All Elite Wrestling's Forbidden Door is the rare pro wrestling event built entirely around cross-promotional competition: wrestlers from AEW, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Stardom share a single card, creating one of the most internationally diverse nights the sport produces. The 2026 edition arrives at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, with a Buy In at 7 p.m. ET and the main card at 8 p.m. ET, featuring five championship matches and the finals of both the Owen Hart Foundation Men's and Women's Tournaments.
Why the Card Carries Unusual Stakes
The Owen Hart Foundation brackets add a layer beyond the title matches. The women's final pairs Mercedes Moné against Maya World, with a shot at the AEW Women's World Championship at All In on the line — Moné entered the tournament as a wild card and has built momentum through the bracket. The men's final sends Will Ospreay against Swerve Strickland, with the winner booked to main event All In at Wembley Stadium. Both tournaments funnel directly into AEW's marquee event, meaning Forbidden Door is as much a selection committee as a standalone show.
Championship Matches to Watch
Jon Moxley has held the AEW Continental Championship since Worlds End in December, and his defense against Bandido carries a faction dimension: if Moxley loses alongside a possible Pac victory over IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Shota Umino, The Death Riders faction would be stripped of all title holdings. Umino won the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship from Andrade in a three-way match at Dominion earlier this month, making San Jose his first major defense.
On the women's side, Megan Bayne and Lena Kross — the Divine Dominion — defend the AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship against Thunder Rosa and CMLL's Olympia. Thekla, who declared war on Stardom and New Japan following Double or Nothing and put three challengers away at the last pay-per-view, defends against former Stardom champion Starlight Kid with Neo Genesis in Starlight's corner.
The Steel Cage Match and Main Event Implications
The closing match of the evening doubles as a gateway. AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman has placed procedural obstacles between Mark Briscoe and a championship challenge; the resolution is a steel cage match pitting Team Briscoe — Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Kyle O'Reilly, Konosuke Takeshita, and Darby Allin — against Team MJF, which includes Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Jake Doyle, Kazuchika Okada, and Andrade El Idolo. A Team Briscoe victory earns Briscoe his title shot.
Elsewhere on the card, Kenny Omega faces Zack Sabre Jr. in a match that requires no additional framing from either promotion — both are considered among the best active wrestlers in the world. The triple-threat tag match featuring the Young Bucks, Místico and Máscara Dorada, and Shingo Takagi and Titán puts AEW, CMLL, and NJPW talent on the same platform simultaneously, which is Forbidden Door's foundational promise made visible.