Tony Khan Admits Forbidden Door BOTCH With Jay White's AEW Debut
Switchblade made his presence known as AEW continues to open the Forbidden Door.
In a hectic five minutes for AEW, last night's Dynamite had Bullet Club leader Jay White arrive as the show went to commercial, and then we had the company debut of Keith Lee as the show returned from break.
After Tony Khan had spent the past week or so hyping a huge Forbidden Door new signing for this week's Dynamite, Lee emerged as the frontrunner where online speculation was concerned. Amongst that speculation, though, 'Switchblade' Jay White as another name rumoured to make an appearance in All Elite Wrestling.
Taking to Twitter, Khan has now revealed that the deal to bring in White wasn't agreed until Sunday after the AEW President realised he'd butchered his own Forbidden Door definition.
The Forbidden Door definition has usually been used when referring to a talent coming in who is still signed with another company. In the case of Keith Lee, Limitless was a totally free agent after his WWE 90-day no-compete clause expired last week. As such, that would not have made the former NXT Champion the definition of a traditional Forbidden Door arrival.
Some had actually pointed this fact out when the likes of Lee, Killer Kross, Jeff Hardy, Athena and John Morrison were suggested as possible AEW incomings. In seeing this feedback, it appears that's what prompted Tony Khan to put something together with Jay White.
I didn’t secure @JayWhiteNZ until Sunday. I realized after the fact that Friday night I butchered my own definition of Forbidden Door in hyping tonight. I heard the fans’ feedback, & wanted to ensure that tonight was a special #AEWDynamite for all. Thank you everyone who watched!
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) February 10, 2022
A former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Switchblade is currently signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling but has been working in the US for NJPW Strong for the last several months, in addition to having recently started to appear in IMPACT Wrestling as part of a simmering rivalry that's pitting White, Chris Bey and the Guerrillas of Destiny against the Good Brothers and Violent by Design.
For those who missed White's Dynamite appearance, he turned up in a backstage segment to help Adam Cole and the Young Bucks take out Roppongi Vice. Later in the show, the Bucks then questioned Cole on bringing the New Zealander to AEW when he's previously butted heads with Kenny Omega.
.@JayWhiteNZ just casually walking through the Forbidden Door, like ya do #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/LkTh2jgirM
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) February 10, 2022