Forbidden Door, presented by AEW and NJPW last month, was a successful show in all business metrics, from attendance to pay-per-view purchases.
AEW President Tony Khan announced after the show that it set an all-time live gate record of $1.2 million, with 13,600 fans in attendance and 13,100 paying.
Early estimates for the show noted that television PPV buys were down from last year’s show, but international buys were expected to be identical to Double or Nothing in May and would receive a boost from New Japan World with an additional 5,000 to 10,000 buys.
Dave Meltzer provided some additional insight in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting that the show increased 15% in television PPV buys from week one to week two, bringing it back to normal levels. However, the second week of purchases was 8.4% lower than the first. TV purchases were down 11.4% from Double or Nothing in the second week, but streaming was up 5%.
The event was expected to sell more PPVs than Double or Nothing due to New Japan World purchases, but it is still down 7.6% from last year’s Forbidden Door.
Meltzer added, “With more buys coming from streaming and less from television, that’s to be expected, and with buys this week, that gap will close more.”
