All Elite Wrestling

Jon Moxley defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at the AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view Sunday to become the interim AEW world champion.

A bloodied Moxley took out Tanahashi with the Death Rider.

By virtue of his victory, Mox will go on to face CM Punk when the latter is medically cleared to determine the undisputed AEW world champion.

Sunday's contest was made necessary by Punk announcing just days after he beat "Hangman" Adam Page for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing that he suffered an injury that required surgery.

There was some thought that Punk would relinquish the AEW title, but instead the decision was made to hold a series of matches to determine an interim champ and eventual opponent for Punk.

AEW President Tony Khan announced that on the following episode of Dynamite, the winner of a Battle Royal would face Moxley in the main event. The winner of that match would then face the winner of the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Dominion contest between Tanahashi and Hirooki Goto.

Kyle O'Reilly won the Battle Royal and faced Mox later in the night, but the former AEW world champion prevailed. That was followed by an eight-time IWGP world heavyweight champion in Tanahashi beating Goto at Dominion.

Those results set the stage for arguably the biggest match of the night at Forbidden Door with Moxley and Tanahashi battling for the right to eventually challenge Punk.

Sunday marked the first ever one-on-one match between Moxley and Tanahashi, though they did work together once before as part of a four-way match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship at Capital Collision in Washington, D.C., last month.

The match also included Juice Robinson and Will Ospreay, and Robinson won the bout to take the title from Tanahashi.

Originally, Punk was going to face Tanahashi at Forbidden Door, meaning there was some belief Tanahashi could beat Moxley despite not being an AEW wrestler.

Even so, Mox came out on top at Forbidden Door, setting the stage for an eventual, highly anticipated meeting with Punk.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

Cody Rhodes may have left AEW, but his legacy will live on in the company's upcoming video game.

Kenny Omega confirmed Rhodes will still be a playable character in AEW Fight Forever, which is set for release later this year.

“This may come as a surprise to people, but Cody is still in the game,” Omega told Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. “I was very passionate about making sure his legacy and position within the company were preserved.

“We’ve built this game from the ground up, starting everything from scratch. That’s why I thought this game could coincide with the birth of this company. You get to experience AEW from the beginning, from day one. The game is going to reflect a lot of that, even though our locker room is ever-changing.”

AEW's first console video game has been in the works since 2020, and it makes sense from a logical perspective that Rhodes would be in the game. It's likely his rights for the game were already negotiated before he even began thinking about leaving for WWE.

That said, it may be a little odd seeing one of WWE's top babyfaces in an AEW game nearly a year after his departure—especially considering Rhodes is not in WWE 2K22.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

For the first time ever, All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling are putting on a joint pay-per-view event this weekend in the form of AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door.

The show is slated to feature five championship matches involving titles from both AEW and NJPW, and most of the matches will feature some crossover with wrestlers from both promotions duking it out.

While big names such as CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega, Tetsuya Naito and Kota Ibushi are missing from the card because of injuries and other factors, there is still plenty of star power and many never-before-seen matches on tap.

Ahead of Forbidden Door, here is a full rundown of the card and all the information you need for when and how to watch the event.

Where: United Center in Chicago

When: Sunday, June 26, at 8 p.m. ET (Buy-In pre-show starts at 7 p.m. ET)

Watch: B/R Live

---

Forbidden Door Match Card

• Interim AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Adam Cole vs. Kazuchika Okada
• AEW Women's World Championship: Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Toni Storm
• AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Miro vs. Pac vs. Malakai Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii
• Winner Take All ROH & IWGP Tag Team Championships: FTR (c) vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan (c) vs. Roppongi Vice
• Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Mystery Opponent of Bryan Danielson's Choosing
• Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta & Shota Umino
• The Young Bucks, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo vs. Sting, Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi
• Buy-In Match: Max Caster, Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn vs. Alex Coughlin, Yuya Uemura, The DKC & Kevin Knight
  

---

Top Forbidden Door Matches to Watch

Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

With Punk out for an undetermined amount of time because of injury, an interim AEW world champion will be crowned at Forbidden Door.

