The Winner Takes All Match at AEW x NJPW x CMLL Forbidden Door in 2024 pitting NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer against TBS Champion Mercedes Mone can be considered a “Forbidden Door” match for more than one reason. Within a month of Vaquer competing in the match on the AEW pay-per-view, it was announced she had signed with WWE. 

Ahead of their bout, which was actually their second meeting in the ring, Mone was adamant that she’d win “what was rightfully hers” in the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship. Mone was meant to win the title at NJPW Resurgence in May 2023 in a match against Willow Nightingale, that Nightingale ended up winning due to Mone getting injured. Mone would be out of the ring for a full year until she made her in-ring AEW debut, where she won the TBS title, at Double or Nothing in 2024. The Forbidden Door match pitting these two women against each other was so good, hard-hitting, and so well paced, it’s no wonder why WWE reached out to Vaquer.

It didn’t look like Mone was going to survive Vaquer initially. “The Fallen Angel” went right after “The CEO” before the referee could even finish explaining the rules. Mone is agile throughout the match, but Vaquer really showed off, but also took Mone to the mat when she wasn’t flying around the ring. Vaquer got the TBS Champion in a submission, almost like a kind of knee bar, then got her into what’s now known as the Devil’s Kiss. Mone attempted to battle back with a big DDT, and even bounced Vaquer off the ropes, but it wasn’t enough. Vaquer countered a Mone Maker with a DDT of her own, and the women ended up taking each other out with clotheslines.

Mone hit back-to-back Backstabbers and Vaquer got her feet up to counter the frog splash, and followed it up with a Dragon Screw in the corner, followed by a meteora. It was a valiant effort, but Vaquer just couldn’t get things done, and was hit with a Mone Maker. Mone got her in the crossface after and Vaquer tapped out, for Mone to capture the NJPW STRONG Women’s title. She’d also meet her next challenger for the TBS title following the match, when a returning Britt Baker came out to stare her down from the stage.

Following the match, it was reported by various sources, including Fightful, that AEW would likely put protections in place going forward so talent who competed at Forbidden Door or other AEW x NJPW events couldn’t immediately go sign with WWE. Vaquer would go on to become the first woman to hold the NXT Women’s North American Championship and the NXT Women’s title at the same time and she’d quickly make her way to the main roster. Mone, of course, was only beginning her run as a “Belt Collector” at the time of Forbidden Door and has gained numerous titles for her collection since the June 2024 match.

Vaquer and Mone may be unlikely to face each other again in the next few years, at least, which would make this bout must-see enough as it is. However, the pacing and in-ring quality is fantastic, and any fan of either star should go out of their way to watch this match at least one more time if they’ve seen it already.

Written by Daisy Ruth