Forbidden Door (2025)

AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door
Promotional poster featuring various AEW and NJPW wrestlers
Promotion(s)	All Elite Wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date	August 24, 2025
City	London, England
Venue	The O2 Arena
Event chronology
← Previous AEW: All In NJPW: G1 Climax 35 Next → AEW: All Out NJPW: Destruction in Kobe
Forbidden Door chronology
← Previous 2024 Next → —
AEW in the United Kingdom chronology
← Previous All In Next → All In

The 2025 Forbidden Door, also promoted as Forbidden Door: London, is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and supershow co-produced by American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Japan-based New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It will be the fourth annual Forbidden Door event and will take place on Sunday, August 24, 2025, at The O2 Arena in London, England, during the United Kingdom's August Bank Holiday weekend, previously associated with AEW's All In. This will be the first Forbidden Door held outside North America and the first to take place in August, following the first three events in June. The event will also feature wrestlers from NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom and Mexican partner promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).

Forbidden Door is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Japan-based New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Established in 2022, the event is held during the summer and features direct competition between wrestlers from the two companies.^[1][2] Wrestlers from NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom and Mexico's Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) also became involved beginning with the 2024 event.^[3] The event takes its name from the same term often used by AEW when referring to working with other professional wrestling promotions.^[4]

In August 2024, advertisements outside Wembley Stadium in London, England were shown days before AEW's All In event, which was held at the venue on August 25, advertising that the 2025 Forbidden Door would emanate from London.^[5] During All In's Zero Hour pre-show, the 2025 Forbidden Door was confirmed to be held in London on August 24, 2025.^[5] This will mark the first Forbidden Door event held outside of North America, and AEW's fifth event overall outside the continent. This also marks the first Forbidden Door held in August, as the prior three events were held in June, and in turn will be held during the United Kingdom's August Bank Holiday weekend, which was previously occupied by AEW's All In the prior two years.^[6][5] On April 15, 2025, the venue was confirmed as The O2 Arena with tickets going on sale on May 2.^[7] In addition, it was announced that a double taping of Dynamite and Collision would take place at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland on August 20.

Immediately following the August 23 episode of Collision, TNT and HBO Max will simulcast Countdown to Forbidden Door, a special preview of the event. The pay-per-view airs at a special start time of 6:00 p.m. British Summer Time (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time), preceded by the Zero Hour pre-show at 4:30 p.m. BST (11:30 a.m. ET). Forbidden Door is available on Prime Video in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is also offered via traditional cable and satellite providers, as well as PPV.com and YouTube in the United States and Canada. Select international markets can access it through PPV.com, Triller TV, and YouTube. In Australia, the event will air on Main Event.^[8] The event will also be shown at all Dave & Buster's and Tom’s Watch Bar locations across the United States.^[9]

Forbidden Door will feature professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines.^[10] Storylines are produced on AEW's weekly television programs, Dynamite and Collision, as well as NJPW, Stardom, and CMLL events.

On the August 13 episode of Dynamite, Jon Moxley and his Death Riders stablemates (Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and Marina Shafir) attacked Moxley's opponent after his match, resulting in Darby Allin (the Death Riders' nemesis who had been feuding with the stable since the 2024 WrestleDream) making the save. Allin would be outnumbered before a returning Will Ospreay (who had his own issues with the Death Riders including when the stable (kayfabe) injured his neck during Moxley's AEW World Championship defense in the main event of All In: Texas when he tried to interfere on Moxley's opponent "Hangman" Adam Page's behalf) saved him. Ospreay would subsequently issue a challenge for a Lights Out Steel Cage match at Forbidden Door between the Death Riders' team and his team. Later in the show, it was revealed that Tanahashi was added to Ospreay's team. As a result of Tanahashi's inclusion, Moxley would add The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) to his team.

During the July 23 episode of Dynamite, it was announced that an eliminator tournament would be held to determine who would challenge The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at Forbidden Door.^[11] On the August 20 episode of Dynamite, the tournament final between Brodido (Brody King and Bandido) and FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) ended in a 30-minute time limit draw. Therefore, both teams advance, making it a three-way elimination tag team match at Forbidden Door.

