AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door x CMLL x Stardom predictions

All Elite Wrestling is back for another PPV with their partners in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and this time they’ve invited CMLL and Stardom to join the party! Even with the lucha libre and joshi promotions taking part, the fifth annual Forbidden Door will still have the usual 8 p.m. Eastern start time tonight in San Jose, California.

Including a streaming pre-show that starts an hour earlier, as of midnight ET the event had 11 matches booked. Those include the Men’s and Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals, and five title matches. It’ll build to a Steel Cage 12-man main event, which could be prelude to a World title fight between the captains!

It’s a lot to process. But we’ve got your backs. Cain will have a previewed of the whole affair shortly, and we’ve assembled what we could of our usual motley crew to make predictions about the matches coming our way this evening. They might just muse about other AEW, NJPW, CMLL or even Stardom thoughts along the way.

Let’s get to it.

AEW FORBIDDEN DOOR PREDICTIONS

Team MJF vs. Team Mark Briscoe in a Steel Cage match

Sean Rueter: Andrade finally being well and truly done with Don Callis is going to be glorious, but let’s not forget how long Tony Khan and team like to slow play these stories (see: Okada/Takeshita). So the big crowd pleasing split doesn’t happen for Team DCMJF here, but the World champ has tons of enemies, and it takes a special kind of Bastard to not like Mark Briscoe. Kenny Omega, or even a hell-bent for justice Hangman Page would do the trick, I imagine. Pick: Team Briscoe

Claire Elizabeth: Andrade is the fulcrum on which this match rests, the latest in the long treadmill of men who’ve joined up with Don Callis on promise of fortune and glory only to find out that ol’ Cyrus has eyes for somebody else and realize they’ve been swindled. And oh, how glorious will it be when el Idolo abandons ship, and I’m betting it’s happening here and now. Pick: Team Briscoe

Cain A. Knight: Team Briscoe needs the win, and Andrade is right there to turn on MJF and make it happen. Pick: Team Briscoe

Manolo H. Pizzazz: No happy ending on this night. I’m putting trust in MJF and Don Callis hatching a devious plan to account for the lack of cohesion on their squad. Pick: Team MJF

Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland for the Men’s Owen Hart Cup

Sean Rueter: They need to dial up some drama for Ospreay’s story between here and Wembley, and I imagine they’ll start doing so tonight. However they do that, or whatever’s next for Swerve, there can only be one outcome here. Pick: Will Ospreay

Claire Elizabeth: It’s Ospreay’s story and I do genuinely think Swerve would have to kill him to keep him from winning this one. Pick: Will Ospreay

Cain A. Knight: Will Ospreay was always going to win this tournament if he was healthy enough to compete in it. Pick: Will Ospreay

Manolo H. Pizzazz: AEW has gone this far telling the story of Ospreay’s dream to wrestle in the main event at Wembley Stadium. No need to spoil that party. Pick: Will Ospreay

Mercedes Moné vs. Maya World for the Men’s Owen Hart Cup

Sean Rueter: Here’s the problem. A heel vs. heel Mercedes/Thekla program seems like an uphill battle almost any way you look at it. But is World’s story, moving as it may be, gonna help sell tickets in London? Making matters worse, having the Thekla drop her AEW Women’s title to someone before late August would be an underwhelming end to her reign. Likewise, I can’t see Tony Khan focusing on women’s wrestling long enough to broker a deal with Stardom to make a title change at Forbidden Door seem interesting. Instead I’m worried he’ll book it despite the alignment issues, call it a “dream match”, and leave The CEO and The Toxic Spider to fend for themselves while he focuses on Ospreay vs… Pick: Mercedes Moné

Claire Elizabeth: It’s a big swing, but I believe in Maya World. She made it this far, and if she can just stay focused and get Mone off-balance, she can take her down. Pick: Maya World

Cain A. Knight: Mercedes Mone’s first AEW women’s world title win needs a better story than being a late replacement in a tournament she already won last year to fight another heel over the belt. Pick: Maya World

