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AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2024
06/30/2024
UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay
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| A clash of champions. AEW |
There's a special kind of electricity that's felt when two wrestlers meet at similar frequencies; two competitors riding along parallel waves of momentum and success that feel near impossible to stop. The qualities that connect them are the same that separate them. Both champions, one the International, the other the Men's World Champion. They've both endeared themselves to the crowd, one for his ring mastery and pure perseverance, the other for his unlikely ascension to the top and willingness to do whatever it takes to hold onto his gold. Now, they arrive on the same stage, one defending, the other challenging. This collision is fuelled not by hatred or animosity, not by a long standing rivalry or desire to put the other out of the sport, but by the thrill of testing ones own ability against someone else operating on your level. A true challenge between equals.
For Ospreay, the AEW International Champion, this moment carries a great deal of weight. He's honouring his late grandmother, who he lost mere days prior to this match. He's paying respect through his entrance attire to Hyabusa, a wrestler who heavily influenced Ospreay's style of wrestling. But, almost more importantly than that, he's seeking to prove that he's ready. That regardless of what title he holds, regardless of what position on the card that may land him, Ospreay is ready to prove that he belongs at the very top of the mountain. He knows, deep down in his heart of hearts, that he can be a World Champion. One match, one opportunity, one moment. That's all he needs.
For Swerve, however, this may just be another day in the office. He's proven time and time again that he's ready, willing, and able to step across the proverbial line that most wrestlers wouldn't dare approach. Take, for instance, his rivalry with "Hangman" Adam Page. Most would not consider home invasion a reasonable thing to do against someone as renowned as the Hangman, but for Swerve? It didn't stop him for a second. Match after match, rival after rival, he's gone one step beyond to keep his championship around his waist, to ensure that his legacy, whether written in blood or bones, is extended as long as it possibly can be.
In the main event of AEW & New Japan's joint show "Forbidden Door 2024," Swerve and Ospreay need to be on top of their game. Bring their very best, ensure that they are ready to do whatever is necessary to bring home the most coveted prize in the sport; because they are certain their opponent will stop at nothing to win. It's rare that a wrestling match is ever a pairing of true equals, of two people that are almost a mirror image of the other. What's even rarer, is when the match is as good, or maybe even better, than most expect it to be.
Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay - AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door 2024
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Will Ospreay - International Champion
Signing with AEW in 2022, it seemed like a no-brainier for AEW to pick up one of the most popular and highly sought after wrestlers in the world. Still signed with NJPW at the time, Ospreay wouldn't work for the company full time until a short while later, making sporadic appearances for AEW as his time with New Japan was coming to a close. He spent time alongside Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open, members of the Ospreay-led faction of United Empire, competing in singles matches as well as trios tags for the newly minted AEW Trios Championships. Once Ospreay was fully with AEW, he stood alongside Don Callis as an early member of the Don Callis family, only staying with the family for just under a year.
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| Ospreay with his gold. AEW |
A move rarely done in AEW, reigning International Champion Will Ospreay challenged reigning AEW Men's World Champion Swerve Strickland to a match. Not title for title, but for Swerve's title, specifically. A championship that is, arguably, a step below the World Championship was being elevated to World Championship levels, with Ospreay elevating his prize to stand toe-to-toe with the top dog in AEW.
Swerve Strickland - AEW Men's World Champion
Signing with AEW in 2022 as well, Swerve was coming off the heels of a fairly mediocre and largely forgettable run with WWE. Relegated to NXT for his entire run before leaving the company and making brief indie appearances, Swerve wasn't really seen as a major "get" for AEW. He wasn't a proven commodity like Ospreay was, but maybe that's simply because he wasn't given the platform for his wings to spread and fully mature just yet. He spent time teaming with Keith Lee against Team Taz as well as competing in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor. The team dubbed "Swerve in our Glory" won the AEW Tag Team Championships off of the Young Bucks, only to lose them to The Acclaimed a few defences later. Lee and Swerve feuded briefly as Swerve would form the "Mogul Affiliates" group, which would later go on to be known as "Mogul Embassy."
