Jack Perry Wins AEW TNT Title at Forbidden Door After Adam Copeland's Injury

Jack Perry won a six-man ladder match at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door on Sunday to secure the vacant TNT Championship.

Adam Copeland beat longtime friend Christian Cage for the TNT title in their hometown of Toronto in March and proceeded to hold it for over two months, but an injury forced him to relinquish the championship last month.

Copeland injured his leg by jumping off the cage in a barbed wire steel cage match against Malakai Black at Double or Nothing, and although he successfully defended the title, he required surgery and had to vacate it.

That set the stage for a ladder match at Forbidden Door to determine the new champ, and a series of qualifying matches were held to decide which six competitors would be part of the contest.

To qualify, Perry beat Dustin Rhodes, Konosuke Takeshita defeated Penta El Zero Miedo, Mark Briscoe took down Brian Cage, Dante Martin got past Lee Moriarty, Lio Rush beat Action Andretti and New Japan Pro-Wrestling's El Phantasmo defeated AR Fox.

Perhaps the most exciting part about the ladder match field in the eyes of fans is the fact that none of the six participants previously held a major singles title in AEW.

Briscoe is the reigning ROH world champion and Perry had a brief run as FTW champion, but in terms of holding an AEW singles championship of significance, all six men entered Forbidden Door looking for their big break.

The ladder match shined a spotlight on all of them, and while they each showed why they were potentially deserving of being TNT champion, only one man could prevail.

After returning from a several-month absence, it was clear that AEW wanted to present Perry as a star by having him join The Elite and attack AEW president Tony Khan.

Now, Perry also has championship gold in his possession, solidifying AEW's belief in him, and making The Elite the most decorated group in all of AEW.

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