At Forbidden Door 2025, the chaos didn’t end when the bell rang. After the match, Will Ospreay was left trapped inside the giant cage while his allies: Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Darby Allin, Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Powerhouse Hobbs, stood around outside like confused NPCs, staring up as their friend got destroyed. The irony? Marina Shafir waltzed in without issue, which made the babyfaces look even more clueless.
At first, people mocked the booking. “Why didn’t they just climb in?” “Why didn’t anyone break the lock?” Critics said the babyfaces looked dumb. But this wasn’t bad writing; it was artificial intelligence at work.
The SmartCage™ Conspiracy
Insiders claim the Death Riders didn’t just bring violence; they brought AI. The cage itself was no ordinary steel structure. It was allegedly upgraded with facial recognition tech that scanned for Ospreay’s teammates. Every time a babyface approached, select panels were electrified, keeping them out.
This is why the crowd saw Darby Allin pacing, confused. Normally, he’s the guy who climbs anything, cage walls, scaffolds, even Mount Everest if you gave him a skateboard. But AI had studied his history. The system concluded that electrification alone wouldn’t stop Darby, so it activated Steel Morph™ Technology, literally reshaping the cage mesh to eliminate footholds just for him.
The result? Babyfaces didn’t look dumb. They looked like victims of machine-learning programmed to neutralize them.
WWE: The AI Pioneers
As shocking as AEW’s SmartCage debut was, WWE has already been pioneering AI in subtler ways. Look no further than Def Rebel, the in-house music group accused of generating entrance themes with artificial intelligence. Those generic tracks with weird AI-sounding drops? Not laziness but test runs.
And it goes deeper. WWE’s obsession with content: podcasts, documentaries, reality shows, even Unreal on Netflix, lines up perfectly with an AI-driven future. Pretty soon, Raw and SmackDown won’t even need wrestling at all. Superstars will cut promos, star in reality segments, and host WWE podcasts. When it’s time for a match? AI just simulates the bout.
Picture Roman Reigns vs The Rock at WrestleMania 43… but neither man takes a single bump. The ring action is handled completely by AI, while the real wrestlers relax on Logan Paul’s podcast, promoting energy drinks.
And from there, WWE’s focus shifts toward IP longevity. No longer obsessed with creating a ‘new star every month,’ they’re investing in AI to extend the shelf life of legends. Why gamble on the next Roman when you can re-simulate Undertaker forever? Soon, WrestleMania could feature AI-generated Undertaker matches every single year.
AEW’s AI Arms Race
Tony Khan, naturally, can’t resist a tech war. After the SmartCage incident, insiders say he’s planning to rebrand as AIW: Artificial Intelligence Wrestling.
This wouldn’t just be a marketing gag. Khan allegedly wants AI booking finishes in real time, adjusting outcomes based on crowd reactions, betting odds, and live Twitter sentiment. Ospreay vs Death Riders was only the beta test.
WWE Becomes WE
Meanwhile, WWE is rumored to be dropping one of its W’s. The new name? WE. No longer “World Wrestling Entertainment,” but simply World Entertainment.
Why? Because the “wrestling” will soon be outsourced to AI anyway. It’s all about future-proofing before the inevitable Disney takeover. Picture it: Disney WE+ streaming services offering an AI-generated Undertaker vs Thanos Buried Alive Match in 16K VR.
It sounds insane. But then again, so did electrified SmartCages until last weekend.
The age of AI wrestling isn’t coming. It’s already booked, simulated, and trending. The only question left:
When the robots are doing the bumps, what exactly are the humans going to do?