Quick Thoughts: AEW Forbidden Door And The Surrounding Weekend

It’s the August bank holiday weekend and as such it’s time for AEW to bring itself to the UK. Change of tactic this year with no All In and no Wembley we are at the O2 for Forbidden Door. First issue, fuck you Coldplay. I don’t care for the ceo guy suing them for his own actions ruining his marriage I care for the fact I don’t get All In that was a great show. However, I will concede that show was right to happen early in the year the change of world title couldn’t have waited until now.

Speaking of timing I know people have issues with the build and the lack of New Japan talent. Look, I get it but if you’re complaining about that you know the reason. All of New Japan’s best talent is locked in the G1 which has only just finished, STARDOM are still mid 5 Star Grand Prix there’s a lack of cross promotion. I mean what do you expect when everyone is locked up? Should AEW have moved a difference show here? Maybe, but I feel they are using the good will of the UK (and Europe) fanbase for this show. They knew people would come and they want the focus of All Out in Canada to likely be Adam Copeland (no I’m not calling him COPE) and Christian Cage winning the tag belts. We will see this week on what is booked I imagine the pre-show will have more cross promotion matches. 

But has this hurt the card? For cross promotional stuff yes (all be it not seeing the final Dynamite and Collision) but this could be rectified in the final week. But it’s also given us dream matches in Zack Sabre Jr vs. Nigel McGuinness. Look I think it’s a solid card but on large scale of what Forbidden Door was to be it does lack. Maybe there’s gonna be some absolute psycho booking for a random 10 man pre-show match with Blue Panther (who’s part of RevPro’s weekend show). The main event is a weird one a 10 man lights out cage match is something I didn’t have predicted but I want complain. It’s odd, it’s wild but it allows for more of a plunder match not too much work rate with people how are hurt. When they said it Tanahashi was having his last match in the UK at Forbidden Door I didn’t have a multi person cage match as what it’d be. Please don’t do the high fly flow off the cage Tanahashi you might die.

Speaking of shows this weekend I need to speak about RevPro in more detail and honestly what I feel is a mess this year for promotion and match announcements. I don’t know what’s happened behind the scenes and maybe the Pro Wrestling EVE show taking place the same time is causing issues but when there’s no shows left and you’re saying there so much to announce and then go quiet about it the mind does wonder. I’m not someone who uses a stopwatch or judges a card on how many women’s matches are on a show (I think it’s should be quality over quantity especially when people were like ‘oh NXT are great they had 30 women on the show’ and 25 of them are just in background of segments) but having just one announced 4 days before the first show is bizarre. Last year a month before the show we had Zack Sabre Jr vs. Hechicero and this year there was nothing like that this year. There didn’t seem to be any urgency to announce matches. I get it the Saturday show has sold out (or pretty much has sold out) but Friday has a lot of seats left and is a harder sale as a working day. Why wait to announce Global Wars so late, if that’s a hook do it earlier. I dunno feels a real mess this year compared to the Copper Box last year.

While I’m here that RevPro anniversary show main event is a choice. I’ve long said Ricky Knight Jr isn’t a wrestler that interests me but here it’s the lesser of two bad choices. Sha Samuels putting his career on the line and then proceeding to not be on the majority of shows until the title match is a choice. The story they are telling isn’t working for me. Sha proclaiming he’s British wrestling through and through (despite the time he signed for the kill British wrestling project known as NXT:UK) wants one final shot at glory a belt he’s not held for years and one many don’t think he’s ever held (look at the wiki folks).

Maybe I don’t have that emotional or historical connection to Sha, I’ve always felt his work was fine but to have the main event of your show be title vs career a year right after AEW done it this weekend with Bryan vs Swerve is a funny coincidence or a choice. The rest of the card just works more for me. Oku vs. Slater as the title match would’ve worked more and if Sha wants to put his career on the line he can’t do that not in a title match. I dunno how many people are paying to see Sha’s potential final match I’d be interested but I don’t think the reaction to him leaving his boots in the ring should he lose will be of people weeping, there’s a lot of indifference to it from what I see and would be better suited to a York Hall show where his history in wrestling is more connected.

Even if we break it down Anniversary show by Anniversary show it’s not like Sha has been seen as a main event talent. He was a man in the cruiserweight scramble the first copper box show and didn’t really have a stand out moment for that and then last year was in a pre-show 8 man tag which weirdly seems lost to time and the recording of it not to be seen again. To that to main event is odd. It’s lucky the show is pretty much sold out and the card underneath currently contains strong matches in Oku vs. Slater and ZSJ vs. Zozaya (but seriously Andy your women’s champ is in the country that weekend maybe book a title defence somewhere although it seems like she’s on Global Wars nothing announced as of the time of me writing this). So I guess the idea is if the card is strong the main event can be a little weaker? Maybe it’s booking for the long term RevPro fans over those flying in to see a show and that’s what Global Wars is for. I dunno it’s not something I think is a the best move especially as it will compared to previous main events of Ospreay vs. Shingo and Oku vs. Jacobs. Maybe I’ll eat my words this is written on Tuesday so maybe on Saturday I leave Crystal Palace thinking damn what a main event. 

I will say on Thursday the RevPro cards are pretty much done. I have no issues with the cards but you’d think announcing Mercedes Moné in a title match would’ve been done earlier to shift tickets. 48 hours before the show is such an odd move. I don’t imagine these shows are cheap to put on so the sooner the bigger announcements the better. End of the days it’s about shifting tickets so get your ticket shifting announcements out quick. 

As I am the show(s) live there’s no match by match breakdown just the general vibes of how I’m feeling I guess on Monday 25th. 

It's Monday now I'm still tired but it's been a super fun weekend. I did have to miss half of the main event so I didn't miss last train home (seriously start earlier) but it's been a real fun time. Even Sha vs. RKJ overdelivered and had a different match idea and set up to make sure it didn't have the same feel as Slater vs. Oku before hand. I felt all shows delivered there's only certain things I don't like beung The Hurt Syndicate's insitance to never put anyone over and Sunshine Machine not being good (seriously people only rate them because they respond to them on social media and build weird relationships with them). Everything else I largly had fun with. A great weekend of Professional Wrestling at its best.