AEW and NJPW are once again partnering for the joint PPV event Forbidden Door on Sunday, June 25th, 2023. This year marks the second year in a row the two companies have joined forces to put on dream matches no one ever imagined seeing. Last year’s event saw some of the best matches of the calendar year, including Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy, Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, and a Fatal-4-Way between Adam Cole, Hangman Page, Kazuchika Okada, and Jay White, among others. This year’s event is only 4 matches in (officially as of now) and it’s already shaping up to look better than last year’s event. What can we expect from this year’s show, and what other matches may find their way on the card with only one Dynamite, and the first two editions of AEW Collision, left before the show?
What do we have so far?
Take your pick here, honestly, because there are a bunch of dream matches and first-time-ever encounters that will likely all be vying for match of the night. The highly anticipated rematch between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay, following up a masterful performance at Wrestle Kingdom this past January, is sure to be at the top of everyone’s wish list. Omega has not featured the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship much since he won it, mostly just wearing it to the ring for his matches on AEW TV, but this was always where it was likely to end up. A so-called tournament was held to crown Omega’s challenger for the show, but Ospreay was always the most likely candidate to be the guy. This feud is extremely personal, and the build to Wrestle Kingdom and all of their previous encounters have been very personal due to the blurred reality of the real-life feelings between the two. Regardless of what they feel personally, their professionalism in the ring last January was spectacular, and Forbidden Door promises to get better and better from there.
Down the list, we have what is likely to be one of the most unique experiences on the card, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match between “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry and SANADA. SANADA in himself is a very interesting choice as NJPW’s top champion right now, and his unknown commodity to the dream match scenario played a unique part in trying to find his opponent. Enter Jungle Boy, who is rapidly readying himself for a main event run one day. He is already fresh off of an AEW World Championship Match at Double or Nothing, and now he challenges for NJPW’s top prize, a title he likely will not win, but will look like a million bucks trying to pry it away from SANADA. If the unlikely were to happen, and he actually wins the title, a run in Japan defending the gold may be one of the most unexpectedly amazing things to come in 2023, and I don’t think anyone would be disappointed in it.
The AEW World Championship was vacant headed into Forbidden Door last year after CM Punk’s foot injury cost him his match with Tanahashi, and Hiroshi ended up battling Jon Moxley for the gold. This year, MJF remains champion headed into the show (the same show he missed last year) and will now defend it against Tanahashi, who gets a crack at the gold for the second year in a row. MJF claimed on Dynamite this week that he wouldn’t be showing up nor does he plan on facing or defending against Tanahashi, but in all likelihood, he will show, and this match figures to be absolutely fantastic. MJF has shown time and time again he can go in that ring, and it does not matter who he is in there against, he will shine. Take arguably NJPW’s best of the best and feed him to the Devil himself, and this AEW World Title Match will surely be big-time bucks for all involved.
The final match that is currently announced is the dream match to end all dream matches, and one that nobody would have ever imagined seeing even 2 years ago at this very moment. The American Dragon vs. The Rainmaker…Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada…a match for the ages! I cannot begin to tell you how excited this match makes me. The concept alone that NJPW’s greatest star possibly ever doing battle with a man who has revolutionized the business everywhere he has gone for the last 15-20 years is an insane testament to how much this match has been desired by everyone. It is the definition of a dream match, and the definition of what a show like Forbidden Door is meant to be, and I am so glad we get to watch this masterpiece unfold before our very eyes. Now the question that remains is, will the Rainmaker bring the rain, or will the American Dragon kick Okada’s head in?
What else may we get?
So, we know what’s announced so far, but what else may be coming our way? There are still plenty of titles and big names not on the card, and they likely will end up there, but where remains the major question? Though not yet officially announced, Orange Cassidy seems primed to defend his AEW International Championship against Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door, which may not sound like the greatest match on the card but do not sleep on it, Cassidy proves every time he is out there that he will always put on a show, and that he will never falter on a big stage, so a match with a technical wizard like ZSJ only adds to the intrigue of the concept.
CM Punk has made his long-awaited AEW return just before Forbidden Door, and a rumored match with KENTA has swirled for some time to proclaim the master of the GTS, but it is unclear if that will be the way they go. Hopefully, they do, as it would only make more sense to have the two men who use that move battle one another on a show of this magnitude. The women’s champions of both AEW and NJPW could very well do battle as well, as a champion vs. champion encounter between either Toni Storm or Kris Statlander against Maya Iwatani would bring eyes to the recently created IWGP Women’s World Championship. The Tag Team Champions as well don’t yet have a place, as both FTR nor Bishamon don’t have a match yet either. Then there’s Chris Jericho, Adam Cole, Jon Moxley, and the Elite’s Hangman Page and Young Bucks, all without matches, but all huge draws. Could someone like David Finlay figure into the equation as one of their opponents? Hiromu Takahashi could also end up battling one of those guys as well. Maybe the Hung Bucks could get in on some trio’s action somewhere as well. Speculation can run wild every second until we get there, but like was said before, if what is already booked has this much hype behind it, I’m sure the rest of the card will happily follow suit!
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