Top AEW star pushed to lose at Forbidden Door for surprising reason - Reports

The main event of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024 was a barn burner between Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship. Many fans had trouble predicting the outcome, and some were shocked to see Ospreay's undefeated streak broken. A report has now shed light on why The Aerial Assassin lost the match.

Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland wrestled for almost half an hour to close out this year's Forbidden Door pay-per-view. The Commonwealth Kingpin hit the champion with everything he had, but it wasn't enough, and Swerve ultimately walked out of UBS Arena with his title.

This was a surprise for many, as there had been discourse online about Swerve Strickland potentially being a transitional champion. Ospreay was expected to main-event All In 2024 in front of his countrymen at Wembley Stadium, but having lost his shot at the title and with no entry in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, it seems that his coronation will have to wait.

According to a new report from Fightful Select, Will Ospreay himself approached higher-ups in AEW with the suggestion that he should lose to Strickland at Forbidden Door. Sources in the company claimed that Ospreay was tired of Swerve being seen as a "placeholder" champion, and the 31-year-old wanted to set an example.

Fightful also notes that, despite many expecting to see Strickland and Ospreay in the main event of All In, that was never the plan, and both stars already have opponents planned for the London pay-per-view.

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AEW's Billy Gunn wants Will Ospreay to retire him

According to Fightful's latest report, many within AEW see Will Ospreay as a positive force. It was noted that he's helped out in several areas backstage. Wrestling legend Billy Gunn is also a fan of The Aerial Assassin.

Shortly after signing with All Elite Wrestling, Ospreay mentioned that he wanted to be the one to retire Gunn, and it looks like the former WWE Superstar is on board. Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Billy Gunn expressed his love for the British high-flyer:

"I don’t know what it is about that kid [Will Ospreay]. I love him; I tell everybody that’s my retirement match. When I retire, it’s me and Will, and he just said on some media scrum that he’s in AEW to retire me. Because his work really isn’t me. It’s so opposite of me. But I love him. He’s good. He’s very energetic. Just the stuff he does is amazing. He’s so athletic and could do so much stuff. But he has charisma with it, and he’s very good at that. And I love that; I don’t know, I just love that kid," he said.

It's unclear what Ospreay's path to All In 2024 will be, but AEW fans can be sure that The Aerial Assassin will rise back to the top of the company sooner or later.