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THE FORBIDDEN DOOR IS KICKED OPEN
WHAT IS A Forbidden Door? It can be a door you enter at your own risk, or, once the door is closed, everything you see and hear must remain forever behind the door. This year, the term entered the lexicon of professional wrestling, where it meant something a bit different.
The most prominent example of the Forbidden Door was the AEW-IMPACT storyline. It was hardly a Forbidden Door in reality, as AEW President Tony Khan gave his blessing and IMPACT Executive Vice President Don Callis gave Kenny Omega the key. Yet Callis still shocked the industry by helping Omega beat Jon Moxley for the AEW World title and then encouraging him to pursue the IMPACT World championship.
Omega appeared on the December 8, 2020, edition of IMPACT and in the six-man main event of the promotion’s January 2021 pay-per-view, Hard to Kill. At Rebellion on April 25, Omega executed four V-Triggers and a One-Winged Angel to defeat Rich Swann for the IMPACT title.
“Have we ushered in a brand-new era in the world of pro wrestling, or have we just opened Pandora’s box?!” exclaimed guest commentator Mauro Ranallo. Omega, who had already defeated Fenix for the AAA Mega championship way back at Heroes Immortales in 2019, became the most decorated wrestler in the world.
As Ranallo suggested, the question became this: Who else would kick through the Forbidden Door?
IMPACT Knockouts champion Deonna Purrazzo sought to join Omega in the belt collector’s club, traveling to the Mexico City Arena, where she defeated Faby Apache for the Reina de Reinas title at Triplemania 29. While Purrazzo expressed interest in pursuing the NWA and ROH Women’s titles, the stars didn’t align for “The Virtuosa” as they had for Omega.
And, while the signings of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and Adam Cole weren’t exactly Forbidden Door situations—nor were special appearances by Nick Gage, Juventud Guerrera, Minoru Suzuki, and Jay Lethal—AEW became must-see TV by providing one mouth-dropping surprise after another.
An entirely legitimate example of kicking open the Forbidden Door was Chris Jericho’s appearance on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions, which aired on Peacock.
At the beginning of the two-hour special, Austin noted that he had contacted Vince McMahon, who surprised him by stating it was a “great idea,” and then Austin and Jericho went on to discuss taboo topics, including Jericho’s departure from WWE and the rise of AEW. It was a perfect storm of events that allowed the program to happen, including McMahon’s respect for Jericho and the opportunity to gain new subscriptions for Peacock.
But it made the impossible seem possible: that WWE would work with AEW if it made sense.
The Forbidden Door was tantalizing for even WWE, as evidenced by reports that WWE President Nick Khan had been negotiating with New Japan Pro-Wrestling to send WWE stars to Japan and vice versa. Roman Reigns vs. Kazuchika Okada? Just imagine!
WWE RETHINKS TALENT DEVELOPMENT APPROACH
NXT WAS THE preferred brand of wrestling diehards and . Its TakeOver events set new standards for the industry. Triple H discussed wide-ranging touring plans. In 2019, NXT was such a hot property that WWE and USA Network gave it two hours on Wednesday nights to counter , which was slated to premiere a few weeks later. NXT dominated the Raw and Smackdown brands at the 2020 Survivor Series.
