Konosuke Takeshita’s reign with the AEW International Championship looks like there will be a major test at Forbidden Door. The best of the best are calling him out, and the Alpha might have three opponents for the PPV.
When predicting Takeshita’s challenger, Kyle Fletcher seems like an obvious choice, especially how they have unresolved issues in breaking up ProtoShita. Fletcher thought the message was clear when Takeshita was dumped from the Callis Family. Since Takeshita won’t stay out of their business, Fletcher is on a mission for revenge to take the international title. Former champion Kazuchika Okada stepped in with particular phrasing to say, “It’s time for us to bring the international title back.” ProtOkada!
I can’t help but wonder if that means Okada has a sneaky plan in mind to win the title before Fletcher. A three-way would give the Rainmaker that opportunity.
Takeshita outnumbered by the Callis Family in a three-way is unfair. So, how about a four-way? Ricochet also declared his sights on the international championship. Even though Ricochet is loosely aligned with the Callis Family when convenient, he would be in it for himself.
We’ll see how the scene shakes out for Takeshita’s title picture at Forbidden Door.
The updated PPV lineup includes:
- Owen Hart Cup men’s final: Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland
- Owen Hart Cup women’s final: TBD vs. TBD
- Steel Cage Match: MJF, Kevin Knight, plus 4 partners vs. Mark Briscoe plus 5 partners
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Thekla (c) vs. Starlight Kid
- Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Swerve Strickland defeated Brody King to advance to the final to face Will Ospreay in the Owen Hart Cup men’s final. On the women’s side, the semifinal matchups are Mercedes Moné versus Hazuki and Athena versus Maya World.
MJF refused to grant Mark Briscoe a world title shot, so Dat Boy chatted with Tony Khan to create a direct path to the gold. That path is a 12-man tag team steel cage match. If Briscoe’s team wins, then he will receive the world title bout. MJF approached the Callis Family for recruitment. TNT champion Kevin Knight stepped up in exchange for a future world title shot should MJF’s team win. Both squads will be revealed in full on Dynamite this week.
Thekla demanded an opponent from Stardom, and Starlight Kid was chosen. Starlight Kid is 2-0 in their previous singles meetings. This time, the AEW women’s world title will be on the line. Starlight Kid commented on the matchup (translated), “Just as Thekla wished! From Stardom, Starlight Kid is heading to America to snatch AEW’s top belt from you. Making fun of Stardom like that—I’m never gonna forgive you for that. Carrying Stardom and Japan on my back, off to Forbidden Door on June 28th!!”
Zack Sabre Jr. wants to test himself against the legend of Kenny Omega. Omega views this matchup as a way to get back to the elite level of wrestler, and he hopes to parlay that success into the AEW World Championship.
Let’s look at the rest of the champions in AEW.
Adam Copeland and Christian Cage need to serve payback to the Dogs for stealing their five-second pose. David Finlay and Clark Connors are coming off an impressive win over the Young Bucks on Collision, even though, the shillelagh was involved in the finish. Nonetheless, a win is a win, and this should put the Dogs in line to challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
The steel cage match between MJF and Briscoe already swallowed up the TNT champion. It could also involve national champion Mark Davis and trios champions Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, and Kyle O’Reilly. In that case, those potential title bouts would be off the board for the PPV.
Divine Dominion is looking for fresh challengers with courage. Might as well send over a duo from Stardom or CMLL to compete for the women’s tag titles.
That leaves Jon Moxley with the AEW Continental Championship. He is fresh off a defense over Shane Taylor and faction warfare with the Death Riders against STP in a street fight. This seems like another door that can opened for a unique challenger from outside AEW.
AEW Forbidden Door is set for Sunday, June 28 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Share your thoughts on the official card so far. Which matches do you want to fill out the lineup?
