WrestlingĢƵ ‘Forbidden Door’
There has been a lot of talk recently about the “Forbidden Door” in the world of professional wrestling.
What exactly is the “Forbidden Door,” you ask?
There has been a long-standing rule that WWE does not do business with any other promotion, and for the longest time the company did not recognize any other promotion.
While other promotions like AEW and Impact have worked together recently, and American companies have done some business with Japanese promotions over the years, WWE has not done any crossover promoting since the 1990s.
This changed at the Royal Rumble when Mickie James, a former WWE star who is currently the Impact womenĢƵ champion, took part in the womenĢƵ Rumble match.
In fact, she even came out to her Impact ring song, Hardcore Country, which is one of her released songs.
Recently, AEW owner Tony Khan has used the phrase “Forbidden Door” in terms of being willing to break it down and work with any pro wrestling company in the world, even WWE.
Heading into this past WednesdayĢƵ Dynamite, Khan said the door would be broken down as a star free agent would debut with his company.
There were actually two.
Jay White is the first and was seen backstage.
A talented performer, it will be interesting to see how he ties in with The Bullet Club.
The second was Keith Lee, a former NXT champion.
Lee is a good get for AEW, but for some fans, they were disappointed.
Khan said he was breaking down the Forbidden Door, but what he did was sign a wrestler that some fans may not know is White and a recently released WWE star in Lee.
Had a current wrestler under WWE contract shown up, then the Forbidden Door would have legitimately been broken down.
But with Khan using the phrase “Forbidden Door” and for those who knew the meaning Wednesday, it is understandable why they may have felt let down.
Elimination Chamber is Saturday
WWE presents Elimination Chamber Saturday, with the show emanating from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Lashley will defend his WWE championship against Brock Lesnar, Austin Theory, Riddle, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles inside the Chamber, Roman Reigns defends the Universal championship against Goldberg, Becky Lynch defends her Raw crown against Lita, The UsoĢƵ defend the Smackdown tag titles against The Viking Raiders and Drew McIntyre will face Madcap Moss.
More matches will be added.
Goldberg done with WWE?
When Goldberg returned to WWE several years ago, he was said to have signed a three-year contract where he had to wrestle two matches a year, on average.
While GoldbergĢƵ match with Reigns Saturday is for the Universal crown, it may be his last with the company as he is said to have hit the number of matches to complete the deal.
Thoughts on Flair v. Rousey
Last week, we looked at the expected decision of WWE going with Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania instead of Rousey and Lynch, which is the much bigger match on paper.
The thought is said to be that WWE wants Rousey positioned to be cheered at the event, and the belief is she will be cheered more against Flair than she would be against Lynch.
Flair is the best in the business and portrays her villainous role tremendously.
Lynch, on the other hand, has been getting cheered no matter what she does, and the thinking is that Lynch would get more cheers than Rousey if the pair squared off.
The situation with Lynch further shows that Vince McMahon does not listen to his fans and insists he knows what WWE fans want more than they know for themselves.
Lynch is a megastar who fans want to be behind, but instead, McMahon tries to turn her against her fans every chance he gets.
Just think how much better WWEĢƵ product would be if McMahon and his writing team put in the effort with everyone else that they have put in trying to give fans reasons to dislike Lynch.
Mania 39 matches set?
While WWE is passing on Lynch and Rousey this year at Mania 38, it is said to be one of two matches WWE has lined up for Mania 39 next year.
The other?
Reigns vs. his cousin, The Rock.
Raw and NXT on SyFy
For the second consecutive week due to the Winter Olympics taking place under the NBCUniversal umbrella, both Raw and NXT will air on SyFy.
WWE using new camera strategy?
Tuesday on NXT, WWE placed a camera operator in the ring during the Grizzled Young Veterans vs. The Creed Brothers match.
Is this something WWE will look to do with Raw and Smackdown as well?
This Day in History
In 1997, Shawn Michaels “lost his smile” and forfeited the WWF (WWE) championship to Vince McMahon on a Thursday special edition of Raw.
The belief has always been that Michaels had been written to lose the title to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 but didn’t want to lose to Hart.
The issues between the two were picking up steam and would eventually lead to the Montreal Screwjob that November at Survivor Series.
Also on the card, The Rock (then known as Rocky Maivia,” won his first WWE title when he defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley for the Intercontinental title.
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