Punk had seemingly been slated to defend the AEW world title against Hiroshi Tanahashi at Forbidden Door before having to bow out, but now a former AEW world champ in Jon Moxley is taking his place.

Moxley defeated battle royal winner Kyle O'Reilly on a recent episode of Dynamite to earn his spot in the match, while Tanahashi beat Hirooki Goto at NJPW's Dominion event.

While Moxley and Tanahashi did face each other in a four-way match recently and teamed together against Chris Jericho and Lance Archer on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite, Sunday marks their first singles match against each other.

Mox is favored since he is part of the AEW roster and will be around when Punk returns for a match to determine the undisputed champion, but a Tanahashi win could be a fun way of throwing a wrench into things.

Punk vs. Tanahashi was already penciled in as match at Forbidden Door, so it isn't outside the realm of possibility that the eight-time IWGP heavyweight champion will beat Moxley and set the stage for that dream match in the future.

---

Jay White vs. Hangman Adam Page vs. Adam Cole vs. Kazuchika Okada

Despite some uncertainty leading up to Forbidden Door regarding the defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the title is set to be involved in one of the most highly anticipated bouts on the show.

In the weeks prior to Forbidden Door, both "Hangman" Adam Page and Adam Cole made it clear that they wanted to challenge Jay White for the title after White won it from Kazuchika Okada at Dominion.

It seemed to be headed toward a three-way match, but that changed on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite when Okada made a surprise appearance and helped Page fight off White and Cole.

With that, a four-way match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship was booked featuring four of the biggest stars in AEW and New Japan.

Both Page and Cole have extensive experience wrestling in Japan, adding even greater meaning to their involvement against the best NJPW has to offer.

It would be a surprise if either Page or Cole wins, but a title change isn't out of the question, especially since Okada just had the title until recently.

Since it is possible the title change from Okada to White was simply done to add more intrigue to Forbidden Door, a Rainmaker victory could be in the cards.

---

Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm

The only women's match on the Forbidden Door card is a big one, as Thunder Rosa will defend the AEW Women's World Championship against Toni Storm.

While it can be argued that Rosa's title reign has been somewhat disappointing because of a lack of consistent television time, she almost always delivers in the ring, and that should be true again at Forbidden Door against an opponent the caliber of Storm.

Despite having only been with AEW for about three months, Storm has quickly established herself as one of the top stars in the AEW women's division, mixing it up with the likes of Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and The Bunny, among others.

Meanwhile, Rosa won the title off Baker in March, and since then she has successfully defended it against Nyla Rose, Serena Deeb and Marina Shafir.

Establishing other stars in the women's division aside from just Baker and Jade Cargill is of the utmost importance for AEW, and a great match between Rosa and Storm could help immensely in that regard.

It seems early to end Rosa's title reign, but a Storm victory is very much in play, and it could get people talking about the AEW women's division in a positive way.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

---

Rollins Calls His Run Better Than Reigns'

Much like the character he plays on television, Seth Rollins isn't lacking confidence.

In response to a New York Post article calling his current heel run "maybe even better than Roman Reigns," Rollins tweeted the following Monday:

Cut the “maybe” and you’d have a correct headline. https://t.co/Z76b5b9fBc

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) June 21, 2022

Rollins and Reigns are longtime friends and rivals dating back to their time together in The Shield, and they wrestled each other as recently as early this year, with Reigns retaining the Universal Championship over Rollins at the Royal Rumble via disqualification.

Referring to himself as The Visionary and The Drip God, Rollins has been one of the most entertaining aspects of WWE programs for weeks thanks to his loud suits, boisterous promos and top-flight matches.

Rollins is coming off an acclaimed feud with Cody Rhodes in which they had highly touted matches at WrestleMania 38, WrestleMania Backlash and Hell in a Cell.

