In a surprising turn of events, last Sunday began a brand new era within the AEW World Tag Team Championship division, as first time champions Brody King and Bandido (collectively often known as Brodido) cemented their place in history as they clutched they’re newly worn gold in front of 18,992 fans in attendance on the O2 Arena in London for AEW’s annual pay-per-view event, Forbidden Door. This nearly 16-minute collision course saw many intriguing moments, including the previous champions The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) losing their concentration on retention by handling one other looming threat of Ricochet and his Gates of Agony allies, who drug them out of the ring and to the back with their fisticuffs brawl. Nonetheless, recent champions were crowned, however the finish to the match seems to have been botched.
In keeping with reports on this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it appears Bandido, who was not the legal participant within the ring on the time of their victory, secured the pinfall win after back-to-back offense. As we witnessed, the ultimate moments of the match saw the present ROH World Champion hit his signature frog splash, followed by a catapult 450 splash on Dax Harwood of FTR to acquire the win. Nonetheless, spectators, including veteran pro wrestling journalist and head of the Observer, Dave Meltzer, noticed that the 450 splash didn’t solidly connect. Despite a missed cue after the awkward landing of “El Mas Buscado’s” splash, the referee stopped counting Bandido’s cover on Harwood, yet the bell won for the victory.
Overall, Meltzer’s evaluation of the three-way bout was that it showcased many excellent moments, despite the hiccup at the tip. He also noted that the British crowd was particularly keen on King’s abilities throughout the competition. The upstart tandem of Brodido first aligned last month, and their popularity has grown vigorously since.