Why Match Between MJF And Rush Was Booked For AEW Dynamite Instead Of Forbidden Door

The June 19 "AEW Dynamite" kicked off with a bang, as former AEW World Champion MJF and Rush went one-on-one for the very first time in what was MJF's first match for AEW since the Worlds End pay-per-view in December 2023. The match aired commercial-free on TBS, which despite many fans being very impressed with what they saw on "Dynamite," others were left wondering why the match happened on TV and not at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 30, especially given that the event will take place in MJF's hometown of Long Island, New York.

According to Bryan Alvarez on "Wrestling Observer Radio," the reason why the match happened on "Dynamite" is very simple; Rush isn't allowed to compete at Forbidden Door. "It was commercial-free because this match can't air on pay-per-view. Rush is not allowed on Forbidden Door. I'm telling you he's not allowed there. I don't know what they'll tell you but Rush is not allowed on Forbidden Door," Alvarez said, claiming that he is nearly 100% sure that the former ROH World Champion is banned from the event.

Dave Meltzer then added that despite it not being officially confirmed, he had heard something similar. "Somebody did tell me from the whole thing that CMLL would not be happy with Rush on that show," Meltzer said. "When I did the story, I asked about Rush and I did not get someone telling me that he could not be on the show but they said Rush and MJF is going to be on television, it's not going to be on the pay-per-view." This comes just a few weeks after the apparent relationship with AAA and CMLL had smoothed over temporarily in time for the June 30 pay-per-view.

Please credit "Wrestling Observer Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.