It’s Sunday night, and you know what that means …
All Elite Wrestling returns from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois with the first ever AEW & NJPW: The Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Kicking things off tonight at 7/6c with “The Buy-In” pre show, which will feature Max Caster & The Gunn Club vs. Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight, The DKC & Yuya Uemura from the NJPW Dojo.
Also on the pre-show will be CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. The Factory (QT Marshall & Aaron Solo), as well as Shane “Swerve” Strickland & Keith Lee vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desparado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in tag-team action.
From there, we switch over to the PPV main card at 8/7c, featuring Shota Umino, Wheeler Yuta & Eddie Kingston vs. The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara) & Minoru Suzuki, Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi & Sting vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) & El Phantasmo (w/Hikuleo), PAC vs. Miro vs. Clark Connors vs. Malakai Black in a Four Way Match for the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Championship, Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship and Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.
Additionally, the PPV card will feature FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) [ROH] vs. United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb) vs. Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta) in a Three Way Tag Team Winner Takes All Match for the ROH Tag Team Championship & IWGP Tag Team Championship, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. a mystery opponent chosen by Bryan Danielson, Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. Adam Page in a Four Way Match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Interim AEW World Championship.
Featured below are complete AEW & NJPW: The Forbidden Door results from Sunday, June 26, 2022. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live.
AEW & NJPW: THE FORBIDDEN DOOR RESULTS (6/26/2022)
We shoot inside live for the first time this evening, with Excalibur, Taz and Kevin Kelly coming to us live from the United Center. The camera pans the crowd and then the commentary trio run down the advertised lineup for tonight’s special event.
Hiroki Goto & Hiroshi Hashi vs. The Factory
We shoot to the ring for Justin Roberts, who introduces first the team of QT Marshall and Aaron Solo — The Factory.
The duo draw some boos from the crowd and then Takuo Shibata handles his end of the ring announcing alongside Justin Roberts.
After they settle into the ring, Hiroki Goto and Hioshi Hashi are introduced and out they come to a good pop from the Chicago fans.
The fans break out in Yoshi-Hashi chants in honor of the team name of the NJPW duo. They also chant “QT sucks!” at The Factory leader while he is in the ring.
We hear the commentators talk about being impressed by Solo, but the NJPW duo fare well early on. QT tags back in and draws more heat.
When Marshall and Solo start utilizing cheap shot tactics, they take over on offense briefly. The NJPW duo fire up for a big comeback and they pop the crowd big in the process.
Some more heel antics from Marshall helps get The Factory duo back in the lead. He hits a big splash from the ring to the floor as well.
Solo hits a double foot stomp off the top-rope for a close near fall, as The Factory remains in control of the offense back in the ring.
Now we see Marhsall call for the Diamond Cutter, as Excalibur reminds us that DDP passed the move down to him. He hits an enzugiri instead.
Solo follows up with a corkscrew kick and then Marshall hits the Diamond Cutter for a close near fall that is ultimately broken up.
We see some wild super kicks done in double-team fashion with other moves mixed in from the NJPW duo and then they hit their double-team finisher for the pin fall victory.
Winners: Hiroki Goto & Hiroshi Hashi
Nick Comoroto vs. Lance Archer
After a victory package hypes tonight’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship match and then we shoot back to the ring for our next bout on The Buy-In.
Out first comes the big man from The Factory — Nick Comoroto. He settles in the ring and then the music for his opponent hits.
On that note, out comes “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer looking like a wild man. He gets the pyro treatment and heads to the ring.
Archer dominates before the bell gets started. From there, the bell does sound and he continues to dominate the action, manhandling the fellow big man with relative ease early on.
Comoroto nearly gets a military press, but Archer avoids it. Regardless, Comoroto sends Archer to the floor and hits an atomic drop to follow-up on the floor.
He rolls “The Murderhawk Monster” back in the ring and follows him in for an attack off the ropes for a near fall.
The two trade big blows back-and-forth, blow-for-blow, and then Archer gains the upper hand. He holds Comoroto’s hand and walks the top-rope before hitting a crazy moonsault for a near fall.
Comoroto survives and takes over on offense for a bit and then hits a running power slam for a near fall of his own. Moments later, Archer takes Comoroto off the top-rope and hits his Blackout finisher for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Lance Archer
Clark Connors Talks AEW All Atlantic Championship
We shoot backstage where Alex Marvez is standing by with Clark Connors, the late addition to the match tonight for the AEW All Atlantic Championship. He explains why he’s going to capitalize on his opportunity and show everyone why he says, “Let’s get wild!”
