Updated

Updated · Aftermath · Jun 29

Kyle O’Reilly Swings NES in AEW 10-Man Cage Match as Barbed-Wire Controller Draws Biggest Pop

Updated

Updated · Aftermath · Jun 29

Kyle O’Reilly Swings NES in AEW 10-Man Cage Match as Barbed-Wire Controller Draws Biggest Pop

Q: How did a retro Nintendo become the key weapon in a brutal steel cage match?

It became the key weapon because Kyle O’Reilly deliberately turned a nostalgic prop into a series of escalating attack spots during AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door’s chaotic 12-man steel cage match. At the SAP Center in San Jose, O’Reilly pulled a Nintendo Entertainment System from his backpack and, with Mark Briscoe, used it as part of the match’s hardcore offense against the Don Callis Family. They struck opponents with the NES controllers, then used the controller cord to clothesline Kyle Fletcher. The sequence peaked when O’Reilly played off the old gamer habit of blowing on a cartridge before smashing the console into Fletcher’s head, opening him up and drawing blood. That combination of comedy, nostalgia and violence is what made the NES spot stand out. Reports from the event said the crowd reacted loudly, and commentary emphasized the surprise of seeing “a Nintendo” used inside the cage. In a match already filled with thumbtacks, booby traps and other spectacle, the retro console became the most memorable weapon because it was both instantly recognizable and brutally effective in storyline terms. The moment also fit O’Reilly’s on-screen style, which often mixes technical wrestling with offbeat humor. AEW then amplified the spot by sharing footage from the live HBO Max pay-per-view, helping turn the NES attack into one of the defining images of the match.

3 articles · Updated · Aftermath · Jun 29

Kyle O’Reilly turned a Nintendo Entertainment System into a weapon during AEW Forbidden Door on June 28, using the console, cartridge and a barbed-wire-wrapped controller inside the “Death’s Door” cage match.
The retro console spot came in one of the pay-per-view’s triple main events at San Jose’s SAP Center, where the anything-goes bout already featured thumbtacks, oranges rubbed into wounds and a fall from the cage through stacked tables.
AEW commentary leaned into the gag, with Tony Schiavone shouting about “Donkey Kong,” while the crowd gave the loudest reaction when O’Reilly pulled the NES from a bag and started swinging it.
Forbidden Door is AEW’s cross-promotional showcase with wrestlers from New Japan, Stardom and CMLL, and the NES stunt quickly became one of the night’s most talked-about moments.