Hangman Page Beats MJF to Retain AEW World Title at Forbidden Door 2025

"Hangman" Adam Page defeated MJF at Forbidden Door on Sunday to retain the AEW World Championship.

MJF tried every illegal tactic he could, but Page withstood every blow to hold onto his title.

The groundwork for Page vs. MJF was laid last month at All In when both stars secured huge victories that put them in the thick of the AEW world title picture.

MJF outlasted 13 other wrestlers in the men's Casino Gauntlet match to earn a future AEW World Championship match at a time and place of his choosing.

At that same pay-per-view, Page faced Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match in the main event, and amid a ton of interference and chaos, Page beat Mox to become a two-time AEW world champ.

It was unclear at that point when MJF would opt to exercise his title opportunity, but it was a popular assumption that he would wait until Page was vulnerable given his status as a conniving heel.

However, on the Aug. 13 episode of Dynamite, Page and MJF engaged in a war of words that intensified to the point that a challenge was laid down and accepted for Forbidden Door.

Page took some shots at MJF and got under his skin, as he essentially dared MJF to cash in his title shot at Forbidden Door rather than waiting until he was easy pickings.

While normally cerebral in his approach, MJF reacted emotionally by agreeing to have his championship match against Hangman in London.

By goading MJF into the match, Page ensured they would be on equal footing, but he also seemed to unlock a sinister and aggressive side of MJF.

At the conclusion of the Aug. 13 Dynamite, MJF viciously attacked Page backstage, suddenly making their rivalry a highly personal one and setting up a grudge match with meaning beyond the world title.

Things got even more ominous the following week when MJF and The Gates of Agony threatened to set Mark Briscoe on fire unless Page agreed to MJF's terms for the match.

In order to spare Briscoe, Page agreed that he could lose the title to MJF by disqualification or count-out, and he also agreed to allow MJF to keep his guaranteed title opportunity in addition to having Sunday's match.

Although MJF was motivated to recapture the AEW World Championship, Page persevered and came out on top at Forbidden Door, giving him yet another impressive title defense over a top star.