This is what Forbidden Door is about, is it not?

Sunday, Mercedes Mone defended her AEW TBS Championship in a multi-woman match for the first time, taking on AEW’s Alex Windsor, CMLL’s Persephone, and STARDOM’s Bozilla in a chaotic four-way contest. While the match itself had a predictable ending — of course, the practically-undefeatable Mone took the victory following a roll-up pin — it is not about the destination, but the journey. To call Forbidden Door’s TBS four-way match a “journey” is an understatement, though: it was a tour of women’s wrestling, with all four women bringing their unique in-ring abilities to make London’s O2 Arena vibrant with life.

Despite being the champion, Mone was the underdog in Sunday’s match-up. She has never been the strongest, and she was put in the ring with Windsor, one of AEW’s stronger women, Persephone, who some might compare to WWE’s Triple H, and Bozilla, who is six feet tall. She was always going to be at a disadvantage, and while Mone did ultimately overcome the overwhelming competition with her signature counters, I quite enjoyed seeing Mone as an underdog. It made sense from a combat perspective, but more importantly, it provided space for all three challengers to showcase their in-ring abilities.

Windsor gets more flack than she should, but she was the glue that held this match together. Windsor marks the halfway point between Mone’s agile technician work and Bozilla’s strength-based offense. She can flatten Bozilla with diving, top-rope Clotheslines, but she can also cinch in a mean Sharpshooter. Persephone also inhabits this halfway point between full in-ring technician and powerhouse, but with a bit more of a strongwoman lean. Her Crucifix Powerbomb on Bozilla was called the “move of the match” by commentary, and I’m inclined to agree. Persephone is a full package: she has strength, she has the agility associated with lucha libre, and she has star power. Her future is undoubtedly bright.

Bozilla is only 21 (no, I don’t feel like a fossil right now), but you wouldn’t have guessed from her performance. She moved in that ring with the confidence of an older, wiser competitor — not someone only three years in to her career. She was the great equalizer, a strong arm to curb any of the competition’s offense, but she didn’t fall to the pitfalls of strongwoman stereotypes. She was thoroughly entertaining throughout the entire match, and that Moonsault had me gasping. If she’s performing like this so early on in her career, I’m excited to see what the next few years will hold.

Was this the cleanest match? No, there were moments were the women stumbled. Some spots didn’t land as intended. Fake lashes were lost. However, there’s a contouring element: by having those mistakes, the match’s highlights were made even more enjoyable — by seeing the bad, we could appreciate the good. Mistakes included, Sunday’s contest was a spectacle to be watched back, thanks to every competitor’s unique style and inimitable charm. This is what Forbidden Door is about.

Written by Angeline Phu