AEW President Tony Khan discussed several major topics during the post-show media scrum following AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026 on Sunday night.
Among the biggest talking points was the surprise return of Jay White, who made his comeback during the AEW World Tag Team Championship match between Cope & Cage and The Dogs.
Khan revealed that White had only recently been medically cleared to return.
“Jay White actually just officially got cleared this week. So this was something we were hoping he was gonna get cleared. And he has just been physically cleared.”
Khan also discussed the creative direction of The Bang Bang Gang, saying White’s return was the culmination of a storyline that had been developing during his absence.
“I think it has worked great that there has been a lot of friction between the Bang Bang Gang and The Dogs. Particularly, as of late. And even though Jay White has not been on the shows, the Bang Bang has been represented. And we have seen the Bang Bang Gang allude that there was gonna be comeuppance for The Dogs.
Jay White came, and he got some payback. I thought Forbidden Door was the perfect place for him to make his return, given how he arrived here in the first place. And give the way, how he was exited from New Japan Pro Wrestling.”
Khan was also asked about WWE scheduling multiple events opposite AEW programming, responding by comparing the situation to the competition Jim Crockett Promotions once faced.
“It’s good. It’s double the compliment Jimmy Crockett got. That’s good, twice as nice as they were to Jimmy. That’s great. I’ll be sure to take it that way. I think we’re going to have a great AEW All In and really looking forward to going back to Wembley Stadium. It’s going to be the biggest night in AEW wrestling.”
He continued by saying his focus remains on AEW rather than what other promotions are doing.
“I can’t speak to what the other promotions are doing but I did see that announcement. I saw that with our own show going on tonight, so not a lot I can do other than just hope we have a really good show and plan and prepare that we will have a very good show for AEW All In.”
Elsewhere during the post-show festivities, Khan presented NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi with a custom guitar, a moment that was shared across AEW’s official social media channels.
For complete coverage of the event, check out PWMania.com’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2026 Results.