From there, Swerve really started to come into his own as a wrestler. Developing a more brutal, violent edge, Swerve shone as the leader of Mogul Embassy, spending months trying to tear Sting and Darby Allin apart in whatever ways he could. Following that rivalry, Swerve would find himself against the man that, without a doubt, made his career into what it is today. That man? "Hangman" Adam Page. Getting under the skin of the former Men's World Champion, Swerve would pick up back-to-back victories over the Hangman, one of which coming by way of choking the life out of the Cowboy in one of the most insane Texas Death Matches the world has ever seen.
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| Swerve with his gold. AEW |
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The Match - Ospreay vs. Strickland
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| The stage is set. AEW |
There's a buzz in the air before the opening bell, with both men alone in the ring now, waiting for their sign to engage. Ospreay is focused and stoic, not letting the hugeness of this main event get to him. Swerve, on the other hand, is as confident as ever, a thin smile parting his lips as he shakes out his wrists and prepares himself for another defence of his championship. Surely, both men must understand the gravity of the match they are in, just how closely contested this will be, but neither of them are wearing an ounce of uncertainty on their faces. Confidence is the word of the hour, and both men are bleeding it from every pore.
They lock up like bulls in the centre, the tension heavy and pressure put on both men deep. Ospreay is backed into the ropes, but it takes some effort to break Swerve off of him, neither man wanting to relent an inch. Standing separate near the ropes, Ospreay's back against them still, there's a mutual amount of respect shared in this standoff. They're locked eye to eye, a mere foot apart, with Ospreay the first to make a move, lashing out with a forearm shot that shocks Swerve. They trade a few words back and forth, Swerve all but demanding Ospreay give him more, which he's happy to oblige.
They trade in the middle, with both men flipping out of attempted headscissors. Already, the crowd has risen to their feet, knowing they are witnessing something truly special start before their very eyes. Both men have each other scouted, with some of their best shots being ducked, dodged, or blocked outright. It's evident for all to see, both men are going to need to put in a solid shift to do anything to the other man.
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| A physical stalemate. AEW |
Holding the ropes after being shot into them, Ospreay sidesteps a charging Swerve and boots him off the apron, sending him down to the floor. Urging the crowd for support, Ospreay springboards himself over the top rope and crash lands on Swerve with a crossbody, doing his best to keep the pressure on. They brawl around the ring and back inside, with Ospreay gesturing as if he'd just ripped Swerve's heart out following a heavy handed chop in the corner. He makes a gesture as if he's taken a bite from the proverbial heart before tossing it to the floor, keeping the pressure on in the ring.
It looks as though Swerve is a full step behind, missing a corner splash, but he's not quite as out as you may think. With Ospreay taking to the middle rope this time, Swerve takes out the legs of Ospreay, leaving him to bounce off the top turnbuckle and land on his ass in the ring, leaving his back wide open for a big middle rope European uppercut from Swerve. A triplet of neckbreakers, with one in the ropes, gives Swerve the opening he was looking for. Cranking at Ospreay's head, Swerve has created a weakness and started to hone in on it. Ospreay fights free, able to land a handspring kick to the face of Swerve off a rope rebound.
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| Sniped! AEW |
Another crossbody to the floor is dodged by Swerve, with Ospreay landing on his feet not once, but twice! The second time coming after Swerve sends him into the barricade, with "Billy Goat" jumping off the top of the barricade to land on the floor. With a cocky smile, he waves at Swerve when he turns to face him, goading him in for a forearm shot. Both men standing on the barricade now, Swerve looks to go for a career-ending piledriver, but Ospreay fights out and rips Swerve down to the floor with an insane headscissors!
A phenomenal forearm follows Swerve inside the ring for the first cover of the match, with the champion able to escape at two. Swerve catches Ospreay off of a rope rebound and pulls him down into a cross armbreaker, not so much to force a submission, which is highly unlikely this early, but more to weaken Ospreay's offensive flurries. Ospreay flails and flops, using his long legs to snatch the bottom rope and escape from Swerve's grasp. Kneeling near the ropes, Ospreay holds his arm and collects himself, with Swerve already on his feet and marching towards his opponent. Dismissively, he kicks the chest and back of Ospreay, his face expressionless but his eyes locked on Will's, rage slowly overtaking his usually composed face.
