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INTRO
I went on a much-needed vacation and then took a week to catch up, but fear not loyal readers, I’m back. Just in time too as Forbidden Door is this weekend. Things have coalesced nicely for Sunday’s show and tonight’s Dynamite is a typically jam-packed go home show. Let’s catch up and see where things stand as AEW marches into New Mexico on the way to Forbidden Door in San Jose this weekend.
Find Out Who Your Friends Are
Latest Developments
Mark Briscoe and MJF selected their teams for the 12-man steel cage match at Forbidden Door.
Analysis
Two weeks ago, in a move that surprised me, Mark Briscoe announced to MJF that they’d have to pick teams to do battle in a 12-man steel cage match with Briscoe’s title aspirations on the line. Last week they chose their teams in two distinctly different ways.
Because he has no friends, MJF had to bribe Don Callis with a briefcase full of cash for use of five members of The Don Callis Family, specifically Kevin Knight, Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, and Andrade El Idolo. Andrade was not pleased with being chosen by Callis. His discontent with the DCF’s business arrangement with MJF as well as dismissively patting him on the head regarding a title shot was palpable.
Mark Briscoe then turned to his friends in the Conglomeration – Orange Cassidy, Roddy Strong, and Kyle O’Reilly – as well as Conglomeration-adjacent civilian warriors Darby Allin and Konosuke Takeshita. Both Darby and Takeshita have issues with people in the Callis Family, so it made sense for them to partner up with Briscoe.
What didn’t make sense though was main eventing last week’s show with the Forbidden Door main event minus a steel cage. It would’ve been different if, say, the babyface team lost a member, but the thing that happened with most impact was tension between Andrade and MJF. There’s a clearly a match between the two in the not too distant future.
As far as the 12-man cage match, I don’t know that this is the best idea for an annual match at Forbidden Door. The set up can quickly become predictable. I can accept it this time because it came as a surprise. I expect the match to be chaotic and violent and escape the confines of the cage. Team Briscoe has to win or else why is the match even happening.
Grade: B
Death to Stardom
Latest Developments
After Thekla declared “death to Stardom” and her challenge was accepted by Starlight Kid, “The Toxic Spider” flew to Japan and attacked Stardom president again.
Analysis
Thekla arrived in AEW last year on the heels of being fired from Stardom for attacking its president Taro Okada. She has not forgotten that and ever since Forbidden Door season began she’s been cutting biting promos on her former promotion and the joshis in it.
In one memorably vicious promo, she even declared “death to Stardom.” She challenged the promotion to send its best athlete to fight her and that challenge was accepted by Starlight Kid. Starlight Kid, one of the premier joshis in the world, is a woman Thekla has never beaten. Thekla seemed unfazed by that fact and promised to spit in Starlight Kid’s mask after she vanquishes her.
This past Friday Thekla hopped plane to Japan to further this feud with Stardom by sneaking into a show through the crowd and assaulting Taro Okada again.
Thekla flew to Japan and attacked Taro Okada. She attempted to shave his head and then whipped him with her belt before Starlight Kid made the save.
Thekla also gave Taro Okada some lashes with her belt before Starlight Kid came to save the day and told her to f— off.
This feud has been one of the most effective in utilizing the Forbidden Door concept. Thekla having a vendetta against the company that fired her makes sense even if her termination was justified. Her promo style remains unique and she continues to come across as completely unhinged.
In the video of her being physically removed from the Stardom arena, she looked like someone who was ready for a straitjacket. I expect her match with Starlight Kid to be fantastic and the fact that she’s never beaten her adds a little mystery to the outcome.
Grade: B+
Tournament Madness
Latest Developments
As the finals for the women’s Owen Hart Tournament became official, Men’s Owen finalists Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland confronted one another.
Analysis
Will Ospreay won his way to the finals in an absolute barn-burner with Mark Davis a couple weeks ago, avenging a previous loss via ref stoppage while Swerve outlasted Brody King. This past week on Dynamite, the two men met in the ring.
Opinions on their lengthy exchange have been all over the place. Personally, I thought it was very well done. The off-color comment Ospreay made about the consummation of his recent marriage was ill-advised, though. Everything after that worked well enough.
Yes, there was a lot of exposition, as Wade Keller put it, but it was necessary. Each man used their shared history to make valid points about the other. Ospreay pointed out that Swerve failed to come to his aid when the Death Riders beat him up at All In. Swerve pointed out that both men had set aside their own ambitions to help “Hangman” Adam Page only for Hangman end up losing the title and any future opportunities at it. He also called Ospreay out on his joining up with the Death Riders they’d fought so hard against.
Once again, Ospreay did a great job imparting how important challenging for the title at Wembley is to him. He said it was his World Cup. Eventually things broke down. When Swerve brought the chain into the fight, the Death Riders hit the ring to back Ospreay up.
I thought both men did a good job explaining why they each needed to win at Forbidden Door this weekend. What some people called “rambling” came off to me like a conversational tone. Rather than feeling like a traditional promo, it felt like two guys talking to each other. If this wasn’t already the most anticipated match, I’d say it is now.
On the women’s side, Mercedes Moné and Hazuki tore the house down on Wednesday in their semi-final match. Hazuki had the crowd chanting her name halfway through the match. After nearly 23 well-earned minutes, Mercedes finally forced Hazuki to tap out to the Statement Maker thus advancing to the finals.
The other side of the bracket concluded on Collision when Maya World battled Athena. The battle of student vs. teacher was easily Maya’s best match in her relatively short time on AEW proper. Maya kicked out of an O-Face, an extremely rare occurrence, and then caught Athena with a flash bridging pin for the win.
AEW and Maya World have done a surprisingly good job of getting Maya over in short amount of time. I was admittedly disappointed when Maya stepped in to replace a medically unable to compete Sareee. Given her youth and the unfortunate family tragedy she suffered, AEW tripped and fell into a bona fide babyface. She’s certainly held her end of the deal in ring and in the pre-taped promos she’s cut.
I think it’s highly unlikely that Maya defeats Mercedes at Forbidden Door, but it’s not completely out of the question especially given that Thekla is a heel champion (should she retain the title).
Grade: B
Random Questions
– Can Jericho Go Away Again? Yes, he did a decent job being serious and bouncing back from the dreadful segment two weeks ago, but the damage is done. Chris Jericho in 2026 has very little left to offer. Tomasso Ciampa should beat him handily and move on. If Jericho built to a retirement match at All In, it would honestly be the best thing for him.
– Is this Shida’s match to lose? The field for the TBS Title, Survival of the Fittest is shaping up nicely. Hikaru Shida, Persephone, and Kris Statlander have all qualified. Tonight on Dynamite, Marina Shafir battles Harley Cameron and Queen Aminata tangles with Red Velvet. Marina should dispatch of Harley rather quickly. The other match could go either way. Even though that’s only five of six participants, it feels like Shida is the most likely winner. Her heel turn is working and I feel like she’d be the strongest champion.
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