Major Uncertainty Over AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door (AEW News)

Plenty of uncertainty over next weekend's Forbidden Door PPV.

By Andrew Pollard / June 21, 2026

AEW

With AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026 taking place next weekend, there is still some uncertainty surrounding this huge crossover PPV.

Via Fightful Select, Forbidden Door plans were still a mystery to some talent as recently as this past Wednesday. The outlet has spoken to a number of AEW, NJPW, and CMLL wrestlers who hadn't been told what they'll be doing at Forbidden Door, or even if they'll be on the show at all. However, some talent told Fightful that this isn't out of the ordinary, and that they'll find out their plans the week of the event.

One talent who was expected to have a major role to play at this year's Forbidden Door was Gabe Kidd, including there being "big title plans" for the Brit in New Japan earlier this year before his unfortunate injury. While Kidd made his NJPW return at Dominion last weekend and announced himself for the G1, his anti-NJPW comments were initially planned to lead to something at Forbidden Door. As it stands, it remains to be seen whether Gabe is on the Forbidden Door card or not.

At the time of writing, there are currently nine advertised matches for Forbidden Door 2026, including a 12-man steel cage main event pitting Team MJF against Team Briscoe, with Mark Briscoe earning himself an AEW World Championship match if his team gets the win. Elsewhere, Thekla defends the AEW Women's Championship against Starlight Kid, Will Ospreay takes on Swerve Strickland in the final of the men's Owen Hart Cup, Mercedes Moné faces Maya World in the final of the women's Owen, Kenny Omega goes up against Zack Sabre Jr., Bandido challenges for Jon Moxley's AEW Continental Championship, PAC looks to dethrone Shota Umino for the IWGP Global Championship, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage put their AEW Tag Team Championships on the line against the Dogs, and a three-way tag team bout sees the Young Bucks vs. Unbound Co. vs. El Sky Team.

From San Jose's SAP Center, Forbidden Door takes place next Sunday.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.

Posted On: 21st Jun 2026

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NJPW CMLL AEW STARDOM Gabe Kidd AEW News Forbidden Door 2026 AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026