The stakes of the high-wire act in Montreal

As we approach June 28, the AEW Forbidden Door 2026 card is beginning to look less like a focused event and more like a massive jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. The inclusion of Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals alongside major cross-promotional clashes creates a peculiar pacing challenge for the broadcast. While the talent quality is undeniably high, the sheer volume of matches added suggests a bloated runtime.

Omega vs. ZSJ: The technician's clinic

The standout announcement is undoubtedly Kenny Omega locking horns with Zack Sabre Jr., a pairing that dictates a specific style of wrestling. Omega’s explosive transition game will face extreme duress against Sabre’s submission-based chain wrestling. If this match goes over 20 minutes, ZSJ’s ability to force tap-outs from unconventional positions will be the X-factor to watch. Expect Omega to rely on high-impact strikes to create distance early.

The cage match dilemma

The 12-man steel cage match stipulated for this card is a booking decision that feels disjointed from the core mission of NJPW partnership events. Stuffed into a cage, the technical nuances that define the Strong Style aesthetic often get buried under chaotic spot-fest tropes. Managing 12 bodies in a confined space invariably leads to missed cues and soft physical contact. It is a high-risk, low-reward gamble that threatens to disrupt the event's tactical flow.

Swerve and Ospreay at the top

The decision to anchor the Owen Hart Foundation men's tournament on a cross-promotional card is a curious choice. Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay are championship-level performers, yet slotting them into a tournament bracket that concludes here might diminish their individual standing. Watching how the crowd reacts to these two in a hybrid environment will be telling. They need to deliver a clinical match, not a high-spot circus, to justify the prestige of the tournament namesake.

Missing the mark on vision

One critical observation: the creative direction for this event feels scattered. Including matches in both Montreal and San Jose indicates a fractured focus that makes it difficult to maintain a unified narrative. The constant influx of external talent, while exciting, often leaves the roster depth looking thin. We have seen Karrion Kross express interest in joining this mix, but adding more names to an already crowded canvas isn't the solution. Leaner, more focused cards would allow for better storytelling instead of merely checking boxes for inter-promotional partnerships.

My prediction for the night? The Omega vs. ZSJ bout will be a technical masterpiece, but the 12-man cage match will end in a convoluted mess that leaves the fans exhausted rather than electrified. I expect the show to run long, finishing at approximately 1:15 AM EST. It will be a night of individual brilliance struggling to exist within a chaotic, over-booked frame.