After a 31-minute fight full of twists and turns in the co-main event of Forbidden Door, “Hangman” Adam Page can still call himself the AEW World Champion.
Page found a pinfall win against MJF on Sunday night at The O2 in London, England, closing out a dramatic title contest with tons of notable spots.
Both Hangman and MJF bled early in the match. Page was cut open after taking a drop toehold onto a steel chair at ringside. Once the bout returned to the ring, MJF started to bleed after running into an exposed turnbuckle. Both wrestlers also made use of a table at ringside.
Due to an agreement that MJF pressured Page into accepting earlier this week, the title could change hands via disqualification or count-out on Sunday, putting champ at a slight disadvantage. Because of this, MJF tried to force Page to cheat throughout the contest.
Taking out his Dynamite Diamond Ring, MJF handed the weapon to Page and told him to use it. While Page seemingly considered striking the challenger with it, he instead spat in the face of MJF.
The finish of the match included heavy involvement from referee Bryce Remsburg.
After eating a Heatseeker, Page put his foot on the bottom rope in an attempt to break a pin. But, referee Remsburg seemingly didn’t see rope break at first, fully counting to three.
Remsburg, who was inadvertently struck by a move moments prior, seemingly went out after reaching a three-count, not yet ordering the bell to ring.
It was at this moment that Mark Briscoe, a fierce rival of MJF, appeared on the stage. While he attempted a run-in, security prevented him from doing so. After getting back up, Remsburg noticed Page’s leg on the rope and thus decided to keep the match going.
MJF hit Page with a low blow, but wasn’t able to end the match after the shady tactic. Frustrated, MJF used his All In Casino Gauntlet contract as a weapon, then tried to also utilize his Dynamite Diamond Ring.
The attempt to once again bring the ring into the match was blocked by Remsburg, who took it off MJF’s hand.
As Remsburg was putting the ring aside, Page used MJF’s Casino Cauntlet Contract to strike the title challenger over the head. This sequence paved the way for Page to hit a Deadeye and then a Buckshot Lariat, earning him the win in 31:38.
Due to his Casino Gauntlet contract, MJF still has a title fight sometime in the future. Although it was initially expected that he would have to cash in the contract this weekend for a shot, a kidnapping of Briscoe on Wednesday’s Dynamite forced Page to accept that the contract wouldn’t have to be used for the bout at Forbidden Door.
A win would’ve kicked off MJF’s second-ever AEW World Championship run, and his first title reign in the company since he dropped the International Championship a year ago.
Page has held AEW’s top belt since All In last month, when he ended the reign of Jon Moxley.
Zero Hour results
- Yuya Uemura, El Desperado, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong def. Action Andretti, Lio Rush, Hechicero & Josh Alexander (12:13)
- Ricochet, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona def. Michael Oku, Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight (9:56)
- Megan Bayne, Julia Hart, Skye Blue & Thekla def. Harley Cameron, Kris Statlander, Queen Aminata & Willow Nightingale (11:15)
- Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata & Powerhouse Hobbs def. Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney & Robbie X (AEW World Trios Championships) (10:00)
Forbidden Door Main Card results
- Adam Copeland & Christian Cage def. Killswitch & Kip Sabian (13:46)
- Kyle Fletcher def. Hiromu Takahashi (TNT Championship) (15:27)
- Mercedes Moné def. Persephone, Alex Windsor & Bozilla (TBS Championship) (Four-Way) (15:30)
- Zack Sabre Jr. def. Nigel McGuinness (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship) (17:00)
- Bandido & Brody King def. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood, Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin (AEW World Tag Team Championships) (Three-Way) (16:04)
- Kazuchika Okada def. Swerve Strickland (AEW Unified Championship) (16:38)
- Toni Storm def. Athena (AEW Women’s World Championship) (15:15)
- Hangman Adam Page def. MJF (AEW World Championship) (31:38)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi & Darby Allin def. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Gabe Kidd, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (Lights Out Steel Cage Match) (32:26)
