AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 Post-Show Media Scrum: Mercedes Mone on Inspiring Women Worldwide, Kyle Fletcher on Transition from Tag to Singles Wrestler, Brody King on His “Abolish ICE” Shirt, Continental Classic to be Part of AEW’s Next UK Tour, New Rule for Casino Gauntlet Contract Cash-Ins

AEW held a post-show media scrum following Sunday’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 event at The O2 in London, England.

Some of the notable highlights included:

• During her portion of the media scrum, TBS Champion Mercedes Mone stated that she felt that she was owed a celebration on Dynamite for her recent performances and success, which AEW CEO Tony Khan seemed to agree with the idea.
• On the topic of how she feels that despite her achievements that she doesn’t have the AEW Women’s World Championship for her belt collection, Mone stated “We don’t talk about my past. We talk about my now and my future. Next question, please.”
• On the topic of her inspiring women worldwide for wrestling, Mone stated “I love my Krew and the people that see what I’m doing and what I’ve always wanted to do; make women’s wrestling global. Make people care about what we do. About women’s wrestling. We are the best at what we do. The greatest. I get to do that. I get to chase that, because I am the greatest and I want to be better than the greatest. I was to leave a legacy that cannot be undone. That’s what I want to do. I get to have so many opportunities and blessings thanks to AEW. I get to achieve this goal and wrestle amazing women that I never thought or believed I would ever wrestle. They are on my ass and making a name for themselves. People are talking about them. That’s what I want. I want people to know that women’s wrestling is the best and we are number one and we belong. All Elite Women are here. We are the greatest and this is the greatest women’s roster because I am the greatest TBS Champion. It means everything to inspire these girls because they are bringing it at these shows. Every time I meet one of these women, they tell me, ‘Thank you so much for your matches. It inspired me to be who I am.’ I just celebrated my ten-year anniversary of the Brooklyn match. That is the number one match that girls come up to me and say, ‘Because of that match, I’m a professional wrestler.’ Now, I get to wrestle them. It means everything to me. I can feel the inspiration. I feel it when I fight them. It is the greatest feeling in the world.“
• On the topic of Mone potentially headlining a future AEW pay-per-view event, Tony Khan responded stating that a rematch between Moné and Toni Storm would be a “stellar headliner” for the promotion.
• During his portion of the media scrum, TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher stated that his goal is to become the best TNT Champion ever and sees his current reign as an “existing challenge” for him.
• On the topic of his transition from a tag team wrestler to a singles wrestler, Fletcher stated “I think one of the challenging parts of being in a renowned tag team is it’s like if one person goes down, you’re kind of at a standstill, right? So, I think Davis, Mark Davis, has had some bad luck with injuries, honestly. Some of the worst luck and it sucks for me as a friend to see that. But, from a career perspective, every time that would happen, it was a standstill for me as well, and I think it was just lucky that Tony (Khan) saw something in me and gave me an opportunity when Davis got hurt and from there, I just wanted to do the best I could with everything I was given and just make the most out of everything. So yeah, it was just that and then, the opportunities got bigger and bigger, slowly and slowly and hopefully I just kept smashing ‘em out of the park and yeah, it kind of just very naturally got to the point that it is now, which is pretty cool.“
• During their portion of the media scrum, AEW World Tag Team Champions Brodido’s Brody King stated that his friendship with Bandido dates back eight years and their bond isn’t as new as their new tag team would suggest.
• Tony Khan gifted Bandido a signed Fulham jersey from Mexican-born player Raul Jimenez, which Bandido was very surprised and excited to receive. Bandido thanked Khan and praised Jimenez and gave a shout out to Fullham over the gift.
• On the topic of his decision to wear an “Abolish ICE” shirt he wore at AEW’s Grand Slam Mexico event this past June, King stated “I came from a punk rock, hardcore background. That stuff is normal in our world. Speaking on injustice is important to me. I appreciate that I work for a company that allows us to have our own voice, whether I ask for it or not [laughs]. Thank you, Tony. Using your platform for good or to help in any capacity is the right thing to do.“
• During his portion of the media scrum, AEW CEO Tony Khan gave his thoughts about Forbidden Door 2025 breaking the all-time attendance record for a wrestling event at The O2 stating that it means so much to break the record and how it was important to not just set the record with AEW but to do so alongside NJPW as well.
• On the topic of AEW’s return to the United Kingdom later this year, Khan announced that this year’s Continental Classic tournament will take place as part of AEW’s tour of the U.K. this December.
• On the topic of MJF going back on his word to cash-in his Men’s Casino Gauntlet match contract but still getting a match against Hangman Adam Page for the AEW World Championship, Khan stated “I think it’s important to promote championship matches. I don’t want to have a big ticket championship match that we are unable to advertise. I don’t necessarily want to utilize a stipulation here that is being utilized other places. I’m not trying to duplicate what other people are doing. I really believe we are our own promotion. Going forward, from now on, I think the right thing to do is that all contract executions should be on at least a week’s notice so that we can properly promote the matches and give the fans notice and have the integrity of a championship match. I think it’s the best for us and our media partners.“
• On the topic of how women’s wrestling in AEW has changed, Khan stated that he believes the quality of wrestlers in the Women’s division has grown significantly over the past few years for the reason.
• On the topic of if AEW’s weekly programming has been hitting the one-million viewership mark due to their shows similcasting on TBS/TNT and HBO MAX, Khan stated that he doesn’t know the exact numbers. Khan stated that all he knows is that they are among the top sports shows on MAX.
• On the topic of if his creative process has changed over the years, Khan stated that in the past, AEW has been booked in two different ways. Khan stated in the past it was mostly just his input and with input from a tons of other names. Khan also stated that heading into this year, he believes he tried to strike something more of a middle ground where he listens to the opinions of many but going into those conversations with an outline of where he wants to go with storylines.

Full AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2025 post-show media scrum video:

Source: PostWrestling.com, Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, & 4