Forbidden Door: A Fantasy Booked Show

AEW and NJPW are fresh off of their historic show entitled Forbidden Door, where superstars from both promotions battled it out for championships, bragging rights, and company supremacy, all while in the name of respect and being the best! With the show fresh in the rearview mirror, it got me thinking: what would a Forbidden Door show be like if EVERY wrestling promotion was involved? In reality, it is quite impossible for it to ever actually happen, but to book it in a fantasy sense, now that could be extremely intriguing. So, what I will do today is not only kick in that Forbidden Door but blow it off its hinges and take a look at what I believe would be the ideal Forbidden Door card with no company restrictions.

First, a few notes and ground rules that I have held myself to. First, there is no promotion barriers here; it is all open to what I deem the best possible card that can be built. That means WWE, AEW, NJPW, Impact, NWA, MLW, and anywhere else I may deem a superstar fitting onto this card. Secondly, I will remove all bias in terms of who my personal favorites are and stick to what is the best matchup possibilities based on resumes, career highlights, and in-ring ability. Third, they have to be active today. So, superstars like John Cena, Goldberg, etc. who are not regularly active members of the ongoing stories and roster throughout the year will not be counted. Superstars who are regularly active but are simply out with injury at this time will be considered though. Fourth, they have to make some sort of sense. As fun as it would be to book something like Roman Reigns vs Jonathan Gresham, that match would have a tougher story to build in a lead-up, and thus I would stray from that. Plus, I want them to fit in line with today’s current stories as best as possible. Finally, the show must be 10 matches: no more, no less. These are the epitome of the best inter-promotional and dream matches, but we need to keep in mind we are booking what we would want to be an ideal show to sit down and watch like we all did just last weekend. With all these things in mind, let’s begin!

Pre-Show: IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match – Will Ospreay vs. Randy Orton

I feel disappointed in myself to have this on the pre-show, but it has to happen. The RKO vs. the Os-Cutter. It’s past against present in the biggest and most fun way possible. It is truly a match I would pay good money to see, and I feel like Randy and Will can get the crowd off to a fun and hot start while also putting on a classic worthy of main card promotion. Will would benefit massively from this, so he would go over, retaining his title in the process.

Opening Match: AEW Women’s World Championship Match – Thunder Rosa vs. Bayley

Now, this match may seem a bit confusing on paper, but allow me to clarify: Bayley is working as the heel in this one…going into the match, but will leave as the babyface. Thunder Rosa’s run-up to winning the AEW Women’s World Title was extremely fun and very well done. But, as is the case with many babyface champions once they finally win the big one, things have started going south. The in-ring work has been very good for the most part, with great matches against Serena Deeb and Toni Storm, but some clunkers like against Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir. But, most importantly, her babyface aura is wearing off. So, there is no better time than now to bring back the old double-turn. Rosa goes into the match as the babyface throughout the build while Bayley is the heel. I’m not expecting Stone Cold and Bret Hart levels of mastery with this double-turn, but if they can captivate the audience with the skills they both have, they come away as they rightfully should be: Rosa the newly disgruntled heel, and Bayley the perpetual babyface she is destined to be. Rosa should retain, but both of their careers would be for the better going forward from this.

Match #2: Triple Threat Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match – FTR vs. The Uso’s vs. The Guerrillas of Destiny

Here is where we start going crazy, and it’s the second match in! FTR has been on a crusade in 2022 to reignite the fire in tag team wrestling, and they’ve done an amazing job. Now holding the ROH, AAA, and IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles all simultaneously, they are the pinnacle (no pun intended) of tag team royalty these days. But, the Uso’s can easily stake a claim to disagreeing with that notion. Having held some form of tag team gold for over one calendar year now, they are the mainstays of WWE’s tag division, and rightfully so. The Bloodline remains the act to beat, and they would 100% be the top guys (also no pun intended) to take down the top guys. Add in the Guerrillas of Destiny, one of NJPW’s best to ever tag together, and you’re asking for some mastery of the tag team arts, no questions asked. FTR should win, adding to their ever-growing collection of titles.

Match #3: Impact World Championship Match – Josh Alexander vs. AJ Styles

AJ Styles getting a chance to compete for the Impact World Title in 2022 alone would be one of the most amazing things we could possibly see in its own right before the match even begins. The story is simple: AJ wants one chance to right the wrong of his TNA/Impact exit a decade ago, and now wants to have one last run with the title that made him famous. Meanwhile, Josh Alexander is aiming to make his name bigger than ever before by defeating AJ, making him a household name. While Josh winning may do more for his career, in the long run, I think a nostalgia run of AJ getting a few months of dominating Impact before dropping the title, later on, would give them even bigger eyes than when Kenny Omega was their champion last year.

Match #4: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. vs. Sasha Banks

This one may seem like a cheat due to Sasha’s unknown status at this stage, but it is hard to deny that this match would be a banger no matter where they are. If Sasha ends up in AEW, this match may very well happen sooner rather than later as well. Regardless of anything, I for one want to see it happen, and this show we are putting together right now is the place to do it. Should Sasha end up in AEW, this one can be removed since it would be feasibly possible at any time, but for now, we will leave it here and let them battle simply to see who the better heel can be, with Baker taking home the win!

