AEW presents Forbidden Door 2026 this Sunday, June 28, from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Here is the card as of Thursday afternoon:
1P. Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross) (c) vs. Thunder Rosa and Olympia for the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championships
2. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage (c) vs. The Dogs (Clark Connors and David Finlay) for the AEW Men’s World Tag Team Championships
3. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) vs. El Sky Team (Mistico and Mascara Dorada) vs. Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi and Titan) in a three-way tag match
4. Jon Moxley (c) vs. Bandido for the AEW Continental Championship
5. Shota Umino (c) vs. PAC for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
6. Thekla (c) vs. Starlight Kid for the AEW Women’s World Championship
7. Mercedes Mone vs. Maya World in the Final of the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament – winner gets an AEW Women’s World Championship match at All In
8. Kenny Omega vs. Zach Sabre, Jr. in a singles match
9. Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana) in the Final of the Men’s Owen Hart Tournament – winner gets an AEW Men’s World Championship match at All In
10. Team Briscoe (Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita, and Darby Allin) vs. Team DCMJF (MJF, Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, and Andrade El Idolo)
Tony Khan starts off by stating his excitement for this Sunday’s show in San Jose. He puts over the recent developments and is thrilled with the participation of AEW’s partners.
With ROH’s Tag Titles potentially changing hands tomorrow at Arena Mexico, Khan says that changes are unlikely but the results of tomorrow’s show will need to be seen first. ROH also presents Global Wars tonight. AEW Collision on Saturday will also have Forbidden Door implications.
As well, AEW adds Redemption (at the Bell Centre in Montreal) this year for its 10th PPV of the year. Khan puts over the quality of AEW’s pay-per-views and that they’ve all been well-received. Double or Nothing 2026 in New York is thought of as AEW’s best night ever, even within the company.
Khan says CMLL has been in conversations with AEW regarding collaborating on MyAEW. Khan adds later that MyAEW’s library will be open to promoting a lot of independent companies and grow them through the streaming service. Buying the libraries depends on the situation. So far, Ring of Honor is the only one Khan has purchased. All In will be around the same time as a lot of other wrestling promotions’ big nights and Khan is excited at the potential that night has for MyAEW.
To nobody’s surprise, visa issues have been an issue for any industry. AEW has not been immune to this. The depth of the AEW roster has allowed Tony Khan to still be able to put together an exciting card this Sunday. Hechicero, The Beast Mortos, Mark Davis, and Gabe Kidd are among the wrestlers affected by the visa issues.
Mark Davis of the Don Callis Family defends the AEW National Title against Ace Austin of the Bang Bang Gang on ROH Global Wars tonight. Samy Guevara has been in Mexico with The Beast Mortos to defend titles.
Stardom has been the best partner, visa-wise, according to Tony Khan. The Japanese women’s promotion has had few to no visa issues. That said, injuries have played their part and Khan has had to pivot in some parts.
Toni Storm, Keith Lee, Jay White, and Dr. Britt Baker, DMD have all been out for a time. Khan says they are nearing a return but is unable to give a solid timeline at this moment.
Maya World’s rise as a star is not without her own credit. Working through a deeply tragic family situation, she has made the most of her opportunities and Khan puts over her rivalry with her mentor Athena in ROH matches at the new Jacksonville arena.
Sareee’s injury has prevented her from competing in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament but Maya World has stepped in. Given the opportunity to step away and take time off, Maya World decided to throw herself into the ring and she has made the most of what’s been given to her. Khan is thrilled with how she’s handled her opportunities. She now takes on Mercedes Mone, her wrestling idol, in the Finals of the Women’s Owen Hart tournament.
“Jungle” Jack Perry’s contract is nearing its end but Khan is excited about the potential he sees in Perry. From being AEW National Champion to working with the Elite, Perry’s in-ring work solidifies him as an AEW roster member for the foreseeable future.
Khan confirms that the new ownership of NJPW will not affect AEW’s relationship with the Japanese promotion. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Gedo are still working with Tony Khan as they are still leading the office.
Willow Nightingale’s injury has kept her out of the Women’s Owen Hart tournament. Khan puts over Nightingale’s commitment to AEW and the ring. Nightingale is out indefinitely but should be back soon.
Thekla’s incredible presence and gravitas lends itself to her current position at the top of the AEW Women’s division. Khan says there were doubters when he signed her, but Thekla has silenced those doubters basically since her debut on AEW. Khan says post-Forbidden Door, he’d love more Stardom participation in AEW programming. Khan’s excited about Starlight Kid because he’s been asking about her for years and he believes Starlight Kid has what it takes to be AEW Women’s World Champion. Her past with Thekla adds to the gravity of the match and she defeated Thekla in their last encounter.
The FIFA World Cup has somewhat affected the dates and scheduling of AEW events. Mexico’s football team played last night, and Khan intentionally put Mistico and Bandido on the card to attract Mexican sports fans. As well, Claudio Castagnoli was representing AEW at the Switzerland game this week. Fulham has six players representing their countries in the FIFA World Cup. Planning around the matches has been a fun challenge for Khan.
There are several high-profile wrestling free agents at this time. Khan notes that the free agents people might be thinking of are still under contract with their former promotions. Regardless, Khan expects this Forbidden Door to surpass the previous iterations.
Among the current partnerships AEW has with promotions in Canada, the USA, and Mexico, they are always looking to visit new territories and Puerto Rico is among those Khan is interested in.
CMLL has a number of wrestlers that AEW has featured numerous times. AEW is working with dual contracts with a number of wrestlers. Khan is open to more dual contracts. Mercedes Mone vs. Hazuki hit every expectation Khan had. She is always welcome back in AEW programming, Khan says.
In keeping the Forbidden Door expectations and specialty intact, Khan says the biggest challenge in the balancing act of surprises vs. storyline continuity is the distance between worldwide promotions. CMLL’s close geographical proximity aids the partnership.
When asked about the potential of acquiring TNA, Khan is intrigued at the potential that has but there are no plans for that at this time.
Zach Sabre, Jr. is one of the best technical wrestlers ever. Khan dubs him “Mr. Forbidden Door” and is a great credit to New Japan Pro Wrestling. Khan respects Sabre’s role in NJPW. Khan would love for him to be more prominent in AEW programming but NJPW relies heavily on ZSJ to carry their torch as well. Khan is respectful of that and appreciates whenever the Englishman can make himself available to AEW television. ZSJ and Kenny Omega have never wrestled on American soil so Khan is excited for this Sunday.
