AEW Forbidden Door Preview

so, Forbidden Door is coming up and i feel like it'd be a cool little thing for me to start doing this like a journal of random thoughts about stuff and this is a hot topic for me so hey!

for anyone uninitiated, Forbidden Door is a yearly PPV (pay-per-view) event hosted by the pro wrestling company All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). last couple versions were pretty solid i think. this one could be interesting, but doesn't have a ton of star power compared to previous ones.

match breakdowns: 

MJF vs. Hechicero - this could be a sleeper hit, but honestly not sure why this exists. Hechicero had a really good match with Bryan Danielson out of nowhere, i gave him a chance, and he wowed me. here, he feels like a fill-in for rush who cannot appear on this show for "political reasons". either way, ***1/2 ceiling probably. fun match, but weird for a ppv.

Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi (Owen Hart cup quarterfinal) - possibly match of the night. a rematch from a 2010 barnburner these two had in Dragon Gate USA when they were much younger and greener. one of the matches I've wanted to see since he flipped to AEW a few years back. give them a ton of time, please. legitimately ***** ceiling

Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. - another sleeper. some people still don't love OC and i see why, the gimmick is polarizing, but when he is on he is ON brother and Zack is one of the best tekkers in the game. ****+ possibly?

Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa - I'm not super crazy about the story of this one, but i like the idea of this being the plot device to motivate Mariah to win the Owen, challenge Toni and win at Wembley so this will probably do that job. ***+

TNT Title Ladder Match - Ok this one is going to be a car crash and a complete spotfest. Not sure who the final man is going to be yet, but it definitely seems like Jungle Jack's taking this which I'm not crazy for. not a huge spotfest gal but this will certainly be one of them. ***+

Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer - eh, rematch from the NJPW Strong women's title tournament. not a huge Mercedes fan, the ending feels predictable despite the dual-title stakes, it will probably be a good match though. ***1/4+

Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito - my guess is Naito is taking this, i doubt Mox is working another G1 like the stakes say will happen if he beats him. Naito's knees will be begging for mercy, Moxley will probably bleed buckets. ***1/2+

Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay - oh dear lord. they jumped the gun on this one. this is far too early for either dude to be dropping one. if i was going to book this match it would've been for Wembley at literal earliest. despite that, surprisingly unpredictable as far as the winner, and it makes me nervous. Swerve shouldn't be a transitional champion. much as i dislike them, the Don Callis family should probably cost Will here. ****1/4+

"you're missing one" yeah that's because i refuse to acknowledge that chris jericho is anywhere on this card and would rather he be gone.

so, yeah. forbidden door 2024 - high on workrate, shockingly tepid on star-power. this should be a good show.