The 2025 edition of AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Forbidden Door super show event was really good at times, but not near the high bar that AEW has set for PPV events in recent memory.
Across the show, the action was crisp in most spots, but ill-timed in-ring errors and very poor booking choices took away from the big matches that the show needed to deliver at the absolute highest level.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
Adam Copeland and Christian Cage vs. Kip Sabian and Killswitch
A fine opener. There were moments in the match where it felt like the legendary team of Copeland and Cage were giving way too much to Sabian and Killswitch, but by the end, they definitively won and won with a very cool move. The doubt between Cage and Copeland at the beginning of the match played into the overall story, but didn’t capture the audience like you’d expect. By the end they had them, though, so mission accomplished.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Kyle Fletcher vs. Hiromu Takahashi - TNT Championship
This went exactly as expected and that’s the biggest compliment I can give it. The pace was fast, the action intense, and the psychology innovative. The Takahashi DDT to Fletcher on the apron provided a shocking thud of a soundtrack too. Honorable mention to Bryan Danielson on commentary. Danielson talked about Fletcher’s body slams for over a minute, which very much helped put context around why Fletcher is heralded as a future champion. It sounded like he was having an absolute blast too.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
Mercedes Mone vs. Persephone vs. Bozilla vs. Alex Windsor - TBS Championship
Really good stuff. Mercedes Mone hasn’t had a bad match in months and this is another strong mark on her record. She did business in this match and took big bumps from everyone — especially Bozilla. Bozilla was by far the standout performer. She wrestled exactly like she should given her size and the match was very compelling because of it. If I’m Tony Khan, I’m signing her before WWE does. She’s going to be on their radar after the performance on this show.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
Zack Sabre Jr vs. Nigel McGuinness - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Not sure what else anyone could have wanted from this one. It had the scientific violence that was expected and also some stiff striking. There just wasn’t a clear path to creating drama in this because it was so certain that Zack Sabre Jr was going to retain his title.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
The Hurt Syndicate vs. FTR vs. Brodido - AEW World Tag Team Championships
Exciting at times, but sloppy at times. The finish was a disaster. So much so, that it was obviously not supposed to be the finish. Dax Harwood, the referee, and Cash Wheeler messed up their timing, which led to a three count being completed and the wrong team crowned. As for The Hurt Syndicate getting taken out mid-match — what the hell, man? News reports indicated they didn’t want to do a job to FTR and this finish essentially confirmed those. Nobody in this match is a big enough star to refuse to do that kind of business.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO
Kazuchika Okada vs. Swerve Strickland - AEW Unified Championship
These two definitely had a couple more gears they could have gone to in an ideal world, but clearly they were limited because of Strickland’s injury. Okada winning with one Rainmaker signaled that this match was exactly supposed to be viewed as an epic contest — again, because of Strickland’s injury. They worked the knee into the match itself, which was a smart narrative to include. Wardlow joining The Don Callis Family is … whatever. The Konosuke Takeshita babyface turn tease was money.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Toni Storm vs. Athena - AEW Women’s World Championship
The action in this match was excellent, but the story and psychology was off base. Even as a heel, Athena does not come across as obnoxiously arrogant or flaky. She tried to be both of those things in this match for some reason. Instead of presenting Athena as this epic challenger, she was treated as a bit of a joke and portrayed a character not taking the moment seriously. The match followed that roadmap and it wasn’t nearly as compelling as it could have been. Storm winning and retaining is the right call. It’s her division and her time, so continuing to feed her heels is the only thing to do.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Adam Page vs. MJF - AEW World Championship
A good match turned bad because of nonsensical booking. The error three count on Page — that really wasn’t addressed at all by the referee — halted all momentum in the action and drama. It took the wind out of the crowd and the match gained nothing from it. On a bigger scale, all the use of weapons and tables made less sense than the three count did. The story going into this match was that MJF was going to leverage Page not being able to control himself to his advantage — thus making the title change hands on a disqualification. During the match, MJF didn’t leverage at all. He played right along. There were points in this where the crowd was into things, but by the end it fell off the rails and lost it’s way.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Darby Allin, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks, Claudio Castagnoli, and Gabe Kidd - Lights Out Steel Cage Match
The chaotic mess it was supposed to be. The comedy at the start of the match with the Hanson song as The Young Bucks entrance set the wrong tone, but once the action started they found the right one. The spots were wild — especially Will Ospreay’s perfect off the top of the cage moonsault. Ospreay and Co. winning the match was the right way to essentially end the story, but the post-match attack on Ospreay writes him out of AEW for the foreseeable future.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO
What did you think of AEW Forbidden Door 2025? Let us know in the comments!
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