Shane “Swerve” Strickland & Keith Lee vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desparado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
The duo of El Desparado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru make their way out to a decent pop. Out next to an even bigger pop is Shane “Swerve” Strickland.
He stops and waits and for the biggest pop so far, Keith Lee makes his way out. It’s time for tag-team action here at “The Buy-In” at The Forbidden Door.
The bell sounds and we see Keith Lee and Kanemaru start things off for their respective teams. Lee leads the crowd in some chanting and then challenges the much smaller Kanemaru to a test of strength spot. The crowd pops for that as well.
Kanemaru plays into it a bit and then he and Lee begin engaging. Lee dominates early on, but Kanemaru gets in some shots of his own before Lee started Donkey Kong’ing him. Lee then tags in to bring in Strickland. Desparado tags in on his end.
Lee and Strickland dominate until a double-team spot goes wrong and Strickland lands a big running shot on the knee of Lee that was softened up earlier in the match. With Lee and Strickland’s recent history during the Casino Battle Royale, that’s not going to look good.
Desparado and Kanemaru take advantage double-teaming Strickland in the ring and doing double-team spots anytime Lee tries getting back on the apron.
Keith Lee finally does get on the apron and tags in, but they aim dropkicks at his knees and even lock him in a figure-four leg lock while Strickland is stuck in another submission.
Lee ends up freeing himself and his partner by himself. They end up beating down the duo and pulling off the victory.
Winners: Keith Lee & Shane “Swerve” Strickland
Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs Confront The Winners
After the match, Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs are shown and Starks cuts a promo. They say they call themselves Shaq and Kobe, they are Jordan and Pippen.
They say they can’t be the best tag-team until they beat Starks and Hobbs.
Max Caster & The Gunn Club vs. Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight, The DKC & Yuya Uemura
We return from a quick break and head to the ring for the final match on The Buy-In pre-show. Out comes Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight, The DKC & Yuya Eumura who settle in the ring.
Now the theme for Max Caster and The Acclaimed hits. Out they come accompanied by The Gunn Club, who Caster in his rap to the ring calls “The Ass Boys” as always. They shout out Chicago and do the scissoring as they head into the ring.
Now we see Danhausen on the big screen with an odd message. And then “The Ass Boys” theme plays and we see The Gunn Club run to the back looking for Danhausen.
While this is going on, the NJPW Dojo guys attack Max Caster and Billy Gunn. They begin a four-on-two beatdown of the remaining duo.
The match goes on with just those two against the full four-man team on the other side for a while, despite chants of “We want Ass-boys!”
Regardless, Gunn finally tags in and goes berzerker mode on all four guys. He hits his Fame-Asser and tags in Caster for a Mic Drop off the top for the pin fall victory.
Winners: Max Caster & The Gunn Club
AEW & NJPW: The Forbidden Door Begins!
This wraps up the pre-show, and then we transition into the pay-per-view portion of the event.
This kicks off with pyro exploding in the arena and Excalibur doing his, “It’s Sunday, and you know what that means” catch phrase.
He welcomes the rest of his commentary team, which consists of Taz and Kevin Kelly. The trio set the tone for the rest of tonight’s show.
They mention a Draft Kings plug for tonight’s main event and then send us to a video package showing that more in detail.
Shota Umino, Wheeler Yuta & Eddie Kingston vs. The Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara) & Minoru Suzuki
The theme for Chris Jericho plays to start off action in the ring. He is introduced alongside Sammy Guevara by Justin Roberts and the Japanese ring announcer. The fans sing along with his tune lodly as they walk to the ring.
Minoru Suzuki’s theme then hits and he comes out to the crowd all doing the line from his song in the chorus that hardcore fans seem to know.
They are all settled in the ring now and the music dies down. The theme for their opponents hits, and out comes Eddie Kingston and his partners, Shota Umino and Wheeler Yuta.
We hear the bell sound and then Chris Jericho tags himself in, as he wants to start first for his team after all. He and Yuta battle back-and-forth to get this one underway, and it has a ton of crowd heat. Yuta takes Jericho for a ride, suplexing him all over the place.
Guevara tags in and starts to gain an advantage. He taunts members of the opposing team while Kingston is rammed into the steel steps
Guevara and Yuta go at it tooth and nail, whie Kingston keeps entering the scene just wanting to fight. Anytime Guevara gains an advantage, he soaks in some loud heel heat.
Kingston finally gets in with Jericho and goes nuts as the crowd roars in anticipation of their battle. Instead, Jericho turns and tags in Suzuki. The crowd still goes nuts. Kingston takes a strap down and the two trade chops and shots – with each loving the violence. The crowd loving it as well.
