Results
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey def. Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta (11:34)
- Bandido & Brody King vs. Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (AEW Tag Team Championships Eliminator Tournament Finals) (30:04) (Draw)
- Athena & Mercedes Moné def. Toni Storm & Alex Windsor (16:02)
Will Ospreay knows what he’s risking on Sunday
Tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite, a special overseas edition of the show from the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, opened with an appearance from Bryan Danielson. The former world champ has been mostly absent from TV this year, but served as a special guest commentator on this week’s episode of Dynamite. He expectedly received a huge reaction from the live crowd as he made his way to the desk.
After Danielson joined the commentary, a face-to-face encounter between Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley was the first segment of the show. Ospreay and Moxley are the captains of their teams for the upcoming five-on-five lights out steel cage match on Sunday at Forbidden Door.
Ospreay was out first, giving him the chance to take in a loud and proud Glasgow crowd. He gave a quick anecdote about how a late-night trip to Greggs bakery saved him during a late-night out drinking in the city once, then thanked the crowd for not giving up on him.
Ospreay then put his focus on his health, as he has been out of action for a few weeks due to a neck injury. He claimed that he wasn’t cleared to compete for this week, but is nonetheless wrestling as the cage bout is unsanctioned. Ospreay spoke about the risks of getting into a cage match against the Death Riders: “I am comfortable taking these risks because this place means so much to me.”
Ospreay said this weekend’s cage match was about revenge. It was at this point that Moxley, alongside Marina Shafir, decided to join the conversation.
Moxley went nose-to-nose with Ospreay in the ring. Right after he did this, it became clear he wasn’t interested in talking – Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta appeared on the ring apron. Ospreay offered a challenge to Moxley for Sunday’s cage match: “If you want to get rid of me, don’t let your little boys do it. Do it yourself.”
The JetSpeed duo of Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey hit the ring to attack the Death Riders. Conveniently, Bailey and Knight were booked to face Death Riders trio of Moxley, Castagnoli, and Yuta tonight. Their partner, Hiroshi Tanahashi, also came to the ring, and the match started. A seamless transition from the opening segment to the first match.
Death Riders suffer trios loss ahead of Forbidden Door cage match
NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi continued his retirement tour in the opening bout of the night, teaming with Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey to take on Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli.
Referee Bryce Remsburg was quick to resist Death Riders schenanigans, ejecting Marina Shafir from ringside just minutes into the contest. Will Ospreay, who was in the opening segment, reappeared on the stage to pick up Shafir and carry her backstage.
The Death Riders had a strong start to the match, doing a good job of isolating members of the babyface trio in their corner. Knight started building to a hot tag after taking out Castagnoli with a huge dropkick.
Tanahashi got into the match against Yuta as the bout neared its 10-minute mark. Tanahashi came running off the ropes with an elbow, then knocked both Moxley and Castagnoli off the ring apron. The NJPW President came flying off the middle rope with a senton to Yuta, earning him only a two-count.
Moxley and Castagnoli hit the ring, but were handled by the JetSpeed duo, leaving it to just Tanahashi and Yuta once again. Tanahashi hit a Slingblade and then tried for a follow-up move, but was stopped by the rest of the Death Riders.
The babyface team hit stereo Twist and Shouts against the Death Riders. Tanahashi tried for a High Fly Flow, but was stopped by the Bullet Club War Dogs (Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, and Robbie X), who appeared at ringside and were able to knock him off-balance as the referee wasn’t looking.
Ospreay re-emerged on the stage with a bodybag presumably holding Shafir, distracting the War Dogs. After JetSpeed took out Castagnoli and Moxley with dual dives to the outside, Tanahashi tossed Yuta off the ropes then scored with his High Fly Flow for the pinfall win in 11 minutes.
The Death Riders and Bullet Club War Dogs, who had a significant numbers advantage over the babyfaces involved, initiated a post-match beatdown. Ospreay, who remained on the stage, got taken out by Superkicks from The Young Bucks, who appeared from behind. Paragon appeared on the ramp and brawled into the backstage area with the Bucks.
The Death Riders opened the bodybag expecting to see Shafir, but instead it was Darby Allin who exploded out of the bag, beginning to attack them. Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata hit the ring to help the babyfaces get control of the brawl. The fight went into the crowd, where Allin wiped out a mob of wrestlers with a massive Coffin Drop from the top of a mezzanine.
Nick Wayne announces injury, reveals returning star as replacement for Forbidden Door
Adam Copeland and Christian Cage, who will reunite at Forbidden Door on Sunday, were brought out for an interview with Tony Schiavone.
Cage started to tell the Glasgow crowd to shut up, but was stopped by Copeland. “Come on, these people love us,” said Copeland, trying to get through to his long-time tag partner.
Copeland said that Cage is an asshole, “but sometimes you need an asshole. And it just so happens that he’s my asshole.” A confused look from Copeland conveyed that he could’ve worded that better.
Cage was asked if he had “found” himself. He said he has: “I don’t need to change a thing,” he said. “I am perfect just the way I am.”
