AEW has officially confirmed details for 2026 Forbidden Door pay-per-view, including its date and location.

The event will take place on June 28, 2026 at the SAP Center in San Jose. The venue recently hosted the April 10 episode of WWE SmackDown, adding another major wrestling event to its calendar.

Forbidden Door 2026 will go head-to-head with TNA Slammiversary, which is scheduled for the same day, setting up direct competition between the two promotions.

Tony Khan commented on the announcement and highlighted the importance of the event.

“AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door has become one of professional wrestling’s biggest events of the year thanks to our incredible partnerships with New Japan Pro Wrestling, CMLL and STARDOM, and we look forward to fans in attendance and those watching around the world being a part of history,” Khan said.

Hiroshi Tanahashi also addressed the upcoming show, emphasizing the competitive nature of the collaboration.

“This year sees the fifth AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door and whenever New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling collide, we see great chemistry between the wrestlers and many memorable moments,” Tanahashi said. “This year, NJPW will be playing for keeps to win more than ever. Our roster is fired up to show just how exciting New Japan Pro Wrestling is, and fans can expect a sensational event.”

Tickets for the show will go on sale April 27, with a presale scheduled to begin on April 21.

This marks the fifth edition of Forbidden Door. The inaugural event took place in 2022 at the United Center, followed by the 2023 show at Scotiabank Arena. The 2024 edition was held at UBS Arena, while last year’s event took place at the O2 Arena.

With another international collaboration set, Forbidden Door 2026 continues to build on its reputation as one of the key cross-promotional events in wrestling.

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Trish Stratus has opened up about several pivotal moments from her WWE career, revealing how last-minute decisions, high-pressure rivalries, and unexpected setbacks helped shape her legacy.

Speaking with Adrian Hernandez on Unlikely, Stratus reflected on her shocking heel turn at WrestleMania 20, a moment that almost played out very differently. The storyline alongside Chris Jericho had been building toward a long-anticipated romantic payoff, with fans expecting the pair to finally unite on the grand stage. However, everything changed when Vince McMahon made a late call to completely alter the direction.

“Yeah. I was like what? So obviously just to you know if in case you don’t know the story wiki it. No I’m just kidding. The story is basically, you know, Chris Chris Jericho and Trish Stratus were finally going to become a couple after all this craziness with the, you know, the the the bet and yada yada yada… we were all working to that one moment and the fans were obvious this is the moment they’ll finally unite at Wrestlemania of course and then Vince came in and just was like we’re going to just flipped the script and we were like, ‘Oh, he’s so dumb.’ Like we were like like you you know this is how I’m we’ve been for we were foreshadowing this. We would have changed stuff around. We would have you know done things differently if we knew that. He was right. Obviously he was right. It would meant everything for my career. Fans did not expect it.”

The unexpected swerve ultimately worked in her favor, giving Stratus a fresh edge that elevated her character and remains one of the most memorable turns of her career.

Stratus also looked back on her early rivalry with Stephanie McMahon, describing the intense pressure both women faced as relatively inexperienced performers suddenly placed in a major spotlight. Despite being new, they understood the opportunity in front of them and were determined to make it count.

“Uh well surreal because being such a newbie at the time too right I was very lucky and and I credit that like my career the trajectory that I ended up taking was due to these opportunities where I was able to have these really in-depth story lines and things that were super important you know and presented importantly as well um so that helped but um we just you know there was moments where we just like and that’s why Steph and I are so close we went through this thing where there’s these newbies we’re green when you go through something like that together it really bonds you you know and we look and we’re like we cannot fail like we cannot fail you know, we were given huge spotlights. Um, and great support to to be able to make it work.”

That feud went on to become a defining chapter in her early run, helping establish her as a key figure in WWE’s women’s division.

Another standout moment came at WrestleMania 22, where Stratus faced Mickie James in a match that she believes helped change perceptions of women’s wrestling within WWE. She noted that the bout was not only significant for fans, but also for those behind the scenes.

“Oh my gosh. Well, Steph and I Stephanie and I did say in her podcast, we’re like, ‘This could be up for consideration.’ We’re just saying, but oh god, it’s really hard. Okay, I mean, of course, look, I have my Wrestlemania 22 with Mickey James, which was for many reasons incredible. Um, and it was a real like, okay, we’ve arrived moment for the fans just seeing for the uh the fans, but for the backstage, too. I think they were like, oh, they can hold a crowd at Wrestlemania. Cool.”

The match is still widely regarded as one of the most important milestones for women’s wrestling in WWE history.

Stratus also shared details about a difficult setback during a storyline that was gaining momentum involving Jeff Hardy. While training to elevate her in-ring performance, she suffered a broken ankle that halted everything.

“We were on a roll Jeff Hardy and Trish Strata started taking the little things and fans were super excited about it and then I was like but I was like okay like we knew it was like with Alita and Trish history then with the Hardies we’re like okay it could be like Lita Trish or sorry uh Lita and and Matt and and Trish and Jeff was like that’s going to be some good money stuff that could happen storyline wise, matchwise, etc. Um, and then I I so I was training super hard. I was like, I need to get I just wanted to elevate my game, make sure I could, you know, keep up with all these. They were way better than me. Let’s just put it that way. Um, and then I broke my ankle. I just I just was doing some training. I was doing some box jumps and I twisted over and I was like, no, it was the worst.”

Vince Russo has taken aim at WWE’s current creative direction heading into WrestleMania, raising concerns about everything from show-closing moments to storytelling clarity and overall fan engagement.

During a recent discussion reviewing WWE programming, Russo criticized how recent episodes have been ending, particularly with WrestleMania just around the corner. He pointed out that go-home shows are traditionally designed to leave fans with strong emotion and anticipation, but he feels that key episodes have failed to deliver that sense of urgency. According to Russo, the lack of intensity in closing segments is hurting the build to major matches.

“I mean, bro, there were so many instances, Ben, on the highlight reel, you know, where I know this is the go home and they’re still not ending with heat. They’re still not ending with heat going into WrestleMania on a lot of on a lot of the matches.”

He argued that without impactful final moments, storylines struggle to feel meaningful heading into WWE’s biggest show of the year.

Russo also voiced frustration with what he sees as overly complicated storytelling, particularly the use of insider-style language in promos. He believes that references to backstage issues and industry terminology may appeal to hardcore fans, but ultimately alienate casual viewers who are not following wrestling news closely.

“If you’re a casual fan, if you’re one of these people that aren’t watching the show, that aren’t on the internet every single day, okay, you don’t have a clue to what they’re talking about. None of the office sht is going to be paid off in the ring. The office shit is going to be paid off online. You’re going to read about it.”

In his view, this approach creates a disconnect, where important story elements are not clearly resolved within the product itself.

Beyond structure and presentation, Russo questioned the overall excitement level surrounding WrestleMania. Comparing today’s product to past eras, he said the current build is lacking the urgency that once drove fans to buy tickets and invest emotionally in outcomes.

Focusing on the main event scene, Russo suggested that even high-profile names are not generating the level of interest expected for WrestleMania. He cited talents like CM Punk and Roman Reigns as examples, arguing that familiarity and repeated title runs have diminished the stakes for some viewers.

“Bro, I don’t know if it’s me, but they’re not doing that for me. I could give a sht who wins this freaking match. Like seriously , I mean to me Punk is freaking old hat. Reigns has been there forever. I’ve forgotten how many times Reigns has won and lost championships. I don’t give a sht bro. And I’m sorry, bro, but there’s a lot of people like me out there that want to have a reason to watch, but you’re not giving me one.”