While they will argue against it, World Wrestling Entertainment has continually done their best to counterprogram All Elite Wrestling. WWE will never admit they’re in a “war” with AEW, but they certainly see them as a competitor.
Sunday, August 24 marks one of AEW’s marquee events of the year. The fourth Forbidden Door event takes place as AEW co-promotes the event with New Japan Pro Wrestling. For fans new to wrestling, it’s no different than WWE’s “World’s Collide” event they just had with AAA.
Regardless, the NXT talent once again have to show out. AEW’s biggest event of all time, All In: Texas, was counterprogramed with NXT’s Great American Bash. Once again, NXT is set to go head-to-head against AEW.
NXT Heatwave vs. AEW Forbidden Door
Triple H will do everything in his power to avoid calling AEW competition. Tony Khan’s promotion has taken the world by storm since it’s inception in 2019. No matter what he seems to do, Triple H always seem to have an answer. As WWE’s COO, the world’s number one promotion is doing everything they can to stay on top.
AEW has been working with promotions such as CMLL and NJPW for quite awhile. They at one point had a relationship with TNA, a promotion that has since started collaborating with WWE. Collaborating may be an understatement as TNA’s main two champions are part of the NXT brand.
Even though All In: Texas was an afternoon show, WWE decided to put NXT in the same afternoon timeslot. With an episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event later that night, Khan made sure his show overlapped into WWE’s event.
Shawn Michaels has long been Triple H’s right-hand man. Knowing how WWE thinks of AEW, it’s no surprise to see them once again try to match up against American’s No. 2 promotion. In total, nine matches will be on Forbidden Door compared to six on Heatwave.
NXT Heatwave: Things to Keep an Eye on
Only three of the six matches on Heatwave are for a championship. One of which is for an aforementioned TNA belt. Jacy Jayne’s reign as TNA Knockouts Champion could be short lived as Masha Slamovich and Ash by Elegance look to bring the belt back to TNA.
WWE superstar Chelsea Green will team with her fellow Canadian, Ethan Page. It’s an unexpected match to see on the NXT card, but once again shows how seriously WWE is taking this show.
The main event puts Je’Von Evans up against the big bad Oba Femi. A new champion could leave Lowell, MA, should Evans be able to use his speed and size to his advantage.
What to Know Heading Into AEW Forbidden Door
Reports surfaced that both Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay are dealing with injuries. Both have major matches on the show. Strickland is set to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Unified Championship. As for Ospreay, he’s involved in the ten-man Lights Out Steel Cage main event.
NJPW’s G1 Climax tournament is a huge reason for the lack of NJPW talent on this card. In total, only one CMLL star is represented. Persephone looks to bring the AEW TBS Championship to Mexico as she challenges AEW’s Mercedes Mone, Alex Windsor, and NJPW’s Bozilla.
Zack Sabre Jr. brings NJPW’s main title, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to the O2 Arena in London. The legendary Nigel McGuinness is set to challenge him for the title. Another NJPW talent is challenging for gold as Hiromu Takahashi has his sights set on Kyle Fletcher’s TNT Championship. Elsewhere, Hiroshi Tanahashi joins forces with Ospreay in the main event.
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