At All In: Texas, Swerve Strickland teamed with Will Ospreay and defeated The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson). As a result of the loss, The Young Bucks were stripped of their Executive Vice President titles. Also at All In: Texas, Kazuchika Okada defeated Kenny Omega to win the inaugural AEW Unified Championship. On the July 16 episode of Dynamite, Okada, who was a member of The Elite with The Young Bucks, called out Swerve for causing his stablemates' downfall. On the July 31 episode of Collision, Strickland challenged Okada to a title match at Forbidden Door, which Okada accepted.^[12]

At All In: Texas, Athena won the women's Casino Gauntlet match to earn a contract for an AEW Women's World Championship match at any time. On the July 31 episode of Collision, she signed her contract to challenge the champion, Toni Storm, at Forbidden Door. Athena stated that Storm had bad luck in London, including losing the title at All In: London in 2024.^[13]

On August 4, AEW announced a four-way qualifying match for the AEW TBS Championship between Alex Windsor, Billie Starkz, Queen Aminata, and Skye Blue for the August 6 episode of Dynamite. Windsor won the match to represent AEW and challenge the champion, Mercedes Moné, at Forbidden Door.^[14] The title match will also feature one representative each from Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and World Wonder Ring Stardom.^[15] On August 13, during CMLL Informa 587, it was announced that Persephone would be the CMLL representative.^[16] On August 20, Bozilla announced that she would be the Stardom representative.^[17]

During the August 9 episode of Collision, AEW announced a four-way match between Daniel Garcia, Hechicero, Lee Moriarty, and Nigel McGuinness for the August 16 episode of Collision. McGuinness won the "Technical Spectacle" by submission earning the opportunity challenge Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Forbidden Door.^[18]

On May 31, it was announced that Hiroshi Tanahashi would wrestle at the event, in what will be his final match in the United Kingdom.^[19] On the August 9 episode of Collision, Kyle Fletcher defeated Tomohiro Ishii to retain the AEW TNT Championship. After the match, Fletcher challenged New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) to send their best to face him at Forbidden Door.^[20] On the August 13 episode of Dynamite, NJPW's Hiromu Takahashi made a surprise appearance as the mystery partner for Brody King, Hologram, and Ishii in an eight-man tag team match against Fletcher, The Young Bucks, and Don Callis Family stablemate Josh Alexander. Takahashi pinned Alexander, leading to the official announcement of a title match between Fletcher and Takahashi at Forbidden Door.

At Revolution in March, "Hangman" Adam Page defeated MJF. At All In: Texas, Hangman won the AEW World Championship, while MJF won the men's Casino Gauntlet match to earn a contract for an AEW World Championship match at any time. On the August 13 episode of Dynamite, Hangman goaded MJF into executing his championship match for Forbidden Door, and the title match between Hangman and MJF was made official. On the August 20 episode of Dynamite, MJF, along with Ricochet and Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona) kidnapped Mark Briscoe. MJF threatened Page that he would burn Briscoe unless their match stipulated that the title can change hands via countout or disqualification and that MJF's Casino Gauntlet contract would not be used. Page agreed to the stipulations for their match.

After The Patriarchy (Christian Cage and Nick Wayne) lost their AEW World Tag Team Championship match at All In: Texas, Wayne turned on Christian, the team leader and his "father", and hit him with the Killswitch. He was then joined by stablemates Kip Sabian and Mother Wayne in the post-match beatdown. With help from FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood), they set up Christian for a con-chair-to, but just as Wayne was about to hit him, the "Rated R Superstar" Cope made a surprise return and rescued his longtime friend-turned-tag team partner-turned-enemy, Christian. After clearing the ring, Cope told Christian to "go find yourself". Cope would begin a feud with FTR, who turned on him at Dynasty, after they lost their AEW World Trios Championship match. On the August 13 episode of Dynamite, Cope made his in-ring return facing FTR's manager Stokely, with the stipulation that if FTR interfered in the match, their restraining order would be lifted. Cope won by disqualification after Stokely threw powder in Cope's face. As FTR and Stokely began a post-match assault soon to be joined by Sabian and Wayne, Christian ran down and saved Cope from the assault before embracing in the ring. Later in the show, it was announced that Cope and Christian will be teaming up to face Sabian and Wayne at Forbidden Door. On the August 20 episode of Dynamite, Wayne revealed that he will not be able to compete due to a broken foot. He would be replaced by Killswitch, who made a surprise return after being sidelined since 2024 due to pneumonia in both lungs.

• List of All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view events
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• All Elite Wrestling Official Website
• New Japan Pro-Wrestling Official Website