WWE is reportedly preparing a counter-program to AEW’s Forbidden Door 2025 PPV.
Since AEW’s inception in 2019, there have been several instances where their shows and pay-per-views have clashed with WWE’s. There was the Wednesday Night Wars between All Elite Wrestling and NXT from 2019 to 2021, and most recently, for this upcoming weekend.
The Jacksonville-based promotion is set to air All In: Texas on July 12, and on the same day, NXT’s The Great American Bash and WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event will air. The following day, Evolution II will also take place.
From the looks of it, the apparent counter-programming will continue into next month. In the latest edition of WrestleVotes Radio on WrestleBinge, wrestling insiders JoeyVotes and TC shared that with Forbidden Door taking place on August 24, the Triple H-led promotion might also have NXT Heatwave airing the same day, which was supposedly a direct call from TKO executives.
NXT ‘HEATWAVE’ 2025 is scheduled for Sunday August 24th, 2025 in South Carolina.
AEW is holding their ‘FORBIDDEN DOOR’ PPV earlier on in London England, on the same day.
(via @WrestleVotes Radio – Backstage Pass) pic.twitter.com/aDH4Z8SXDr
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) July 10, 2025
As per reports, Heatwave is expected to be held at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in South Carolina. Meanwhile, AEW Forbidden Door is set to emanate from the O2 Arena in London, England.
Tony Khan On WWE Hosting Two Events The Same Day As AEW All In
Ahead of the packed weekend, AEW founder Tony Khan had an interview with WFAA when he was asked about Saturday Night’s Main Event and Great American Bash taking place on the same day as All In: Texas.
Khan answered that he was entirely focused on All Elite Wrestling, and by having this approach, he noted that it had greatly benefited the Jacksonville-based promotion:
Well, I think we’re going to put on a great event, and we have to focus on putting on the best event we can with the best wrestlers in the world. So that’s a lot of fun. So we’re going to have a great show next Saturday afternoon, and we’re very focused on what AEW is doing, and AEW fans, and I think that’s served us really well.” [H/T: Fightful]
It will be interesting to see how this upcoming weekend will play out for both WWE and AEW.