Manolo H. Pizzazz: The Cinderella story ends here. If the Owen Hart Cup was the prize all its own, I could see booking the upset. However, the winner moves on to one of the biggest matches on the biggest show of the year. That is a stage fit for the CEO. Pick: Mercedes Moné

Thekla (c) vs. Starlight Kid for the AEW Women’s championship

Sean Rueter: In the process of “thinking out loud” for that last prediction, I decided that TK needs to book Kris Statlander to win the title from Thekla before All In. There’s recent history to build on so it could have the story-depth to be a decent way to end the Spider’s reign, and who’s gonna complain about more Stat vs. Moné? Okay, I just want more Stat vs. Moné. Pick: Thekla

Claire Elizabeth: I wouldn’t want to be on Thekla’s bad side on a good day, and given her mad-on for all things Stardom, this is not a good day for Starlight Kid. Sorry kitty cat, not your day. Pick: Thekla

Cain A. Knight: Thekla isn’t losing her belt to Japan. Pick: Thekla

Manolo H. Pizzazz: If AEW wants to book an upset, this is the one. Thekla needs comeuppance for trashing Stardom, and losing the title would have maximum sting as a surprise result when the Toxic Spider is at the peak of her power. Plus, this gives AEW options moving forward. They can run a rematch at the next PPV where Thekla takes back the gold. Or Starlight Kid moves on to All In for a babyface versus heel matchup, assuming Mercedes wins the Owen Hart Cup. Pick: Starlight Kid

Jon Moxley (c) vs. Bandido for the AEW Continental championship

Sean Rueter: Can’t tell if I’m into the tension of Mox playing by the rules as Continental champ while Death Riders are otherwise still generally rule-breakers, or if it still just confuses angles for me. I’ll have more time to continue figuring it out after this banger. Pick: Jon Moxley

Claire Elizabeth: Do I think Bandido can beat Jon Moxley on any given day in any given match? Yes, of course, he’s great. Do I think Bandido is gonna beat Jon Moxley on this particular day in this particular match? Nope! Pick: Jon Moxley

Cain A. Knight: Bandido already has the ROH world title, he doesn’t need another championship. Pick: Jon Moxley

Manolo H. Pizzazz: Moxley still needs to be champ to set the example for Ospreay. Pick: Jon Moxley

Cage & Cope vs. The Dogs for the AEW Tag Team championship

Sean Rueter: I’m trying to take Connors and Finlay seriously, I swear. But even throughout the ole ultraviolence in this one, I haven’t been able to. Not really. Pick: Christian Cage and Adam Copeland

Claire Elizabeth: This has been incredibly violent and escalated incredibly quickly, and so I’m tempted to game the system and pick the Dogs, not to win the title, but to win the match by way of a DQ or a countout type situation because the vets are mad and they’ll overplay their hand. But then I think it’s just as likely if not more likely that it’ll be the Dogs that cross the line, and so I pick the champions. Pick: Adam Copeland & Christian Cage

Cain A. Knight: Cope and Cage aren’t dropping the belts in the first title defense, especially against these guys. Plus, some kind of crazy all-star title match against Young Bucks, New Day, and/or Motor City Machine Guns probably awaits the old guys at Wembley Stadium. Pick: Adam Copeland & Christian Cage

Manolo H. Pizzazz: This is a speed bump for Adam Copeland and Christian Cage on the way to dream matches. (Looks at calendar for when Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods will be free from WWE’s non-compete.) Pick: Cage & Cope

Forbidden Door can be purchased on HBO Max, Amazon, YouTube, PPV.com, and DAZN, or you can buy it via NJPWWorld or on traditional PPV.

In Canada, the UK, and other international markets, it will be available on the new MyAEW.com service.