Jericho finally tags in when Suzuki establishes the offensive control over Kingston. He gets some cheap shots but then Kingston takes over and starts chopping him. Jericho ends up taking right back over, however.
Suzuki, Jericho and Guevara each get a submission hold on all three of their opponents as the fans boo. Eventually one of them makes it to the ropes to keep this one alive.
We see a spot where all of them hit dives to the floor after Guevara htis a cool 450 splash. The only one who doesn’t is Suzuki, who opts instead to start stretching everyone in sight.
Kingston ends up dropping Suzuki with a spinning back fist. He walks into a big move from Jericho, who then walks into a big one from Yuta, who then walks into one from Guevara. The fans all go nuts as everyone is down.
Jericho hits a Codebreaker for a near fall but his opponent hangs in there. He starts blasting him with knees and then heads to the top-rope. Umino ends up hitting a crazy avalanche power slam for a close near fall on Jericho that is broken up.
We see Tay Conti with Floyd the baseball bat in hand. Yuta confronts her. Guevara hits him with a GTS. In the ring, Jericho’s Lionsault is countered and he is nearly pinned.
Umino refuses to let go of a submission attempt on Jericho, despite Guevara blasting him with every shot in the book. Finally, Suzuki comes in and headbutts him to free Jericho.
Suzuki hits a piledriver on Kingston and he rolls out of the ring. Umino is down as Guevara and Suzuki stomp away at him. They end up getting handled by him and then he walks into a Judas Effect from Jericho for the pin fall. Excellent match.
Winners: Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki
ROH Tag Team & IWGP Tag Team Championship
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb) vs. Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta)
The video package airs to set the tone for our next bout of the evening, which is an inter-promotional three-way bout where winner-takes-all, as FTR battles United Empire and Roppongi Vice.
All three teams make their respective ring entrances and then the bell sounds to get this one off-and-running.
We see Wheeler stuck in the ring for a while after Dax Harwood appeared to injure himself. Jeff Cobb and Great O Khan take turns tagging in and dominating him.
They even do a spot where Great O Khan does a top-rope upgraded version of Rikishi’s old stink-face.
Harwood comes back with his arm taped up and he immediately starts knocking skulls.
We see a stacked-suplex spot out of the corner, which Wheeler notices and ends up trying to capitalize on. He hits a splash off the top for a pin attempt but only gets two.
Cobb and Khan start to dominate the action, double-teaming everyone in sight for close near falls across the board. Romero goes to work on Harwood’s arm, but ends up falling into a Big Rigg from the duo for the pin fall. With the win, FTR wins the IWGP Tag-Team Championships. They join the ROH Tag-Team Championships that they also retain with this victory.
Winners and NEW IWGP Tag-Team Champions & Still ROH Tag-Team Champions: FTR
Jay White Ready For Action Tonight
We shoot backstage where Tony Schiavone is standing by with Jay White and company. They put themselves over and set the stage for their matches tonight.
AEW All Atlantic Championship
PAC vs. Miro vs. Clark Connors vs. Malakai Black
We get the respective ring entrances of PAC, Miro, Clark Connors and Malakai Black. The first ever AEW All Atlantic Champion is about to be crowned.
The bell sounds and we’re off-and-running with this one. Miro got a big pop coming out and is controlling the action early on.
Clark Connors has been taking it to him, but ultimately getting manhandled by Miro. Most of the rest of the field are getting rag-dolled by “The Redeemer” as well.
A few moments later and we see Miro taken out of the mix for a while, which gives the other three a chance to shine with some more fast-paced, multi-person action.
We see Clark Connors get a bunch of close near falls, which the commentators hype and the fans starting buying into — big time — with “Let’s go Clark!” chants, etc.
When all is said-and-done, we see Miro clean house and put PAC in his submission finisher. PAC looks out of it, but then Malakai comes in and sprays Miro in the eyes with the black mist.
Malakai and Connors fight it out while PAC hits a 450 splash on them both. He locks in the Brutalizer and Connors taps out. PAC wins.
Winner and NEW AEW All Atlantic Champion: PAC
Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi & Sting vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) & El Phantasmo (w/Hikuleo)
We see Tony Schiavone come out to join the gang of Excalibur, Taz and Kevin Kelly on commentary for this next match.
Then, Shingo Takagi is introduced. He comes out and stops and is then joined by Darby Allin. The duo settles in the ring and then their music dies down. Sting’s music hits but he never shows up.
Now The Young Bucks theme hits and out comes Nick and Matt Jackson. They are joined by El Phantasmo and The Bullet Club theme takes over. Hikuleo is also with them.