Meeting in the middle, both vertical, they trade heavy, heavy forearm shots back and forth. Eating a Swerve uppercut, Ospreay halts his momentum with a backflip-kick off of the chest of Swerve, with both men firing their absolute best shots off in quick succession. Swerve fires off a kick, going for the House Call, with Ospreay avoiding at the last second. With Swerve on the canvas, Ospreay lines him off and rockets with the Hidden Blade, with Swerve doing his very best Matrix impression to duck the shot!
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| As close as you can get! AEW |
Catching Swerve for a powerbomb, Ospreay holds him down for a quick pin, but when Swerve kicks out, Ospreay has a backup plan! Not letting him go, he instead pulls Swerve up and into the Styles Clash! He drops him stomach first on the canvas, rolling him around for another pin but it's still not enough! With both men on their feet again, they go for the corner at the same time, each taking to the middle rope and springboarding out for... something! Ospreay looks to go for the Oscutter, but Swerve is half a second behind-in movement alone. Shifting in the air, Swerve manages to avoid the cutter and instead crush Ospreay with the Swerve Stomp!
With Ospreay standing on the apron, Swerve takes off from centre ring to try and cut him in half, but Ospreay moves to the side just in time. With unreal precision, Swerve is able to somehow land on the apron with his hands and bring himself to his feet on the ground without skipping a beat. Unfortunately, this leads to Ospreay booting a hole through his chest when he turns back towards the ring, but it doesn't take away from just how impressive that was.
With Ospreay climbing to the top rope, he tries to capitalize on Swerve's momentary weakness. Unfortunately, Swerve still has a lot left in the tank, meeting Ospreay at the top with a speed that betrays just how deep into this match both men are. Ospreay tries to fend Swerve off, but it's no use, as every back elbow strike only puts Ospreay in deeper and deeper trouble, with Swerve getting him off the top and nearly through the ring with a huge Olympic Slam!
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| Olympic Slam! AEW |
Crawling for the pin, Swerve drapes an arm but Ospreay muscles a shoulder out, gritting teeth through the pain as he rolls to the apron to make sure he can't be pinned again. Swerve joins him on the apron, looking to drill him with a vertical suplex, but Ospreay slips behind and hooks a rear naked choke on Swerve! Weakening him for the briefest moment, Ospreay nails him in the face with a scorpion kick before turning his back to the champion. Figuring everything is exactly where it should be, Ospreay kicks off the middle turnbuckle and flies, looking to catch Swerve for an Oscutter on the apron, but Swerve is a step ahead. Luring Ospreay in for the cutter, he slips off the apron and uses his free hand to give Ospreay a bit of extra momentum to help send him crashing into the apron.
Ascending to the top rope, Ospreay in a heap below him on the apron, a Swerve stomp seems to be next in line, but Ospreay rolls to the floor to save himself from certain disaster. Swerve looks dejected on the top, surely wishing he reacted quicker as to land the killing blow on Ospreay, that is until he sees another opportunity present itself. Shifting only slightly on the top, he lines up the distant Ospreay and flies, crushing him into the table with a disgusting Swerve stomp.
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| Straight up crushed. AEW |
Initially, Swerve rolls Ospreay back inside the ring, but begins to think better of that decision, wanting to inflict the most pain in the shortest amount of time. Dragging him back out to the floor and around to the barricade and pulls him on top, spiking him with a piledriver on top of the barricade! As quick as ever, he sends him back inside the ring and plants him with an inverted DDT, going for a cover but Ospreay survives! Somehow, some way! Despondent, Swerve pulls himself to the top rope as Ospreay begins to fold into a seated position, no doubt looking for the final Swerve Stomp, the killshot, if you will. Springing to his feet, Ospreay shakes the top rope, crotching Swerve on the top turnbuckle and giving Ospreay the opening he needed. Springboarding to meet Swerve at the top, Ospreay snatches him around the neck and plants him with the Oscutter!
