In a surprising turn of events, last Sunday began a new era in the AEW World Tag Team Championship division, as first time champions Brody King and Bandido (collectively known as Brodido) cemented their place in history as they clutched they're newly worn gold in front of 18,992 fans in attendance at the O2 Arena in London for AEW's annual pay-per-view event,Forbidden Door. This nearly 16-minute collision course saw many intriguing moments, including the former champions The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) losing their concentration on retention by handling another looming threat of Ricochet and his Gates of Agony allies, who drug them out of the ring and to the back with their fisticuffs brawl. Nonetheless, new champions were crowned, but the finish to the match seems to have been botched.
According to reports in this week'sWrestling Observer Newsletter, it appears Bandido, who was not the legal participant in the ring at the time of their victory, secured the pinfall win after back-to-back offense. As we witnessed, the final moments of the match saw the current ROH World Champion hit his signature frog splash, followed by a catapult 450 splash on Dax Harwood of FTR to obtain the win. However, spectators, including veteran pro wrestling journalist and head of the Observer, Dave Meltzer, noticed that the 450 splash did not solidly connect. Despite a missed cue after the awkward landing of "El Mas Buscado's" splash, the referee stopped countingBandido's cover on Harwood, yet the bell won for the victory.
Overall, Meltzer's analysis of the three-way bout was that it showcased many excellent moments, despite the hiccup at the end. He also noted that the British crowd was particularly fond of King's abilities throughout the contest. The upstart tandem of Brodido first aligned last month, and their popularity has grown vigorously since.
