Ricky Havlik

AEW returned to London on Sunday evening for AEW Forbidden Door 2025 from the O2 Arena — a card that very much felt like the end of a chapter for the promotion’s current form. Both Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay were victims of beatdowns that played on real-life injuries, while Cope and Christian Cage reunited, and Athena stumbled on her way to becoming AEW Women’s World Champion.

Here are the biggest takeaways from London after AEW captured the largest crowd ever for a pro-wrestling event at the O2 Arena.

1. In a match full of stars, Will Ospreay earned the spotlight

With AEW pay-per-views, it’s basically a given that you’re getting exceptional matches and absolute brutality at this point. Sunday’s headlining match lived up to the hype with blood, violence and callbacks to rivalries old and new. Darby Allin was the recipient of some of the match’s most insane spots, being subject to a toss from the ring to the cage, getting tied up and beaten, having a fork stabbed through his ear, and falling backward with Gabe Kidd from the top of the cage through six tables. AEW played all the hits as the Golden Lovers had a showdown with the Young Bucks, Jon Moxley found his way into a barbed-wire board, and Hiroshi Tanahashi capped an insane match with a pinfall victory.

While the match provided moments for essentially every competitor to shine, the long-term impact was focused on Will Ospreay. He has implied of late that he needs neck surgery — and that feels like it’ll happen sooner rather than later after Moxley leveled him over and again with a slew of post-match Paradigm Shifts. Make no mistake, Ospreay was the star and focal point for this match, from the entrance to the win and what happened afterward. And as the AEW World Championship scene keeps its focus on Hangman Adam Page and MJF, Ospreay remains the eternal underdog whose eventual title win will be a monumental moment.

2. Athena should be more than a one-and-done challenger

For more than a year, Athena’s positioning in Ring of Honor — and lack thereof in AEW — have been hot topics in the wrestling world. Why one of the brightest stars under the AEW umbrella couldn’t find a spot in marquee AEW storylines was unclear. She wasn’t involved in AEW All In: Texas until days before the show, yet went on to win the world championship contract for a shot against Toni Storm.

The decision to hot-shot Athena into her championship match just a month later seemed like a moment of destiny. At the All In post-event press conference, Athena mentioned she’s here to stay. And while she was certainly competitive against Storm, Athena falling short was an unfortunate consequence of Storm’s evolution into one of the best acts going. Athena never needed to shoot up the AEW roster. She could have worked her way into a title shot and cashed in her contract further down the road. Instead, we’ll have to see if she follows the paths of fellow Storm fallen challengers like Megan Bayne, Mina Shirakawa and Mercedes Moné as one-and-done threats to the belt.

3. Cope and Christian are back

Adam Copeland blew the roof off the O2 Arena in what amounted to a perfect kickoff to Sunday’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view card. The pacing of the match was interesting, as Killswitch and Kip Sabian’s dysfunction took center stage and became more of a focal point compared to the reunion of Cope and Christian Cage. But Cope and Cage didn’t miss a beat, with the latter setting up a spear from Cope for the pinfall finish.

The fallout becomes a bit more complex than simply reuniting Cope and Cage en route to a future tag-team title shot. The in-ring dynamic between the duo is the same as it was in their glory years, but it feels like the emotional connection they shared remains fractured.

With Nick Wayne on the shelf due to injury, it’ll also be fascinating to see where Killswitch and Sabian go from here. Just a week after Killswitch’s return to AEW, it feels like the wheels are falling off the faction. Could a Luchasaurus comeback be on the way following an extended absence from Jack Perry? Perhaps I’m reading tea leaves a little too much, but the decision to reunite the Matriarchy with Killswitch only to have a massive breakdown a week later feels like a few steps are to follow.

4. Brody King and Bandido rise to the occasion

AEW has done a great job capturing lightning in a bottle in the tag-team division, but has also been guilty of not pulling the trigger quick enough in the past. Moments for tag teams like the Acclaimed and Private Party didn’t feel quite as big when they won the titles as it did when it felt like they were going to win.

What was surprising about this one was that King and Bandido felt destined to be the ones eating the pin. The Hurt Syndicate wouldn’t have been a surprise to retain the titles, and FTR against Cope and Christian Cage next month in Toronto would have made sense from a storyline and big-match perspective. Both King and Bandido feel destined for the main event as solo acts, but for now they’re putting together a really fantastic run as a top tag team.

5. MJF’s run to the world title is far from over

Considering MJF’s ability to simply get a title shot versus having to cash in his contract, it felt like shenanigans were inevitably going to ensue Sunday in his Forbidden Door match with AEW World Champion Page. In a vacuum, the booking change appeared to signal a title change and an unfortunately short run for Page as the face of AEW. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and Page overcame everything MJF threw at him, from a clipboard shot to the head to an attempt with the “Dynamite” diamond ring.

In retrospect, flexing as much out of this rivalry as possible and keeping MJF on the side chasing Page is brilliant. It should have always been that way and the pivot may have been the only way to get back there. MJF is at his best as a heel who will do whatever it takes to get gold. Now, with his only recourse being cashing in his title shot, there remains a level of uncertainty to what happens next and how the chase will remain hot.

6. Swerve rises, Wardlow takes a step back

Swerve Strickland has been the guy for AEW over the past few years, but a showdown against AEW Unified Champion Kazuchika Okada signaled Strickland rising to another level. The match had pace, was a big moment on the card, and played on real-life reporting (per Fightful Select) around a knee injury Strickland’s been dealing with that will likely require surgery at some point. The post-match thrashing of Strickland’s knee felt like a piece of a long-term story, whether Strickland misses time now or in the future.

Yet the decision to add Wardlow into a post-match beatdown of Prince Nana and a slew of security guards is baffling. Wardlow has transitioned between being the muscle and standing on his own more times than I can count, and this is a step back from where it looked like he was headed. Now a member of the Don Callis Family, Wardlow is just another muscle until proven otherwise.

Other thoughts:

– As much attention as Mercedes Moné has gotten as the belt collector — now holding nine titles across various promotions — she doesn’t get enough credit for how good she’s been in the ring. Her Fatal 4-Way match against Alex Windsor, Persephone and Bozilla felt like the most Forbidden Door-esque match on the card and really allowed her wrestling ability to shine against a variety of styles and abilities.

– Shortly after Nigel McGuinness made his return to the ring last year, he told me Zack Sabre Jr. was a dream match. And it turned out to be exceptional — a match very much rooted in technical ability. McGuinness showed he still has it and Sabre Jr. was just as good as he always is. The end felt like a turning point for McGuinness and Daniel Garcia, but perhaps that comes a bit later.

– Jamie Hayter’s unfortunate injury history has prevented her from reaching the top of the AEW women’s division since holding the belt in 2023. Sunday’s return alongside Queen Aminata presumably allows her to ease back into the fold — and hopefully with some good fortune and consistent time back in the ring, she’ll be in the mix for the main event soon.

– Kyle Fletcher is a massive star in the making. He’s on the short list for the most improved wrestler of 2025 and carries a mix of big wins, incredible matches and top physique. He looks every bit the part as AEW continues to emphasize building its roster as a collection of main event-level talents.