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Here is our take on what should go down at AEW Forbidden Door!
Team Briscoe (Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O'Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita, and Darby Allin) vs. MJF and The Don Callis Family (Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, and Andrade El Ídolo)
Cory!! - If Briscoe’s team gets the win, Mark Briscoe gets a title shot, so this main event feels like a Qualifier match more than a Main Event. We do have Idolo as a wild card causing more problems in the Family, as well as Knight and MJF having issues. It’s easy to see this as a set up for some of the card for the July Pay Per View. So I see MJF’s team imploding and Briscoe’s team getting the win.
Richard: WIth everything that has happened over the last few months, Mark Briscoe/MJF feels like an inevitability. If this was WWE, I would say there is no way that Mark's team wins. I put it at 25% that he does not win. Will this be a single ring cage match? If so, I hope they do a lot of stuff outside the ring since 12 in a cage is a lot. The biggest question of this match is not who wins, but what does Darby do a crazy/stupid move from. I am afraid that the camera will focus on Callis more than the match. The two pairings I am most interested in seeing in this match are Takeshita/Fletcher and Andrade/MJF. Kevin Knight has a chance to steal the spotlight and I hope it happens. I don't see anyone screwing over Mark on his team so they will win.
Mike: There's zero reason to build Mark for a title shot and then he doesn't get it. Team Briscoe wins.
Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana) - Men's Owen Hart Cup Final
Cory!! - NOT having Will Ospreay in the main event at All In at Wembley Stadium would be a monstrous missed opportunity. Before his time out for an injury, it felt like AEW needed to get the title on Will as soon as possible, but he’;s cooled a bit since he came back from neck surgery. This match should do a lot to heat him back up,m and then spending two months building to All In will be a test to see how good the current creative team is at heating him up. But he has to win this match.
Richard: The winner gets a title match at Wembley so it would make sense for the guy from England to win the match. However, Swerve Strickland is one of the best in AEW. Either person in this match should have a very good match at All In. Will we see the Moxley Dojo get involved in this match? If AEW wants to shake things up a bit, give Swerve the win.
Mike: I've said all along I suspect it's Omega or MJF vs. Ospreay in Wembley. Ospreay has to win here.
Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Cory!! - It’s a shame we don’t get a real Forbidden Door main event this year, since New Japan isn’t as dialed in this year. This is a match that will get wrestling nerds like me to buy the show however. Omega and Sabre haven’t faced each other in years and they are at vastly different places in their career. As much as they are having Omega talk about his quest to get back on top, it feels like he is in the part of his career where he builds other people up rather than getting a run at the top. Sabre wins this match to further cement him in the eyes of US fans as a major star.
Richard: Zack makes his annual summer vacation to the US to wrestle at Forbidden Door. This will be a good match that showcases the talents of two of the biggest stars in the business. Omega will be twisting into shapes where you might think Zack is wrestling Darby Allin instead. If Zack is going to be back in AEW before next June, I give him the win. If it is the usual see you in a year, give the win to Omega.
Mike: I suspect Omega gets the win. This should be a lot of fun.
Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World - Women's Owen Hart Cup Final
Cory!! - I REALLY want Maya World to win. Her story of being brought in at the last minute as an enhancement talent and working hard to earn a place in the company is amazing, and she ran with the opportunity. I get that Mone is a huge, bankable star, but it’s time to let the underdog win and get the Cinderella story. Maya wins.
Richard: The winner of this match earns a World title match and it could be a great moment for Maya World to beat ROH Women's Champion Athena and then beat Mercedes Mone might be more important than winning the world title. Maya's rise has been very interesting and if she wins, is there someone who is going to get a nice flower assortment for letting her get this chance? Mone has been effective in her tournament matches. Thekla/Mone is the higher profile match of the two options, but why not throw a monkey wrench in the expected and give the people of London an underdog story to get behind.
Mike: Mercedes wins. I think Maya gets more out of fighting all the way to the end and then losing a close match then she would winning the tournament.
Thekla (AEW Women’s Champion) vs. Starlight Kid
Cory!! - This should be a great match, and while I would like to see Stardom get revenge on the horrible things Thekla has been doing, she’s not going to drop the title here. In the past, these intercompany feuds ended after the Pay Per View, but Thekla vs Stardom is a great hook for matches they can pull out every so often to spotlight Stardom talent. Thekla wins.
Richard: This match is as much AEW vs Stardom as it is the two women battling in the match. Thekla has something to prove to Stardom but Starlight Kid is fighting for an entire company. This should be a strong match and will showcase both women and be a good showcase for Starlight Kid for the fans who might not be familiar with her work. Thekla wins, but it won't be easy.
Mike: This will be a lot of fun, but no way is there a title change here.
Shota Umino (IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion) vs. Pac
Cory!! - Umino just won the title a couple of weeks ago, and I can’t see them putting it on Pac so soon after Umino won it. It will be a fantastic match, but Umino wins.
Richard: Shota just won so I don't see him losing. I wonder if Moxley will make Pac show some mercy because of Mox's past with Shota. Will that cost Pac the match? Shota wins.
Mike: New Japan gets the win here.
Jon Moxley (AEW Continental Champion) vs. Bandido
Cory!! - Will Bandido be a two belt champion again? I like Bandido a lot, and he’s a solid upper tier star for AEW, but do either Mox or Bandido get anything from switching the title? I believe Mox will retain.
Richard: This should be a good match. I expect to see both men bleed because it is a Mox match. Moxley will be 'dead to rights' at least 3 times in the match but he will survive. Bandido doesn't have enough to beat Mox.
Mike: I love Bandido's work but I don't see them having Moxley lose the belt.
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. El Sky Team (Místico and Máscara Dorada) vs. Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi and Titán)
Cory!! - I had no idea this match was on the show until I started looking for the card. This will be your high energy flippy dippy match and based on the reactions Mistico is getting when he wrestles, it would be a good thing to let him and Dorada get the win so the fans get the feel good moment.
Richard: Will this match now be for the ROH Tag titles since Misitco and Dorada won them on Friday night? (I doubt it). This match will have no control so I assume Rick Knox is going to be your referee. There will be many super kicks in this match. Which Mistico do we get in this match? I would love to see Shingo and Titan win because of my enjoyment of Shingo's work over the decades. I think Mistico and Dorada win the match.
Mike: My guy is Titan is taking the pin here and it's Sky Team winning.
Cope and Cage (Adam Copeland and Christian Cage) (AEW Tag Team Champions) vs. The Dogs (David Finlay and Clark Connors)
Cory!! - I can’t see Cope and Cage losing the belts in their first defense of them. Cope and Cage retain.
Richard: Is there a way that Connors and Finlay win this match? Magic 8 Ball says: What's the question, I wasn't paying attention.
Mike:I don't see a title change here.
Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne and Lena Kross) (AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions) vs. Thunder Rosa and Olympia
Cory!! - The problem I was worried about with Divine Dominion as champions is already wearing thin; They are so dominant that you just can’t see them losing. It’s the same reason they never put a title on Andre the Giant: How do you take it off of them? They beat everyone in less than 5 minutes, they power through most everything like the Road Warriors, and no team on the roster looks like they have a chance. I love Rosa, but she isn’t being pushed massively as she wrestles for other companies, so her and Olympia will be the next to fall.
Richard: Bayne and Kross continue their Zero Hour dominance of the women's tag team division.
Mike: Divine Dominince destroys Olympia.
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