The third annual Forbidden Door PPV event with AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling was a one match show going in and a one match show coming out. Take a bow Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay.
Strickland vs. Ospreay is why Forbidden Door 2024 will be remembered. The card was full of good matches, upon good matches, upon good matches, but nothing stood out in that environment save for a special moment or two. Up and down the card, there was a lack of investment on the part of the Long Island crowd, except for Strickland vs. Ospreay. There, it was clear the audience cared and recognized the historical significance of those two squaring off for the world title.
Was it a bad show? No. Too long? Absolutely. Over-indulgent at times? 100%. A snapshot of where AEW is today? For better or worse, without question.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it. Period.
MJF vs. Hechicero
Well, has the MJF Long Island, New York charm wore off? I mean, damn, usually the Long Island crowd pops like Steve Austin for MJF. They didn’t for him in the opening match. It was a strong pop, but nowhere near what it usually is in that city. Really, that was the most noteworthy part of the match. MJF didn’t take the start of the action seriously and Hechicero got some offense in because of it. It was short-lived, though, and the obvious came next with MJF winning definitively. Not much here. It seems to me that a lack of concrete direction for MJF has fans unwilling to fully invest back into him. We need some direction and AEW hasn’t provided any yet for their top star. That’s a mistake.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO
The Young Bucks & Kazuchika Okada vs. The Acclaimed & Hiroshi Tanahashi
Can The Young Bucks take anything seriously? The action was fine, but this felt like a comedy match more than anything else and couldn’t grab the crowd effectively because of it. Tony Khan got his Okada stare down with Tanahashi and that was about it for this match. Tanahashi did the job as expected and everything regarding all of these characters are right were they were going in. Certainly a match that didn’t need to be on this show.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi - Owen Hart Tournament First Round Match
Fantastic pro wrestling. These guys didn’t use many bells and whistles, but instead opted for strong striking and selling. Yes, you knew that Danielson was winning this, but both guys did enough to make you suspend that disbelief. A very smart use of a dream match on the part of Tony Khan.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO
Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa - AEW Women’s World Championship
A good match. Both women worked well off the other and to that end, it was one of the better AEW Women’s World Championship matches in recent memory. The finish was strange. So, after all that, everything is just all good with these three? Really?? They needed to do the Mariah May turn here. One way or the other, they had to get her opposite Storm and this was the smart and most logical time to do it.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Way too long. Yes, it takes a while to get ZSJ going in matches, but nearly 20 minutes? No way. This had what you wanted in it with Cassidy playing ZSJ’s style and vice versa, but it just dragged and the rating dropped significantly because of it.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Chris Jericho, Big Bill, & Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe, Hook, & Katsuyori Shibata
A total AEW Rampage main event. It had it’s moments, I guess, but none of them elevated this to the status of absolutely needing to be on the show.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO
Jack Perry vs. El Phantasmo vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Dante Martin vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush - TNT Championship Ladder Match
A total car crash spot fest, but an excellent one. All the guys took risks and had moments in the match to shine. They attempted some unique stuff, but ultimately this felt a lot like what we’ll see on Saturday night for Money in the Bank. Perry winning and becoming TNT Champion was obvious, but the total right call in that it gives him something to sustain recent momentum.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer - TBS Championship and NJPW Strong Women’s Championship
A good match that under delivered on my expectations. Sloppy at points and disconnected for too much time. They were ambitious, but only hit on a handful of that ambition. We’re headed for Mone vs. Britt Baker after Baker returned on the show. It’s the biggest women’s match AEW can put on, but will be for the secondary women’s title in AEW — a huge issue.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito - IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Yikes. Naito just can’t bring it the way he used to. He was slow and plodding for most of the match. So much so, that even Moxley’s usual energy couldn’t spark the crowd. This was a victim of it’s spot on the show, but also because of the lack of build. They had to get the title on Naito here because he’s the biggest NJPW star. That said, Moxley vs. Shota Umino or Yota Tsuji would have delivered significantly better.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay - AEW World Championship
Just tremendous and exactly what you’d look for in a match between these two. Ospreay added intensity to his high-flying moves and looked violent with them in a way that very much made his offense feel like a fight instead of a dance. Strickland kept up with Ospreay and matched his intensity. This had numerous near falls that stuck due to the fact that the outcome was so up in the air. The Don Callis involvement in the finish was a smart way to to. It took the match rating down a notch, but was still correct. You needed to make sure Ospreay was protected in the loss. They did that, but by not having Callis cost Ospreay the match outright, Swerve got a strong victory too. Two birds, one stone. Great match.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO 3/4
What did you think of Forbidden Door 2024? Let us know in the comments!
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