10 Moves Tony Khan Must Make To Save AEW

9. Make A Rule #2: Preserve The Forbidden Door

Tony Khan ROH
AEW

The Forbidden Door used to be the coolest thing in wrestling.

The same was once written about the King's Road, the absorbing length of the New Japan epic, the turbo-drama off the NXT TakeOver formula. Do anything to excess, and its brilliance wanes.

We're at that stage now with the Forbidden Door, which encompasses inter-promotional matches, one-and-done cameos and even free agent signings. It no longer feels like this surreal dream factory of a thing. Remember when Jeff Cobb turned up in February 2020? It was a stunning twist in the Chris Jericho Vs. Jon Moxley programme. Their match was as physical as it was thoroughly unexpected. Mox was presented as even more of a brick sh*thouse, and the episodic story itself benefitted: what else could Jericho do to neutralise the threat?

The last time Cobb worked a TV match, against Cash Wheeler on Rampage ahead of Forbidden Door, it was good and nothing more, really. Do you even remember that it happened?

Probably not, since before the PPV - premised on surreal dream clashes - Khan indulged one of his favourite tropes by bringing in Johnny Elite, W. Morrissey and Big Damo for cameos. Surreal feels normal now.

The constant use of imports is affecting the way in which the full-time roster is used and perceived, too. Stringing together a series of wins, the old focal point of the promotion, doesn't matter as much in 2022 - and the ceaseless use of the Forbidden Door makes it difficult to invest in singles performers who rarely feature every week.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!