Tony Khan opened what he has coined “The Forbidden Door” in wrestling this year by seemingly breaking down barriers between promotions. He spoke with Entrepreneur recently regarding how “Forbidden Door” decisions are made.
Khan began by talking about how when he was younger, it was common for wrestling promotions to work together.
“When I was younger, there were partnerships between a lot of the other wrestling companies. And there was the Wrestling Peace Festival, which was a great idea, and some of those companies did keep working together,” Khan said.
“You saw wrestlers from AAA in WCW, and you saw wrestlers from New Japan in WCW, and so I think it’s very natural. Twenty years later, things have come back full circle, and now you’re seeing those wrestlers from New Japan and AAA competing again on TNT. You’re seeing IWGP titles defended on TNT. I think it’s the natural balance of the universe just coming back.”
How Are Forbidden Door Decisions Made?
Khan was also asked how the promotions involved make decisions on who wins, loses, and more. He would say that he goes into it with the same mentality as a sports general manager goes into making trades with other teams.
“I have to make sure we’re getting taken care of, and obviously the promoter we’re working with is going to have stuff they need to make sure they’re getting taken care of,” Khan continued. “And I’m pretty reasonable. I don’t want to screw it up for anybody. So whether it’s Konnan with AAA or dealing with the New Japan office or talking to Scott [D’Amore] and Impact, I just generally go into it like I’m dealing with another party in sports if you’re making a trade or something. You know, you just try to work it out and be a good person and a fair partner in the negotiation.”
The “Forbidden Door” will open again on next week’s Dynamite, when NJPW’s Yuji Nagata challenges Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship.