Cage said that he’s not on the same page with Copeland, but they’re at least “in the same book.” He noted that they’re working together to help work on each other’s problems: Cage’s beef with Kip Sabian and Nick Wayne, and Copeland’s issue with FTR.
Cage told Copeland that he can’t promise that they’ll do anything beyond their current agreement, but until then, he’ll be the best tag partner for him possible. They shook hands.
Kip Sabian and Mother Wayne appeared on the stage to interrupt the interview. Why wasn’t Nick Wayne with them? We found out moments later. A video played where Wayne, holding crutches, explained that he suffered a broken foot during their brawl last week. “You took Forbidden Door away from me!” he shouted.
Luckily, The Matriarchy had a backup plan. Who came in to replace him? Luchasaurus, a.k.a Killswitch! The masked wrestler came to the ring, where he wiped out Copeland with a chokeslam, then, after a prolonged staredown with former boss Cage, also gave him a Chokeslam.
For those who forgot, Killswitch has been out of the ring since September, when he suffered a case of pneumonia in both lungs. It was announced that Killswitch will replace Wayne in a tag match this weekend, teaming with Sabian to face off against Copeland and Cage. He’ll be wrestling for the first time since All In 2024 when he appears on Sunday.
Backstage, Mark Briscoe was seen warning MJF that he’s looking for him.
After the break, a Ricochet promo was interrupted by MJF. He asked if Ricochet could team up with him to hunt Briscoe tonight. “Mark Briscoe, he irks me, and I think we owe him a little something,” Ricochet said before shaking hands with MJF.
30-minute tag team draw forces special three-way booking for Forbidden Door
The second bout of the night saw the team of Bandido and Brody King take on Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood of FTR in the grand finals of AEW’s World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Tournament. The winner of this bout was scheduled to challenge The Hurt Syndicate for the promotion’s top tag titles at Forbidden Door this weekend.
Bandido caused FTR to catch a breather four minutes into the match after sending both of the former champs out of the ring with dropkicks. A frustrated Harwood threw a pair of steel chairs into the ring.
The babyface duo continued to control the early minutes of the match, with Bandido having a solid start, then King continuing to control the fight after. FTR started to climb back into the fight at the seven-minute mark, when a strike at ringside from the cast of Stokely Hathaway knocked out King, sending him flying out of the ring. Commentary hypothesized that Hathaway had a loaded cast, causing King to start bleeding from the forehead as the show went to a commercial break.
A bloodied King gave a hot take to Bandido right as the show returned from a break. Bandido took on both FTR members, at one point scoring with a Code Red onto Harwood for a two-count.
Bandido sent both of FTR to the outside, allowing him to come flying over the top for a dive. But things didn’t go as planned: FTR caught him on the outside, then threw the luchador chest-first onto the ring apron.
FTR started to heckle the crowd at ringside as they regained control of the fight. Adding insult to injury, they also started pouring a water bottle onto Bandido. Back in the ring, Bandido and Harwood battled in the corner of the ring. Bandido was able to send Harwood crashing to the mat after a series of chops, then connected with a crossbody. Bandido and Harwood continued to battle it out as the match went to another break, just past the 16th minute.
20 minutes deep, the show returned as Bandido was once again battling against both members of FTR in the ring. After a double DDT, Bandido finally had the room to tag King back into the match.
Covered from forehead to chin with blood, King hit the ring to take on both FTR members. He stacked both opponents in the corner for a splash, then a cannonball. King connected with a pop-up powerbomb to Harwood, but Wheeler cut off a follow-up pin attempt. King sent both FTR members to the outside, then wiped them out with a dive off the ring apron. Bandido dove over the ropes and to the outside onto Harwood, then King gave a crossbody to Wheeler, who was propped up against a barricade.
Bandido brought Harwood back into the ring. After a slight distraction from Hathaway, Bandido came off the top rope with a five-star frogsplash. However, it wasn’t enough to put away Harwood.
Wheeler took out King at ringside, throwing him into a ringpost, then scoring a DDT. Harwood started to climb back into control of the match in the ring. FTR tried for their double-team superplex spot, but Brodido reversed it: Bandido scored a superplex as King put Wheeler in a sleeper.
Brodido tried for their own Power and Glory after King tagged back in, but FTR stopped it. Harwood delivered a super-german suplex then Wheeler followed up with a frogsplash, but it only gave them a near fall.
A five-minute warning for the match was delivered at this point. King came running off the ropes but ate a Shatter Machine. Luckily, Bandido had tagged into the match moments later, so a stunned King couldn’t be pinned. Bandido tried for a pair of roll-up pins onto Wheeler, but neither worked.
Harwood tagged back in and came flying off the ropes with an inverted Doomsday Device for another two-count. The Glasgow crowd was giving the near falls big reactions at this point.
King interrupted another Shatter Machine attempt. He started battling on the ring apron with Harwood, eventually sending him to the mat with a chop. King tried for a piledriver on the apron onto Wheeler, but instead ate a double-team piledriver from FTR.
