AEW have opened the ‘Forbidden Door’ with NJPW & IMPACT Wrestling, now going one step further by trademarking it alongside ‘Forbidden Portal’.
Tony Khan spoke about the aforementioned ‘Forbidden Door’ with NJPW during the latest “paid ad” on IMPACT, and now Heel By Nature are reporting that AEW have trademarked both phrases officially on February 8 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The trademarks were filed for ‘entertainment and merchandise services’.
During the “paid ad”, Tony hones in on the fact that he believe he himself is the ‘Forbidden Door’ and that all he had to do was open up ‘himself’ to allow NJPW to come to AEW.
Everywhere I go people have been asking me for months, ‘Tony, when are you gonna open the forbidden door? When is New Japan gonna come to AEW?’ And I kept telling them I don’t know where the forbidden door is. I don’t know what it is, and then I figured it out… all along. The forbidden door was me. I’m the forbidden door!
I just had to open myself, and that’s come from being here with you Impact Wrestling, doing these paid ads. I’ve learned so much about myself, and I’ve opened myself up to new experiences, and look at all of the great things that have happened. We did a great rating for Dynamite this week. We had Impact people there. We had people from New Japan. Who knows who’s going to be there next week
The phrase has been a coined a few times in the last few weeks, directed towards AEW’s long-rumoured partnership with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and IMPACT Wrestling. The term ‘Forbidden Portal’ is yet to be used in any media, so it’s safe to assume it’s either a concept from earlier pitches or something to look forward to.
It’s finally time to Open the #ForbiddenDoor. For the first time ever NOW on #AEWDynamite, @AEW World Champion @KennyOmegamanX teams with NJPW’s KENTA v. IWGP US Champion @JonMoxley & Lance Archer in a No DQ Falls Count Anywhere match, one of our biggest main events ever on TNT! pic.twitter.com/7pGKQ7gofP
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) February 11, 2021
With Kenta’s ‘arrival’ in AEW, Moxley looking to defend his US Title and hints towards a Bullet Club feud, the ‘Forbidden Door’ being opened looks to be a Pandora’s box of possibilities going forward for all three companies.
As Inside The Ropes reported earlier this week, Tony Khan believes that this ‘Forbidden Door’ swings both ways, leaving it open for talent to cross paths on multiple brands.
Interestingly NJPW have also begun publishing AEW content, NJPW World now showing the Kenta match from AEW Dynamite.
The final words from Tony, “who knows who’s going to be there next week” just leaves the canvas blank to paint many masterpieces. The array of wrestlers available from NJPW, AEW & IMPACT is huge – may the fantasy bookings commence.