Fired up, Ospreay nails him with a second Oscutter in the centre of the ring, making the pin attempt but Swerve escapes! Wasting no time, Ospreay backs himself to the corner and takes aim, firing with the Hidden Blade, but Swerve has enough left in him to bring his forearms up to protect his face from the killing blow. Landing another Oscutter, Ospreay keeps hold of Swerve while on the canvas, pulling him to his feet and up to his shoulders, planting him with Stormbreaker! He attempts the pin, but Swerve survives!
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| Breaking the storm. AEW |
Hooking the arms of Swerve while he's still on the canvas, Ospreay seeks to use the Tiger Driver to finally put him away. Swerve knows better than to let this happen, scrambling for the ropes once he's back on his feet. It matters little, as Osperay is still able to hook him and attempt the move, but Swerve escapes and goes for a quick crucifix pin attempt, but Ospreay escapes. Getting to his feet, Swer- WHAT?! Taking off the second he's vertical, Swerve cracks Ospreay with the Hidden Blade! Ascending to the top, a Swerve Stomp is avoided, and so is a Hidden Blade by Ospreay. By Swerve, I should clarify, not by the referee, with Paul Turner eating a Hidden Blade and collapsing to the apron.
With Ospreay stunned, Swerve lands a poison rana, but Ospreay has enough in him to crack him with a Hidden Blade to the back of his head, collapsing on the champion for a pin. If there was a conscious referee, we'd have a new champion, but Turner is as good as a corpse right now. From ringside, Don Callis, whom Ospreay is still aligned with, offers Ospreay a screwdriver, the signature weapon of the Callis Family. Prince Nana, Swerve's manager, gets in the face of Don and shoves him to the ground, not wanting to see this match end like this. Ospreay initially threatens Nana with the screwdriver, but slowly thinks better of his actions, letting Nana go as he tosses the weapon aside.
Slipping back inside the ring, Ospreay gets caught with a Housecall! His head rocked by the wicked boot of the champion. Back to the top goes Swerve, gesturing for the new referee, Aubrey Edwards, to come to the ring quicker, finally managing to land the Swerve Stomp! He folds up Ospreay, holding him down for a deep, deep cover, with Aubrey counting one, two, th- no! No! Ospreay escapes! He survives! A wicked stomp nearly breaks the arm of Ospreay, with Swerve back in the corner and calling for the response of the crowd. "Who'se House?!" he calls, "Swerve's House!" they respond, landing another vicious House Call to the side of Ospreay's head. Another deep cover, one, two, thr- no! Another escape! Somehow, Ospreay survives!
Barely able to stand, his legs more jelly than bone, Ospreay rips off his elbow pad as Swerve looks on, his face a combination of approval and sorrow, knowing he's going to need to actually kill Ospreay if he wants to win. Ospreay staggers forward, landing a weak Hidden Blade on Swerve, who catches his opponent, holding him in place. Patting him on the head, he lets Ospreay fall to his knees, delivering one more House Call. Pulling Ospreay up by his waistband, he crushes Ospreay with Big Pressure, holding him down for the final, decisive, merciful three count. Swerve retains.
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| Big pressure, I apply. In the ring, you won't survive. AEW |
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In the moments after the match, after Swerve celebrates his win and Ospreay collects himself, Swerve takes a moment to meet his fallen foe in the ring. Forehead to forehead they meet, Swerve and Ospreay share a tender moment together. A moment of respect between equals, not between rivals or foes like they were but a few brief moments ago, but between athletes at the absolute top of their class. We can only speculate what was said during this moment between them, but I choose to believe it's something along the lines of "you didn't beat me today, but that doesn't mean this gold will elude you forever." A kiss to the top of Ospreay's head caps off this moment between the two, with Ospreay doing everything in his power to remain composed, visibly welling up as he sits alone in the centre of the ring.
It truly is rare to have a match like this one happen. With two wrestlers, two of the very best in the world, squaring off one-on-one. It's something that most people only speculate on, "what if X and Y had a match against each other?! Imagine how great that would be!" Tonight, the people in attendance at Forbidden Door 2024 had that question answered, they got to see a dream match take place right before their very eyes. Something that only comes about like Halley's comet, a once-in-a-generation occurrence.
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| Mutual respect. AEW |
For this, and so much more, Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay is a 5 star match.
Until next time, be well, stay safe, and love one another.
Cliff Morgan
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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