On July 10, 2025,All Elite Wrestlingwill collaborate with New Japan Pro-Wrestling to host the second annualForbidden Doorpay-per-view. This year’s pay-per-view will air live from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Neither promotion has ever hosted a pay-per-view in Canada prior to this year’s event where annual tournaments will commence, and several championships will be defended.
At Forbidden Door,AEWwill kick-start its second annual Owen Hart Cup Tournament for both the men’s and women’s divisions.Each will see competitors from NJPWand AEW over the next few weeks. Championships from both NJPW and AEW will be put on the line while grudge matches between several others will enter a new chapter.
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Athena v. Billie Starkz
The currentRing of Honor Women’s World Champion Athenawill take on Billie Starkz in the first round of the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament. The winner will go on to face the winner of Nyla Rose and Willow Nightingale in the semi-finals.
CM Punk v. Satoshi Kojima
CM Punk will compete on his first AEW pay-per-view since last year’s All Out wherea controversial backstage brawl transpired. At Forbidden Door, Punk will compete against two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima in the first round of the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament. Kojima is also a seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. Punk will compete onCollisionthe night before his match with Kojima, as he teams with Ricky Starks and the AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR to take on Austin and Colten Gunn and Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White and Juice Robinson.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
The current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada will defend against"Jungle Boy" Jack Perryat Forbidden Door. Sanada defeated Kazuchika Okada to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship earlier this year and is a former IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion. Sanada issued an open challenge to AEW talent in lieu of Forbidden Door, and the challenge was answered by Perry shortly thereafter. Perry has also requested that his tag team partner HOOK be in his corner this Sunday.
AEW International Championship
AEWInternational Champion Orange Cassidywill defend against NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr., Ring of Honor Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata, and Daniel Garcia at Forbidden Door. OnDynamite,Cassidy and Shibata were defeated by Sabre Jr. and Garcia after Cassidy mistakenly punched Shibata. While Forbidden Door will have all eyes on Cassidy’s International Championship, Garcia also has his eyes on Shibata’s Pure Championship and hopes to earn a chance at reclaiming it. The future of Sabre Jr.’s NJPW World Television Championship is also likely to gain some attention during the matchup.
JAS and Minoru Suzuki v. Sting, Darby Allin, and ??
Last year, Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki successfully teamed together at Forbidden Door. Similarly, Sting, Darby Allin, and Shingo Takagi successfully defeated The Young Bucks and El Phantasmoat last year’s inaugural Forbidden Door event. This year, Allin and Sting have once again enlisted the help of another, promising to unveil their partner’s identity onCollision. Allin hopes to break Guevara away from Jericho, while Sting aims to continue to get under Jericho’s skin.
AEW Women’s World Championship
AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm will defend against Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale. This will mark Storm’s second Forbidden Door appearance, as she unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW Women’s World Championship last year. Now in her second reign,Storm hopes to successfully retainagainst the inaugural Strong champion. Nightingale captured the Strong Women’s Championship at Resurgence after defeating Momo Kohgo to advance to the finals where she defeated Mercedes Moné.
The Blackpool Combat Club, Konosoke Takeshita, and Shota Umino v. The Elite, Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii
After turning on The Elite, Konoske Takeshita has found himself aligned with Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta of the Blackpool Combat Club. Moxley’s protégé Shota Umino has been enlisted in their ongoing fight against the Elite. Despite his friendship with Moxley,Eddie Kingston’s disdain for Castagnolihas led him to team with The Young Bucks and Hangman Adam Page. Unwilling to trust them, Kingston handpicked Tomohiro Ishii to join them. With the bad blood between the Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite, Takeshita’s alliance with Don Callis, and Kingston’s disdain for Castagnoli, Forbidden Door is unlikely to be the end of the issues between these men.
Adam Cole v. Tom Lawlor
Last year, Cole suffered an injury at Forbidden Door that would set him out of action for several months. OnRampage,Cole wasinterrupted by his upcoming partnerin the AEW Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament, MJF, who called for a match between Cole and NJPW’s Tom Lawlor at Forbidden Door. Cole was subsequently attacked by Lawlor, a former UFC Competitor. Lawlor debuted in NJOW in 2020 and became the inaugural Strong Openweight Champion with a reign of over 380 days.
AEW World Championship
The current AEW World Champion MJF will defend against eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi. Tanahashiissued a challenge to MJFfor Forbidden Door that MJF had no interest in accepting. On the June 21 episode ofDynamite,MJF was goaded into accepting Tanahashi’s challenge by Adam Cole, who has his own sights set on the AEW World Championship. Tanahashi hopes to add the AEW World Championship to his list of accomplishments prior to the commencement of the G1 Climax this year.
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship
Kenny Omega will defend the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against former champion Will Ospreay. In January, Omega defeated Ospreay to capture the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championshipat Wrestle Kingdom 17. Prior to his loss, Ospreay held the championship for over 200 days. Omega is now in his second reign as IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion after becoming the inaugural champion in 2017. Omega has expressed that if Ospreay is unable to beat him at Forbidden Door, Omega will have little reason to return to NJPW for further defenses, limiting Ospreay’s ability to recapture the championship for as long as Omega holds it.
Bryan Danielson v. Kazuchika Okada
Bryan Danielson issued a challenge to Kazuchika Okada that was accepted and made official for Forbidden Door earlier this month. Danielson and Okada are both decorated competitors who have each been hailed as gifted technical wrestlers. Okada is a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, who holds the record for the longest individual reign as well as the longest combined reign. He is also a two-time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and four-time G1 Climax winner.During his stint in WWE, Danielson became a Triple Crown and Grand Slam Champion, and Money in the Bank winner. He has also collected various championships in other promotions, including Ring of Honor. At Forbidden Door, Danielson and Okada seek to prove which of them is truly the best wrestler in the world.
The second annualForbidden Doorpay-per-view hosted by All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling will be live from Toronto on June 24, 2025, at 7 pm Eastern Time.