The lights go out and we see Sting in the rafters. They go back off. When they come back on we see Sting run and jump off the top of the entrance way to splash onto the Bucks to get this fight off with a bang and a huge pop.
We see some back-and-forth action after that and then we see The Young Bucks hit a bunch of high spots for a super close near fall.
From there, El Phantasmo also hits a crazy splash out to the floor off a back flip. They catch Sting in the ring and ground him. They look for a BTE Trigger but he avoids it and hits a double scorpion death drop.
Shortly after this, we see Shingo Takagi hit a cool spot and help pull off the victory for his team with a pin on El Phantasmo.
Winners: Shingo Takagi, Darby Allin & Sting
Chris Jericho & J.A.S. Beat Down Umino
We shoot backstage and see Umino getting praised by Chris Jericho. The J.A.S. guys come in and say the same, but in very cheesey fashion.
This leads to Jericho sucker shotting Umino and leaving him laying. Hey, he’s a wizard, folks! Excalbiur calls him a “piece of …”
AEW Women’s Championship
Thunder Rosa (C) vs. Toni Storm
Back in the ring, Toni Storm’s theme hits and out she comes. She settles in the ring and her music dies down.
Now the theme for the reigning, defending AEW Women’s Champion hits and out comes Thunder Rosa in an elaborate pre-match ring outfit.
The bell sounds, these two show each other respect and then get this one off-and-running.
These two trade back-and-forth action for the first few minutes of the bout and then we see Rosa start to take over.
Storm is never put away, however, and she starts taking over from there. She domiinates the action until Rosa takes over again. She connects with a Fire Thunder Driver that saw Storm land awkwardly on her head in a scary moment that the commentators sold.
Storm hangs on, however, and starts fighting back after catching a kick by Rosa. Seconds later, however, Rosa hits a big spot for the pin fall to retain.
Winner and STILL AEW Women’s Champion: Thunder Rosa
IWGP U.S. Championship
Will Ospreay (C) vs. Orange Cassidy
We move on to the video package for our next match of the evening, which will feature another title on-the-line.
On that note, the video package for Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy for the IWGP U.S. Championship airs.
As the package wraps up, we return inside the arena where Boomer Sooner plays Jim Ross out to join the gang on commentary for this one.
Now we see Orange Cassidy make his way out and settle in the ring. His music dies down and now out comes the IWGP U.S. Champion Will Ospreay.
The bell sounds and we’re off-and-running with this one, which sees Ospreay dominating Cassidy with ease early on.
We see some crazy back-and-forth sequences that culminate with Cassidy hitting a Slumdog spot and then a crazy Michinoku Driver for a close near fall.
Cassidy hits a big splash onto Aussie Open at ringside and then hits a top-rope DDT on Ospreay for a close near fall.
The two hit some crazy, crazy back-and-forth spots after Cassidy plays possom while Ospreay was on the ropes. Cassidy ends up hitting his Beach Break spot for a super close near fall.
Cassidy calls for the Orange Punch but instead Ospreay hits two Cutters. He goes for the cover yet Cassidy kicks out at two.
We see another close, close near fall by Cassidy but then Ospreay turns him inside-out with a lariat. Moments later he finishes this one off with a pin fall victory to retain the title.
Winner and STILL IWGP U.S. Champion: Will Ospreay
After The Match: Katsuyori Shibata Comes To AEW
Once the match wraps up, Aussie Open joins Ospreay in the ring for an attack on Cassidy.
Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero hit the ring to try and help but they get taken out, to.
Finally, Katsuyori Shibata’s theme hits and the crowd goes absolutely ballistic. Out he comes as the crowd goes even more nuts. He gets in the ring with Will Ospreay after taking out Aussie Open.
He hits a pump kick on Ospreay and then elbows the piss out of him in the corner. Aussie Open ends up saving Ospreay before Shibata hits him with his finisher.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Who is the new member to the Blackpool Combat Club? It’s time to answer that question.
The video package airs for the match originally scheduled to be Zack Sabre Jr. and Bryan Danielson. With Danielson out, he has promised a suitable replacement and the reveal of the newest member of the Blackpool Combat Club.
Out comes Zack Sabre Jr. and he heads to the ring as the commentators sing his praises. He settles in and his music dies down.
Now the theme for Claudio Castagnoli hits and the crowd gives by far their biggest pop of the night, and one of the biggest in AEW history for sure.
As soon as the bell sounds, Claudio runs across the ring and blasts Zack with a forearm. He then goes for his Neutralizer finisher and connects. He goes for the cover but Zack kicks out at two.
Now the action truly gets underway as Claudio dominates Zack here in the early goings. Zack finally starts getting back in the fight and uses small joint manipulation and other holds to re-gain control.
