Three matches that could steal the show in AEW: Forbidden Door 2024

Much of the recent talk about All Elite Wrestling has focused on its stagnant TV ratings and what its next broadcast rights deal, expected to be announced soon, will look like.

But one thing that has always been true of the 5-year-old company is that it delivers during its biggest events, which is why this year's edition of Forbidden Door should once again be stellar entertainment.

The co-branded event with New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been an annual highlight since 2022, and it's set to roll into UBS Arena on Long Island with more than a dozen matches featuring top talent from AEW, NJPW and elsewhere.

Both companies' top men's and women's singles titles are on the line, and former AEW World Champion MJF is making his long-awaited pay-per-view return after missing most of the year recuperating from a series of injuries. Still, with a card this packed, it's possible a bout with less stakes on paper will be the one fans are buzzing about afterward.

Here's a look at three top candidates to spark that "match of the night" feeling Sunday night at AEW: Forbidden Door 2024.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo: Ladder match for the vacant AEW TNT Championship

This is the kind of in-ring spectacle AEW does so well. Just put six outstanding performers in the ring together, give them a ladder to get their creative juices flowing and let them do their thing.

Takeshita and Perry are both coming into their own in AEW, and the same could be said of El Phantasmo in NJPW. Martin and Rush were both made for matches like this, and Briscoe is as comfortable in a chaotic environment as anyone in pro wrestling.

No idea who emerges from this with the TNT title, but that's really almost secondary to seeing what these men paint with this particular canvas.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

If you polled AEW fans on who has been the promotion's MVP since the day it was created, Jon Moxley would likely be the most common response. But Cassidy would be in that conversation, which is a testament to how he's risen far beyond surface-level perceptions of his admittedly popular slacker gimmick.

Cassidy always proves his star power at Forbidden Door, too, and this year should be no different. ZSJ is a wrestling machine who's worth watching just to see his unique style if you've never seen him before.

They've met in the ring before, including at last year's Forbidden Door, but never in a one-on-one match. Sabre is likely due a victory here, but Cassidy should put up a heroic effort in defeat.

Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi: Men's Owen Hart Cup Tournament first round match

It's strange indeed that Danielson, who will go down as one of wrestling's all-time greats, has never been AEW World Champion. It's just not a high priority for him, but putting on fantastic matches in whatever time he has left as a full-time performer certainly is.

He'll get a willing dance partner on Long Island in Takagi, the kind of grappler who sets purists' hearts aflutter. This bout will be hard-hitting but still tell a story that unfolds throughout, and that's the best of what pro wrestling has to offer.