Match #5: Triple Threat TLC Match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships – The Young Bucks vs. The Good Brothers vs. The New Day

Three teams who arguably have been the faces of their respective tag divisions over the years, bringing them together could create some genius. The New Day and The Good Brothers have some history, as do The Good Brothers and The Young Bucks, so their backgrounds with each other will allow some great cross-over, and some innovative spots to include with the weapons will for sure be seen. The Bucks have become spot-fest masters, while Kofi Kingston is definitely no stranger to this style either, so the great minds involved will surely create some magic. The Bucks going over would be the biggest talking point coming from this match in my book, so let’s give this one to them after a match that will surely draw comparisons to the TLC’s of over 2 decades ago!

Match #6: Kazuchika Okada vs. Seth Rollins vs. Brian Danielson

This is the one that EVERYONE will want to talk about when the show is over. As important as it is for any show’s main event to be the lasting image…and it will be, trust me, there is never anything wrong with another match stealing the show somewhere in the middle. Orange Cassidy and Will Ospreay did it at AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker did it at Wrestlemania 25, and this match will 100% be the one that does it on this card. Rollins is the cream of the crop in every sense of the phrase, and there is no question he can be considered one of the top work-rate superstars in the wrestling world. He and Brian Danielson (in WWE and ROH) have battled before but adding Okada to the mix may very well be a proverbial match made in heaven scenario. Three of the best, if not the three best, technical wrestlers in all the world, going at it for 20 minutes or so will absolutely be the match people clamor about for decades to come. Okada is a made man in Japan, but mainstream audiences could use a chance to see him go over in a big matchup, so he’s going over here.

Match #7: Raw Women’s Championship AND TBS Championship Match – Bianca Belair vs. Jade Cargill

Now this one was difficult. Finding a place for one last Women’s title matchup wasn’t but determining who should be in it. Bianca has truly established herself as one of WWE’s featured female superstars with her victories over the likes of Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch in recent years at Wrestlemania, but Lynch and Charlotte Flair would both be great choices to lead Cargill to a fantastic match. Belair gets the billing though as the title for title, along with the two of them possessing similar in-ring styles, being the point of this feud. Bianca would be aiming to chop down the ego of Cargill, while Jade looks to remain undefeated against one of the best of the best in today’s game. Overall, picking a winner in this one remains the toughest part, but Bianca shouldn’t be the one to end the undefeated streak for the simple sake of a pop, so Cargill should go over, relinquish the TBS Title after, and get a run in WWE where she can properly end the streak to someone who will benefit from it more, like a Liv Morgan.

Match #8: IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match – Jay White vs. Drew McIntyre

This one is a match that I have wanted to see for years now. Drew McIntyre has established himself as a standard-bearer in WWE since his 2017 return to NXT and 2018 callup to the main roster. Winning the 2020 Royal Rumble, 2 WWE Championship reigns, leading the company through the pandemic era, and being the prime candidate to end Roman Reigns’ legendary run at the top of WWE, Drew is the total package. The same can be said for NJPW’s Switchblade. White is in the midst of his second reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and New Japan’s Grand Slam Champion has never been better. These two have such similar yet unique styles that they would clash oh so well, and provide one hell of a match over New Japan’s top prize. Switchblade could use a big boost after the lackluster finish to his title defense against Okada, Adam Cole, and “Hangman” Adam Page, so picking up a clean win here is an absolute must.

Match #9: Interim AEW World Championship Match – Jon Moxley vs. “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Cardona

AEW will have to go without CM Punk for this discussion, as with Moxley as Interim AEW Champion, we can book around this injury for the time being. The three challengers to Moxley in this one each pose a unique unknown and some fun threats to his interim title reign, including a crossover with a former AEW star. Cody Rhodes swore to never challenge for the AEW World Championship again after his Full Gear 2019 loss to Chris Jericho, but now he works for WWE. The story here can be built that Cody will be a babyface in theory, as that’s how he is in WWE, but to the AEW fans watching, he is the ultimate heel, coming back to their company to take that title across to the enemy. It would be as if Derek Jeter left the Yankees and went to Boston to help the Red Sox win the World Series. Heel heat like no other…all directed towards a babyface. Matt Cardona’s inclusion is the only NWA representation on this list, as well as Impact. The former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion is one of Cody’s best friends and has become a megastar since leaving WWE. A reintroduction to the WWE fans in attendance as a smarmy heel who cheats to win using his wife to help, all while trying to steal away AEW’s top title, would be even more heel genius. “Hangman” Adam Page can simply do what he does best, be over and put on some banger matches. He is also looking to regain his baby in the AEW Title and set up a rematch with CM Punk when he’s healthy, so there is long-term booking here as well. Despite all of these factors, however, Moxley should come away with the win because he is their guy right now, and the potential of Moxley and Punk down the road has the highest ceiling of all these options, in my eyes.

Main Event: Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match – Roman Reigns vs. Kenny Omega

I mean, was there really any doubt? Omega and Reigns spent all of 2021 as the faces of their respective companies, being the number 1 and 2 wrestlers in all the world, depending on who you ask. So, it would only be fitting to have these two main eventing what would genuinely be the best wrestling show possibly ever. Just let them go out there and go at it for 25-30 minutes, with WWE’s richest prize on the line. WWE’s guy, their modern-day version of John Cena, Stone Cold, Hulk Hogan against AEW’s equivalent. Kenny was AEW’s first big signing, he was their cornerstone, their main piece of the puzzle from day one. These two are the two that deserve it most and letting them battle it out in an absolute war, with Reigns putting Omega away in the end, is what the lasting memories of this show should be.

This is once again all fantasy booking by me, and what I personally think is the best example of this type of show would be. I am always happy to hear what others have to say and see what they think would be a good change to my suggestions. This is the type of stuff I live for, and I think we can agree on one thing, to steal a line from Triple H: this concept of a show would be best for business!

What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.