Maya World made herself the next big thing in the womens division with that performance. I liked Thekla/SLK too, that's the best SLK match of the few I've seen from her (I don't usually like STARDOM nowadays).

Glad Jay White is back and got the loudest pop of the night, but him being in the Edgverse and probably feuding with the Dogs for some time makes me roll my eyes. Tony Khan better put him on the world title scene right after Wembley.

[DMJ]

Just finished *most* of the show...

- So...I watched in "chunks" via a certain website where you can watchwrestling (iykyk) and the streams are seemingly missing the 2nd hour, which is a bummer because I was curious about Mox/Bandido and have heard good things about the PAC match. One of these days I'm going to just plop down the $40 because I really do enjoy the heck out of these shows. I'm not tech savvy enough to understand how to work a VPN and I'm also easily frustrated when things don't work perfectly right away, which makes me a bad candidate for doing MyAEW. Anyway...

- Enjoyed Omega/ZSJ and Mone/Maya, but the 9+ scores on Cagematch seem a tad high to me. They were great matches, no doubt, but I'm not sure I'd put either on my shortlist of greatest matches I've ever seen.  

- In the case of Mone/Maya, I wasn't bothered by the "sloppy" moments. I tend to like matches where it feels like a struggle and not every move is hit perfectly. The opener, for a counter-example, had too many blatant moments of telegraphing/cooperation for me even if they led to cool spots, including a very noticeable moment in which one of the Bucks hit a top rope move and then just rolled over to position himself for the next guy to deliver one. Contrast that with when Mone went for what-I-think-was-a-buckle-bomb but couldn't get Maya up twice and then segued it into a sunset flip powerbomb-into-the-corner spot instead. It made logical sense and, by that point, Maya had taken enough damage that it didn't feel like she was "overselling" so Mercedes could hit the move.

What I *did* think was unfortunate - and what kept this match from hitting the emotional high that I think a true masterpiece match needs to hit - was the post-match, which saw Mone basically just gloat into the camera (and, yes, I do tend to view matches as a "whole presentation" that might include a pre-match bit or a post-match angle). After that performance from Maya World and from Mone herself, who did an excellent job of showing that Maya was pushing her to her limit without over-relying on the tired trope of getting "pissy" after every nearfall (this is something too many wrestlers, male and female, do to death), why not go all the way with it? Why not have Mone offer the handshake? Why not have Mone raise Maya's hand? TK didn't even cut away from Mone's mini-celebration to show what Maya's emotional state was in the ring. Even just showing a disappointed Maya, probably tearing up at coming so close to beating her idol (not to mention the recent loss of her brother) would've been a big moment. Mone grabbing the trophy and then coming back towards the ring to walk Maya to the back would've been the cherry on top.

And I do think it was a lost opportunity because, presumably, we're getting Mone/Thekla for the title at Wembley. I don't see anyone beating Thekla between now and then and I don't want anyone to. Thekla has been a GREAT heel. But Mone has often struggled as a babyface, especially in the promo department. Mone is just not likable the way a Willow Nightingale is. Her character doesn't lend itself to big crowd-pleasing moments like Toni Storm. She doesn't have the reputation for being "held down" like Becky Lynch did during her big run. She's not even "homegrown" like Stat. Mone is the Boss/CEO. Her gimmick is that she is arrogant, cocky, self-centered...and the few times she's had to try to cut babyface promos, they come out fake and never really click. It's obvious she loves pro-wrestling and, in our post-modern wrestling landscape, "living to perform" is a babyface trait...but it often comes with a humility and "I'm just a fan who is living the dream" attitude that Mercedes can't pull off on the mic. 

Which is why the best chance to turn her, to get the crowd behind her, is to do it by showing and not telling, by having the audience witness her doing good acts rather than having her try to convince the crowd with a monologue. By shaking Maya's hand or raising her arm, you would have had that clear visual moment of Mone acknowledging the dedication and heart of her opponent, allowing the fans to connect the dots that Mercedes has changed. Ironically, one could look at the recent success of Charlotte as a clear example of another natural heel who could never talk the fans into cheering for her, but magically became a fan favorite once her actions became respectable and she showed selflessness by teaming with Alexa Bliss.

I predict that, in the build, Mone will hit her usual notes - "I'm the CEO," "You and your flunkies are nothing compared to me," "You're just keeping my belt warm" - and it will be fine and Thekla is over enough as a heel that Mone will likely get cheered...but two weeks after Wembley, Mone is going to be right back to being treated like a heel by most fans because there is simply no world in which the AEW audience will ever fully get behind her against a Willow or Maya World or Toni Storm or Jamie Hayter or arguably even someone like a Marina Shafir, who is obviously still kinda green and a heel but has had some recent moments where the "smart" audience seems to be collectively thinking "Hey, I know we're supposed to boo her, but she's become really fun to watch." Heck, if Thekla keeps killing it with her character work, Mone might not even have the full audience behind her at Wembley. Thekla having to "do the job" is going to irk the portion of the audience that loves to chant "same ol' shit" and still can't get over Mercedes being "ex-WWE." 


- Loved Jay White's return, not a fan of him being instantly paired with The Dogs. I think bringing him back as a babyface was great, but would love to have seen him come in and go after someone like Swerve or Okada or Ricochet or Moxley or Omega, none of whom seem like they have ready-made challengers for Wembley. 
 

[strobogo]

Big Match Will (even small match Will) really has taken up the mantle of Big Match Kenny from a decade ago. Dude consistently puts on the wildest holy shit matches. Say what you will about selling. He's filled with budo, after all. It's wild he came back from a neck surgery and didn't miss a beat and might even be wilder than he was before because he's a bit lighter than he was before the injury.