Zack Sabre Jr retains the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2025

This evening, AEW and NJPW held the 2025 edition of Forbidden Door, a show that featured great championship matches and memorable moments. NJPW's top representative, Zack Sabre Jr., successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Nigel McGuinness in an incredible technical bout.

The match was a purely technical duel from the first minute, with the champion gaining the advantage by working on his opponent's arm. Although Nigel managed to counter with his own holds, Zack demonstrated his submission mastery with a Kimura that forced McGuinness to seek refuge in the corner. The dynamics shifted when Nigel unleashed the first strikes, including a surprising Lariat that left the champion on the brink of defeat.

The intensity of the confrontation escalated when Sabre Jr. reversed an attempted Lariat into a Cross Armbreaker, a hold that Daniel Garcia interrupted by bringing the rope closer to his mentor. What followed was a tough exchange of Uppercuts that even caused Zack to bleed from the nose. Despite Nigel's constant attempts to win with a Rebound and a Ripcord Lariat, the champion always managed to withstand.

In the final moments, McGuinness controlled the action with arm and back locks, even applying a Triangle Choke from which Zack managed to escape. Nigel even hit his iconic Tower of London in the corner, but the champion put his foot on the ropes at the last second. What followed was a frantic series of back-and-forth pin attempts, with both wrestlers desperately seeking the three count, but it was Zack who, with a swift maneuver, managed to catch Nigel for the final pin and the victory.