Bandido came flying off the top and to the outside onto FTR with a moonsault. Bandido rolled Harwood back into the ring with two minutes to go. Harwood avoided a moonsault off the top. FTR tried for a Shatter Machine, but Bandido reversed the move into a DDT to Wheeler.
Bandido tried for a 21-Plex onto both FTR members, but both attempts were stopped. FTR scored with a shatter machine, but King got back into the ring to break up a pin attempt.
With a minute left in the match, FTR pulled a table out from under the ring and leaned it on a barricade at ringside. After a series of misdirections, Wheeler tried for a dive to the outside onto Bandido but missed, going through the table he propped up moments later. T
he bell went as the match hit the 30-minute time limit. Bandido scored a 21-Plex to Wheeler in the ring, but the result had already been decided: It was a draw. Due to this outcome, it was confirmed that both finalist teams will go on to challenge The Hurt Syndicate at Forbidden Door on Sunday night.
Quite the stellar matchup, but the teams will have to lick their wounds quickly and prepare for their title shot, which is just days away.
MJF blackmails Hangman Page into special Forbidden Door stipulations
Before the main event of the night, AEW World Champion Handman Adam Page hit the ring to address his title fight this weekend against MJF.
Page said there’s no point in calling out MJF to come to the ring because he’s an “insecure, gutless coward.” He warned MJF about how badly he’s going to beat him on Sunday. At this point, MJF’s music hit. But, MJF was nowhere to be found!
A confused Page looked around after MJF’s music cut off. Tony Schiavone got on the microphone and said that MJF has a camera backstage and a message for him, but it comes with a stipulation: If Page leaves the ring before he finishes his message, “something very bad is going to happen.”
We then saw MJF holding a camera backstage. He showed that, with the help of Ricochet and the Gates of Agony, they have tied up Mark Briscoe to a chair and duct-taped his mouth. MJF said he has three requests that Page must agree to for Sunday, or else he’s going to light Briscoe on fire.
The three demands: 1) The title can change hands via disqualification 2) The title can change hands via count-out 3) MJF does not need to use his Casino Gauntlet Battle Royal contract for the title match.
Covered in gasoline, Briscoe was going to be set on fire if Page didn’t give in to the demand within five seconds.
“Fine! Fine! You got it! Fine!” Page said.
“See you at Forbidden Door, Hangman,” MJF said. “Congratulations, you’re still a hero.”
After a little bit of old-fashioned kidnapping, MJF has quite the challenger-friendly title bout set for Sunday night.
Page found Ricochet backstage, blasting him in the back with a chair, then demanding to be told where MJF went. A frustrated Hangman floored a security guard with a right hand before storming out of the venue.
Mercedes Moné, Athena pick up win before title appearances on Sunday night
The main event of the night was an all-star lineup: TBS Champion Mercedes Moné teamed with ROH Women’s World Champion Athena to take on AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm and Alex Windsor.
Commentary confirmed that Moné’s four-way match at Forbidden Door will be against AEW’s Windsor, CMLL’s Persephone, and STARDOM’s Bozilla, the last of whom was just revealed on Wednesday morning.
Athena hit a nasty tope suicida to the outside five minutes into the match, landing on Windsor but also hitting the commentary table with some force. As Moné celebrated the move, she was sent off the apron from a hip attack from Storm. Athena then took out Storm with a powerbomb onto the mat.
Windsor lunged off the ring apron with a cannonball onto both Moné and Athena just before the show went to its final commercial break.
Storm got a hot tag into the match as the show came back from a break. She got back into the ring against her Forbidden Door opponent, Athena, whom she took down with a Thesz Press.
Storm bridged a Fisherman Suplex into a pin attempt, but only earned a two. She tagged back in Windsor, who took out Athena with an elbow, then knocked Moné off the ring apron. Windsor got a two-count on Athena with a short-arm lariat.
Storm tagged into the match again and tried for a double-team move, but it was interrupted by Moné, who knocked Windsor out of the corner. Storm got taken out by a Codebreaker from Athena, then hit with a backstabber by Moné, who just tagged back into the match.
Windsor interrupted a Statement Maker from Moné, but as the referee wasn’t looking, the heel duo was able to pick on Storm, keeping them in control of the match. Storm found space after hitting a DDT to Athena, eventually tagging Windsor in against Moné.
Windsor landed a Russian legsweep and then a short lariat, but the TBS Champion stayed in the fight. Moné was hit with a Blue Thunderbomb, but a follow-up pin attempt was broken up by Athena.
Athena and Storm fought to ringside, where the ROH champ delivered a gnarly piledriver onto the steel stairs. Back in the ring, Windsor and Moné traded roll-up pin attempts. Windsor reversed a move from Moné into a Samoan Drop. During this exchange, Athena sneakily tagged back into the bout but didn’t enter the ring yet.
Windsor locked in a Sharpshooter and Moné started to tap, but referee Aubrey Edwards had some unfortunate news to deliver: Moné wasn’t the legal member of the match.
Off the top came Athena, who scored an O-Face for the pinfall win at 16 minutes. Defending champ Moné and challenger Athena have all the momentum heading into Sunday. Moné got into it at ringside with CMLL’s Persephone just before the show went off air.
