AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2025: Date, Start Time, Match Card, How To Watch & Live Stream

Forbidden Door is finally here.

This afternoon, the stars of AEW and NJPW will collide for the fourth edition of the signature co-promoted event. Stacked with several high-stakes matches, with four Zero Hour matchups being added last night during AEW Collision, the performers will be live in front of a sold-out O2 Arena in London, England.

The AEW World Championship is on the line as the champion, Hangman Adam Page, hopes to fend off MJF, who is in pursuit of his second AEW World Championship reign and is willing to win by any means necessary. In a bona fide dream match, Zack Sabre Jr. will defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Nigel McGuinness in their home country of England, one year after McGuinness' unlikely return to the ring.

ROH Women's World Champion Athena is cashing in the contract she won in the All In Texas Women's Casino Gauntlet to challenge "Timeless" Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship after a dominant run on AEW TV in recent weeks. Also, in his first defense of the AEW Unified Championship, Kazuchika Okada will take on Swerve Strickland in what is expected to be nothing short of a marquee matchup.

There's plenty more where that came from. Keep reading for a full preview of everything we know about AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door from London, England.

Death Riders (Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli), Gabe Kidd, and Young Bucks vs. Darby Allin, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi in a Lights Out Steel Cage Match

Death Riders & Young Bucks vs. Darby Allin, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi — All Elite Wrestling

At the Lights Out Steel Cage match at Forbidden Door London, the bad blood between the Death Riders and Young Bucks and their star-studded lineup of opponents will reach a boiling point. While the match isn't officially sanctioned by AEW, the stakes are still high. Both sides have wrestlers who have either recently returned from injury or are trying to avoid further injuries, namely Will Ospreay.

Beyond all of that, the major motivation behind this unlikely steel cage match is revenge. Will the dream team of Ospreay, Tanahashi, Allin, Omega, and Ibushi be able to put the Death Riders away for good? Will the Death Riders and Young Bucks return to their winning ways after coming up short at All In Texas?

The Hurt Syndicate vs. FTR vs. Brodido for the AEW World Tag Team Championships

The Hurt Syndicate will defend their AEW World Tag Team Championships at Forbidden Door. Their opponents were determined via an eliminator tournament. After FTR and Brodido wrestled to a time limit draw in the final on Dynamite, both teams will head to Forbidden Door in a three-way match for tag team gold.

The Hurt Syndicate has been dominant in AEW so far, but in this match, they won't have to be pinned to lose their titles. Will they be able to retain? Which team will emerge victorious in the O2 Arena?

Mercedes Moné vs. Alex Windsor vs. Bozilla vs. Persephone for the TBS Championship

Mercedes Moné has three challengers at Forbidden Door as she defends her TBS title in a four-way match against AEW's Alex Windsor, CMLL's Persephone, and STARDOM's Bozilla. Windsor & Moné have crossed paths in tag team action in both AEW and RevPro this week, but the CEO has never faced Persephone or Bozilla. With titles from America, Mexico, England, Austria, and more on her shoulders, there's no doubt that Mercedes Moné is the CEO of women's wrestling.

However, it's important to note that Moné lost the NJPW Strong Women's Championship in May in a three-way match with AZM and Mina Shirakawa without being pinned. Will she be able to hold on to the TBS Championship in a four-way with even higher stakes?

Kyle Fletcher vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the TNT Championship

After his first successful TNT title defense on Collision, Kyle Fletcher issued a challenge to New Japan Pro-Wrestling to send their "pound-for-pound best" to face him at Forbidden Door. Naturally, five-time former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi stepped up to the plate. The two men have crossed paths on three occasions in multi-man matches, but have never faced off one-on-one.

Will the Protostar's time as the face of TNT continue or will he fall victim to Takahashi's Time Bomb?

Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. Killswitch & Kip Sabian

Today, Adam Copeland and Christian will make their official return as a tag team for the first time in 20 years to take on former Patriarchy members, Kip Sabian and Killswitch, who is wrestling for the first time in 364 days after recovering from a life-threatening illness. Copeland and Christian made it clear that while they still aren't on the same page, they're at least reading from the same book now.

Will their grand return live up to expectations and give them the momentum they need to take on FTR down the line, or will Sabian and Killswitch make short work of the living legends?

Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW Unified Championship

Kazuchika Okada vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW Unified Championship — All Elite Wrestling

In his first defense of the AEW Unified Championship, Kazuchika Okada will face Swerve Strickland. Their rivalry began due to Okada's frustration that his friends, the Young Bucks, lost their EVP titles at the hands of Strickland and Ospreay at All In Texas. Since then, Okada and Strickland have feuded, constantly interfering in each other's business.

Swerve Strickland laid down the challenge for Forbidden Door, and Okada accepted, setting the match in stone for a clash of two of AEW's biggest stars. This also sets a high precedent for the AEW Unified Championship to be treated like a second world title in the company since its creation. In the final Collision before Forbidden Door, we saw Okada intentionally attack Swerve's knee, which is rumored to be home to a long-term nagging injury.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Nigel McGuinness for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

When Nigel McGuinness made his surprise return to the ring last year in Wembley Stadium, he had a dream interaction with fellow British wrestling legend, Zack Sabre Jr., in the Casino Gauntlet match. Both wrestlers expressed a desire to have a singles match, but it hasn't come to fruition...until now. After winning a 4-way "Technical Spectacle" on Collision featuring AEW's best technical wrestlers,

Nigel McGuinness has earned himself a shot at Sabre and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in his home country of England with Daniel Garcia standing in his corner. Will McGuinness upset the champion and continue his fairytale comeback to the ring? Or will Sabre again prove why he stands in rare air as one of the best wrestlers in the world?

Toni Storm vs. Athena for the AEW Women's World Championship

ROH Women's World Champion Athena was the winner of the women's Casino Gauntlet at All In Texas, entitling her to an AEW world title match at a time of her choosing, and she chose Forbidden Door. For weeks, "Timeless" Toni Storm and Athena have traded both words and blows, with Athena even scoring a pinfall victory over the AEW Women's World Champion in tag team action.

In her record fourth reign as champion, Toni Storm has been an unstoppable force, defeating the likes of Megan Bayne, Mina Shirakawa, and Mercedes Moné. Will the Fallen Goddess be the one to end the Timeless era?

Hangman Adam Page vs. MJF for the AEW World Championship

Originally, it was decided that MJF would use his guaranteed title shot from winning the All In Texas men's Casino Gauntlet match to challenge for the AEW World Championship at Forbidden Door London, but this week's Dynamite brought a change of plans. With the help of Ricochet and GOA, MJF successfully goaded Hangman Adam Page to alter the match's stipulations by threatening to set Mark Briscoe on fire. As a result, MJF gets a title shot without using his contract, and the title can change hands via DQ or countout.

Both AEW originals, these two men know each other better than most and know exactly how to hit each other where it hurts. Will Hangman be able to stay focused and retain his title amidst MJF's antics? Will MJF be able to outsmart Hangman and capture the AEW World Championship for the second time?

AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 date:

Date: Sunday, August 24, 2025

AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 time:

Time: 1 p.m. ET /10 a.m. PT/ 6 p.m. BST

AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 location:

Location: O2 Arena, London, England, UK

How To Watch AEW Forbidden Door 2025:

Streaming: Prime Video, PPV.com, Fubo, and YouTube in the United States and internationally on Triller.

AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 Card (Announced):

Hangman Adam Page (c) vs. MJF for the AEW World Championship

Toni Storm (c) vs. Athena for the AEW Women's World Championship

Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Nigel McGuinness for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship

Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW Unified Championship

The Hurt Syndicate (c) vs. FTR vs. Brodido for the AEW World Tag Team Championships

Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Alex Windsor vs. Bozilla vs. Persephone for the TBS Championship

Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi for the TNT Championship

Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. Killswitch & Kip Sabian

Death Riders (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Gabe Kidd) and Young Bucks vs. Darby Allin, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Hiroshi Tanahashi in a Lights Out Steel Cage Match

Zero Hour

The Opps (c) vs. Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, & Robbie X) for the AEW World Trios Championships

CRU, Hechicero, & Josh Alexander vs. Yuya Uemura, El Desperado, & Paragon

Triangle of Madness & Megan Bayne vs. Willow Nightingale, Queen Aminata, Kris Statlander, & Harley Cameron

Ricochet & Gates of Agony vs. Michael Oku & JetSpeed

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