Spoiler: Adam Cole Match For Forbidden Door Revealed On AEW Rampage
AEW taped the 6/23 episode of "AEW Rampage" immediately after Wednesday's live "AEW Dynamite" at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. During the taping, a new match for Sunday's AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view was set up.
** SPOILERS BELOW **
According to spoilers shared by "Fightful," Adam Cole came out to cut a promo, where he addressed his issues with MJF and the fact that he'd have to team up with the AEW World Champion in the upcoming Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament.
Cole's promo was cut short by MJF, who urged AEW CEO Tony Khan to book a match between Cole and NJPW star Tom Lawlor. Thereafter, Lawlor — a former MMA fighter — and his NJPW ally Royce Isaacs appeared from the crowd and brutally attacked Cole, setting up the match for Forbidden Door. According to fans at the arena, MJF stuck around and mocked a beat-down Cole, pretending to care for his tag team partner in the upcoming tourney.
Filthy Tom Lawlor vs Adam Cole for Forbidden Door! pic.twitter.com/bkOuUYThIZ
— Dumb Guy Live (@DumbGuyLive) June 22, 2023
Lawlor's cameo on "Rampage" would mark his first-ever appearance on AEW programming. The former NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion last wrestled for NJPW at the Collision event in Philadelphia on April 16, where he teamed up with Isaacs and Jorel Nelson in a trios match against Bad Dude Tito, Shane Haste, and Zack Sabre Jr. Prior to that, Lawlor wrestled Sabre Jr. for the NJPW World Television title at Capital Collision in what was a widely-praised match.
The addition of Lawlor versus Cole means the card for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is nearly set. The second installment of the inter-promotional event will be headlined by Bryan Danielson versus Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega versus Will Ospreay, CM Punk versus Satoshi Kojima, and MJF versus Hiroshi Tanahashi, among several other matches. The show will also mark the first instance of Chris Jericho and Sting squaring off in a wrestling ring.