AEW CEO Tony Khan held a media scrum today to promote this Sunday’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026 event at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Some of the notable highlights included:
- On the topic of AEW’s new Redemption event in Montreal this July, Khan stated that there is excitement about adding Redemption to AEW’s yearly pay-per-view events calendar. Khan also confirmed that Redemption would not be eliminating an already existing PPV month for AEW.
- On the topic of the status of the ROH World Tag Team Championship for Forbidden Door, Khan stated that the titles were not factored in the booking of the Young Bucks vs. Sky Team vs. Unbound Co. Three-way match at the event. Khan also gave a non-answer about if the titles would be on the line at Forbidden Door if Sky Team defeats LFI for it at CMLL’s upcoming Super Viernes show.
- On the topic of expansion plans for the MyAEW streaming service, Khan stated that there have been some conversations with AEW’s partners about potentially more global access to the service for their events.
- On the topic of MyAEW being a potential broadcaster for indies events during the weekend of a big AEW event and for a weekend in 2027 when WrestleMania 43 emirates from Saudi Arabia, Khan stated “Absolutely, yes. I do think there’s a lot of interest in having a number of these promotions come and promote around an AEW (show) and to your point, I do expect some things like that, even potentially around All In. I think there’s gonna be a lot of great events around All In. I know there will be a lot of events in England and I know promoters have reached out about putting their events on MyAEW to grow their viewership and collaborate in anticipation of what’s going to be, I think, the biggest night in wrestling this year and certainly is going to be a huge event and the most-attended wrestling show in England…”
- On the topic of interest in library acquisition such as Lucha Underground and PWG, Khan stated he is interested in promoting companies and their wrestlers but buying a library depends on the situation. Khan also brought up that the only one he’s ever done is Ring of Honor.
- On the topic of visas issues affecting the original plans for this year’s Forbidden Door event, Khan stated “There are a number of wrestlers that were factored in, coming from countries all over the world, that I’m looking forward to their return, that are not here and available right now. It speaks to the great depth of the AEW roster that we’ve been putting on tremendous TV every Wednesday and Saturday doing four hours of what I believe is very strong television and that we have such an exciting pay-per-view card without a lot of the great stars available. There are a number of stars in Mexico right now, some great wrestlers that I would love to have here, not have their visa in recent weeks. That would include Beast Mortos, Komander, Hechicero and going through visa renewal with a number of the wrestlers down there as well, that I have not mentioned yet, and we also have had challenges with a number of other international wrestlers. I was hoping to have Gabe Kidd here and Gabe Kidd also was another wrestler going through the renewal process. One that I expect that very soon… On the Global Wars show tonight, representing AEW, and defending the title all over the world is the National Champion Mark Davis and Mark Davis will be back very soon but he’s been away… I would expect Mark back possibly sooner than some of the other people I named. But hopefully, all those people will get everything worked out soon. In the case of Beast Mortos, it’s been innovative. I realized that if Beast Mortos could not come here, a great thing would be for Sammy Guevara to go to CMLL and defend the Tag Team Championship with The Beast Mortos… There’s also been wrestlers from STARDOM that have not been able to come in at some of the scheduled dates I would have preferred but honestly, STARDOM has been the best partner in terms of having the visas organized and getting people in or set to have Starlight Kid this weekend and seems like they have not run into a lot of issues there, and then also, a number of injuries… Also a number of injuries across a number of women and men that I would have liked to participate in the event have changed a lot of things so between the aforementioned visa issues and injuries, it’s been changes but, thankfully, it’s a really strong card and I feel really good about it.”
- On the topic of “Timeless” Toni Storm, Jay White, Keith Lee, and Britt Baker’s abscesses, Khan stated that they are in different positions and some are closer to returning than others.
- On the topic of Maya World’s recent work in AEW, Khan gave his praise of World and stated that she was offered time off after the tragic death of her brother which everyone would have been okay with had she taken it but she wanted to go to work.
- On the topic of Jungle Jack Perry’s expiring contract, Khan stated that the current plan is for Perry to stay in AEW for a long time. Khan did not confirm if Perry had signed a new deal or not yet.
- On the topic of Bushiroad transferring their ownership of New Japan Pro Wrestling to TV Asashi and CyberAgent, Khan stated is was “an interesting transaction and something to keep an eye on” and there has been no change in terms of how AEW works with NJPW since the change since it’s the same administration he worked with earlier this year and last year in Hiroshi Tanahashi and Gedo. Khan also stated that he is looking forward to working with the new owners and keeping the continuity.
- On the topic of Willow Nightingale’s shoulder injury recovery, Khan stated “We’ll be following Willow’s progress in the weeks to come as she’s recovering. We’re all looking forward to her return, which I think will happen relatively soon.“
- On the topic of the potential of free agents showing up at Forbidden Door, Khan stated that a lot of the rumored names linked to AEW are still under contract to other promotions and he wouldn’t expect to see them at the event.
- On the topic of future new big markets for AEW, Khan stated “Absolutely. That’s a tremendous question. Puerto Rico is a priority market in the future. There could be a number of great opportunities. There’s a lot of great partnership possibilities, and Puerto Rico’s a legendary wrestling market so, I am very interested in that, and there’s such great fans in Puerto Rico. They love wrestling and it’s a great tradition and absolutely, I’m very interested in that… It would be a great opportunity for us in the future as we continue to visit new territories.”
- On the topic of Sareee being pulled from the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Cup tournament due to her not being medically cleared from her neck injury issues by AEW doctors, Khan stated Sareee came to AEW ready to wrestle against Skye Blue and was armed with clearance from her doctor. Khan also stated that AEW medical personnel didn’t clear her due to they didn’t feel it was safe for her to wrestle that night in the Owen Hart tournament. Khan also stated that he currently hopes to have Sareee debut at some point in the future for AEW.
- On the topic of Stardom and CMLL talent being involved in this year’s Forbidden Door event, Khan stated that Starlight Kid is someone he’s asked about for years and always wanted to have in AEW.
- On the topic of his interest on potentially purchasing TNA Wrestling for its rumored $40 million asking price, Khan stated “No. It has value. It would have to be the right price. The video library has a lot of great wrestlers over the years. Certainly not the top priority for me as an acquisition right now. It’s not something I’ve had any serious conversations about. Like a lot of things in life, it could be an interesting purchase if the price was right, but isn’t that true of so many things in life? There are a lot of excellent automobiles that I would love to have in my garage, but it would depend on the price. At ($40 million), no, absolutely not.”
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026 media scrum full audio: F4WOnline.com
Source: PostWrestling.com, F4WOnline.com 1 & 2, Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5
Aiden Prince Departs from TNA
Team MJF and Team Briscoe Promo Segments Set for 6/24 AEW Dynamite Show
Jim Ross Hospitalization for Undisclosed Medical Issue Update – Ross Says He Will De Discharged Soon
