Zack Sabre Jr. got the best of Nigel McGuinness after a 17-minute battle, extending his reign as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
Sabre Jr.’s win took place at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door at The O2 in London, England on Sunday night.
Sabre Jr. vs. McGuinness was back-and-forth right until the finishing sequence, where the technicians exchanged pin attempts. It was eventually a roll-up from Sabre Jr. that found the three count, bringing an end to the contest.
McGuinness has made infrequent appearances on AEW programming since All In 2024, when he ended a 13-year retirement from the ring. Mostly working as a commentator for AEW on a week-to-week basis, McGuinness earned himself a shot at the IWGP title after winning a four-way against Hechicero, Lee Moriarty, and Daniel Garcia earlier this month on Collision.
Garcia cornered McGuinness on Sunday night, hoping to support the veteran in his attempt to earn wrestling gold for the first time since 2009.
Sabre Jr., who had never faced McGuinness in one-on-one action prior to Sunday night, has held the top NJPW title since late June, when he put an end to Hirooki Goto’s reign. Sabre Jr. wrapped up his run in the G1 Climax earlier this month, getting eliminated in the semi-finals by tournament winner Konosuke Takeshita.
AEW announced an attendance of 18,992 for the event during the post-match.
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)