Shota Umino (c) vs. PAC for the IWGP Global Championship

Sean Rueter: Mox’s ex-young boy just won this from Andrade, which cements it as “the belt AEW and New Japan are gonna hot potato back-and-forth for a while”. Pick: PAC

Claire Elizabeth: I feel like one of these should be an upset cross-promotional win just to keep things interesting, and the Bastard is nothing but not interesting. Pick: PAC

Cain A. Knight: Someone from Japan should probably win a match on this PPV. Pick: Shota Umino

Manolo H. Pizzazz: PAC’s finger game is lacking. Go Shooter! (Pew pew.) (I have no idea if Shota does the Shooter McGavin celebration.) Pick: Shota Umino

Kenny Omega vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.

Sean Rueter: Inadvertently read my fellow staffers picks first, which I don’t have a rule about not doing, but don’t always do. In this case, two things happened when I did. The second thing was realize I agreed with Cain and Manolo’s thinking. That was after I giggled for about ten seconds at Claire’s nickname for K.B.G. Omega. Pick: Kenny Bai Gawd Omega

Claire Elizabeth: As usual, the Zack Sabre, Jr. Invitational is the Forbidden Door match I’m most looking forward to and this one isn’t any different. Zack’s gonna find a dozen new and interesting ways to torture Kenny “Tummy Horts” Omega and y’know what else? He’s 2-1 in straight singles at Forbidden door, so one of those pretzels is gonna take him to the pay window. Pick: Zack Sabre, Jr.

Cain A. Knight: The new AEW Redemption PPV in July is in Montreal, which seems like a great place for Omega to get a world title rematch against MJF. Pick: Kenny Omega

Manolo H. Pizzazz: Omega is on a mission for redemption. Pick: Kenny Omega

The Young Bucks vs. Sky Team (Místico & Máscara Dorada) vs. Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi & Titán)

Sean Rueter: You know that moment when you realize you assigned yourself to live blog Forbidden Door when you were on your fourth or fifth draft of an assignment sheet for this four-event weekend? No? Just me? Well, anyway, it was when I got to this match in the Predictions post. Pick: Sky Team

Claire Elizabeth: Ah, and your busiest match of the evening. Chaos chaos chaos, Young Bucks sneak it out, boom. Pick: Young Bucks

Cain A. Knight: Someone from Mexico should probably win a match on this PPV. Pick: Sky Team

Manolo H. Pizzazz: We need a two-on-two showdown between the Jacksons and Cope & Cage. Every win for the Young Bucks builds them back up to that moment. Pick: Young Bucks

Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) (c) vs. Thunder Rosa & Olympia for the AEW Women’s Tag Team championship

Sean Rueter: To shake things up, to give Rosa something meaningful to do while she’s feeling good (and ahead of Grand Slam Mexico in early August), and because having Kross take a pin from a former World champ isn’t a bad way for this Dominion to end. Pick: Thunder Rosa & Olympia

Claire Elizabeth: I wouldn’t be surprised by Thunder Rosa gritting out a surprise victory here, but Divine Dominion have been so, well… dominant that I ain’t picking against them. Pick: Divine Dominion

Cain A. Knight: Megan Bayne and Lena Kross won’t lose the belts before facing the Brawling Birds at All In London. Pick: Divine Dominion

Manolo H. Pizzazz: Pain! Pick: Divine Dominion

Skye Blue vs. Maika in a Survival of the Fittest qualifier

Sean Rueter: No wonder Yota Tsuji hates partnering with AEW. Not sure any Japanese talent are getting a win on this show. Maybe that leads to inter-promotional war? Pick: Skye Blue

Claire Elizabeth: Let’s get some color in this one. Pick: Skye Blue

Cain A. Knight: I’m assuming the AEW wrestler will be the one competing for AEW’s TBS title next week on AEW Dynamite. Pick: Skye Blue

Manolo H. Pizzazz: Given all the recent visa issues, who knows if Maika’s papers will last until Wednesday. Pick: Skye Blue

That’s who we’ve got. Who are you taking, Cagesiders? Tell us in the comments, and there’s still time to jump into The Feed’s Cagesider-run contest for Forbidden Door!