AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Established in 2022, it is held annually during the summer and features direct competition between wrestlers from the two promotions. The event takes its name from the same term often used by AEW when referring to working with other professional wrestling companies. The 2024 event also saw involvement of wrestlers from NJPW's sister company World Wonder Ring Stardom and the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Forbidden Door was originally held in June but will move to August in 2025.
| AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door | |
|---|---|
 AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door logo | |
| Promotions | All Elite Wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
| First event | 2022 |
History
editIn February 2021, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) started a partnership with the Japanese promotion, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).[1] Since then, both AEW and NJPW have had their wrestlers appear on each other's shows in the United States. On April 15, 2022, it was reported that a planned co-promoted event held by the two promotions was in the works.[2]
On the April 20, 2022, episode of AEW Dynamite, AEW President Tony Khan introduced NJPW President Takami Ohbari to make a major announcement regarding their respective companies. They were interrupted by AEW wrestler Adam Cole, who officially announced that a co-promoted pay-per-view (PPV) event titled Forbidden Door would be held on June 26, 2022, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.[3] The event took its name from the same term often used by AEW when referring to working with other professional wrestling promotions.[4]
On March 15, 2023, a second Forbidden Door event between AEW and NJPW was scheduled to be held on June 25, 2023, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, thus establishing Forbidden Door as an annual event between the two companies. The event also marked AEW's first PPV held outside of the United States and NJPW's first PPV held in Canada.[5]
On April 11, 2024, the third Forbidden Door was announced to take place on June 30, 2024, at the UBS Arena in the Long Island hamlet of Elmont, New York.[6] This marked the first Forbidden Door event to see involvement from World Wonder Ring Stardom, a women's Japanese promotion recently purchased by NJPW, as well as Mexico's Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), a partner promotion to both AEW and NJPW.[7]
In August 2024, advertisements outside Wembley Stadium in London, England were shown days before AEW's All In event, which was held at the venue, advertising that the 2025 Forbidden Door would emanate from London. During All In's Zero Hour pre-show, the 2025 Forbidden Door event was confirmed to be held in London on August 24, 2025, but a venue was not announced. This will mark the first Forbidden Door event held outside of North America, and AEW's fifth event overall outside the continent.[8]
Events
edit| # | Event | Date | City | Venue | Main Event | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forbidden Door (2022) | June 26, 2022 | Chicago, Illinois | United Center | Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the interim AEW World Championship | [9] |
| 2 | Forbidden Door (2023) | June 25, 2023 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Scotiabank Arena | Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada | [5] |
| 3 | Forbidden Door (2024) | June 30, 2024 | Elmont, New York | UBS Arena | Swerve Strickland (c) vs Will Ospreay for the AEW World Championship | [6] |
| 4 | Forbidden Door (2025) | August 24, 2025 | London, England | TBA | TBA | [10] |
(c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
| ||||||
See also
edit- List of All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view events
- List of major NJPW events
- AEW All In
- Wrestle Dynasty, another show co-promoted by AEW and NJPW
References
edit- ^ "AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling Established Working Relationship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. February 4, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ "Update on joint AEW/NJPW show rumor". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Barrasso, Justin (April 20, 2022). "Tony Khan Announces First-Ever AEW, NJPW Joint Pay-Per View Event". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (February 10, 2022). "Tony Kahn Admits He Butchered His 'Forbidden Door' Definition, Which Led To Securing Jay White". Fightful. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
The term "forbidden door" has always been used in reference to companies working together and not signing exclusively with one company.
- ^ a b Casey, Connor (March 15, 2023). "AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Date, Location Confirmed". ComicBook.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
- ^ a b Joseph Lee (April 11, 2024). "AEW Announces 2024 PPV Schedule: Forbidden Door Set For Long Island, More". 411 Mania. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ Lee, Joseph (May 8, 2024). "Rocky Romero Confirms STARDOM Involvement in AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, CMLL 'Very Likely'". 411Mania. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
- ^ Currier, Joseph (August 25, 2024). "Date set for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 in London". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (June 26, 2022). "AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door results: Powell's live review of Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Interim AEW World Title, Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women's Title, Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy for the IWGP U.S. Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 25, 2024). "AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door London Announced For August 24, 2025". Fightful. Retrieved August 25, 2024.