We see the back-and-forth action from there until Claudio starts to take over again. Zack locks in a guillotine choke and then Claudio suplexes him onto the top-rope.
When it’s all said-and-done, we see Claudio Castagnoli pick up the victory. The commentators put him over as the perfect addition to the Blackpool Combat Club.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Jay White (C) vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
We see Adam Cole (…BAY-BAY!) make his way to the ring to get our next match started. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship will be up for grabs in this one.
Out next is “Hangman” Adam Page. He settles in the ring after a big pop for his entrance, complete with the fireworks / pyro treatment.
After them, the legendary Japanese performer Kazuchika Okada makes his way out. He settles in the ring and his music dies down.
Finally, the reigning and defending IWGP Heavyweight Champion Jay White makes his way out. With “Switchblade” in the ring, this one can get underway.
The bell sounds and we’re off-and-running with our co-main event of the evening here at The Forbidden Door.
We see White immediately roll out of the ring to the floor to avoid the battle. Cole looks disgusted at this, but then does the same thing.
Page and Okada end up running out and working them over. Shortly after this, Cole and White take over and we see the heels enjoy some success.
Cole and White eventually decide to join forces and they do, taking out Page and Okada and then Cole backstabs White and nearly puts him away.
White starts fighting back, hitting Sleeper-Suplexes on any-and-everything that moves. From there, everyone hits their finisher one after the other. The end comes when White hits his Switchblade finisher for the win to retain his title.
Winner and STILL IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Jay White
Interim AEW Championship
Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
It’s main event time. The video package airs to get us ready for our Interim AEW World Championship headliner.
With that said, the video package for the Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi match plays and then we return in the arena where Justin Roberts sets the stage.
Accompanied by William Regal, out comes Jon Moxley as “Wild Thing” plays. He settles in the ring and then Hiroshi Tanahashi’s theme hits and out comes “Ace.”
Tanahashi gets a good reaction from the crowd and then the music dies down. Justin Roberts and the Japanese ring announcer do their dueling formal introductions for our final match of the night.
The bell sounds and we see Tanahashi take Mox down off a head lock. Mox fights up and takes Tanahashi down. These two trade back-and-forth offense early on as the crowd reacts to each guy.
We see some more back-and-forth shots traded as they get more and more into each strike. Mox takes over from there and hits a big pile driver that leaves “Ace” lifeless.
Mox locks in a Texas Cloverleaf on Tanahashi and cranks back on it as Tanahashi screams in pain and crawls to the ropes while Kevin Kelly talks about his two chronicly bad knees. He finally makes it to the ropes to break the hold.
As the action continues, we see Mox gets busted open. The Blackpool Combat Club member is bleeding now. On the floor, Tanahashi jumps onto Mox from the top-rope for a cool high spot. We see Mox covered in blood again afterwards.
Back in the ring, the blood is becoming a problem for Moxley. He goes for the Paradigm Shift nevertheless, however Tanahashi counters with the Twist and Shout. Moments later, he does hit it but only gets two on a follow-up cover. He starts 12-6’ing Tanahashi with elbows.
Tanahashi connects with Aces High and then heads to the top-rope. He looks for it and lands. He covers Mox but somehow Mox kicks out before three. He then immediately rolls right into a bulldog choke on Tanahashi.
Tanahashi eventually escapes, but then Mox blasts him with another big shot. He then locks in another choke and the fans chant Tanahashi back to life when it seemed all but over. Mox hits a big Paradigm Shift and covers him from there. He wins and in the process, is now the Interim AEW Champion.
Winner and Interim AEW Champion: Jon Moxley
After The Match: Blood & Guts Gets Started Early
A very bloody Jon Moxley celebrates with the title after the match. He points and gives props and respect to Tanahashi in the other corner of the ring. The two get up and show each other respect in the center of the ring.
From there, Chris Jericho and Daniel Garcia from the J.A.S. hit the ring and start savagely attacking Moxley trying to weaken him before Blood & Guts.
Eddie Kingston runs down and joins the brawl, helping out Moxley and taking it to Jericho and Garcia.
The rest of J.A.S. hit the ring and then Claudio Castagnoli’s theme hits to bring him out. He and Jericho go at it tooth-and-nail right out of the gate and then Claudio gets a huge swing on one of the J.A.S. members to the delight of the fans in Chicago.
They leave J.A.S. running for cover as they stand tall in the ring. This sets the table for Wednesday night’s Blood & Guts special in Detroit.
Make sure to join us here for live results coverage of the event. That’s how this one goes off the air. Thanks for joining us! Make sure to follow Matt Boone on Twitter @MattBoone0709.