Rhodes won all of them, including a brutal Hell in a Cell match that saw him battle through a torn pectoral muscle in one of the gutsiest performances in WWE history.

Despite Rollins being on such a major losing streak, he has maintained credibility with the fans as a heel, and he got back on track last week by beating AJ Styles to qualify for the men's Money in the Bank ladder match.

Rollins hasn't held a title all year long, but he hasn't needed one thanks to the remarkable character work he has done and his ability to make the fans care about him no matter what.

There may be even bigger and better things in Rollins' immediate future, and if that comes to pass, it will be difficult to argue against his run being better than Reigns', especially considering that Reigns has essentially been a part-time Superstar since April.

---

Undertaker Has Reportedly Recorded Multiple Podcast Episodes

The Undertaker's upcoming podcast series, which is reportedly set to air on Peacock, is apparently already getting off the ground.

Appearing on the A2theK Wrestling Show (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), The Godfather, his longtime friend and fellow WWE Hall of Famer, commented on Taker's podcast, saying: "Undertaker has his own podcast. I don't know when they're going to release it, but he has his own podcast where he's already shot a bunch of episodes and I am the second episode; it's me and him."

The Godfather essentially confirmed a previous report from WrestleVotes in April, which stated that The Undertaker was getting a podcast series similar to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's Broken Skull Sessions on Peacock.

At the time, WrestleVotes noted that the podcast would begin airing "within the next few months."

While The Undertaker was a dark, brooding and mysterious character for most of his WWE career, things have changed since he retired during the aftermath of his WrestleMania 36 match against AJ Styles.

Fans got a deep look at the man behind The Undertaker character during the Undertaker: The Last Ride docuseries as well as his two appearances on Broken Skull Sessions.

The Undertaker also spoke out of character during a lengthy Hall of Fame speech in April, which was as heartfelt and memorable from any induction in WWE history.

With The Undertaker essentially stepping aside in favor of Mark Calaway (his real name), it has opened up a world of possibilities for him that weren't available when he was committing fully to his character.

The Undertaker is one of the most experienced and respected figures in the history of pro wrestling, and there is little doubt that fans will tune in to see him talk shop with his friends and contemporaries on Peacock.

---

Danielson to Clarify Injury, Forbidden Door Status on Dynamite

Bryan Danielson has not wrestled since the Double or Nothing pay-per-view last month because of an apparent injury, but the Blackpool Combat Club member will address his status this week.

AEW President Tony Khan announced Monday that Danielson will appear on Wednesday's episode of Dynamite to discuss his availability for Sunday's Forbidden Door pay-per-view and next week's Blood & Guts edition of Dynamite:

American Dragon @bryandanielson will appear Live this week on
Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite on @TBSNetwork to address this Sunday’s #ForbiddenDoor ppv + next week’s #BloodAndGuts Dynamite.

Thank you to everyone who supports @AEWonTV! See you Wednesday
@ 8pm ET/7pm CT for Dynamite pic.twitter.com/cXrWxP47ga

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) June 20, 2022

In the wake of Danielson competing in a brutal and bloody Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing, Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t F4WOnline's Josh Nason) reported that Danielson was slated to miss one or two weeks of action with an undisclosed injury.

Danielson has already exceeded that timeline, although it is unclear if that is because he hasn't been cleared or simply out of an abundance of caution.

If Danielson is cleared, he seems likely to face fellow technical wrestling wizard Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door, as Sabre called Danielson out after New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Dominion event.

Danielson vs. Sabre is considered a dream match for many wrestling fans, and not having it on the show would be a major blow, especially with AEW world champion CM Punk already out because of injury.

Danielson is also slated to be part of Blackpool Combat Club's team against the Jericho Appreciation Society in Blood & Guts on Dynamite next week, but if he can't go, BCC will need a replacement.

---

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).

Despite the rise in summer vacations and people watching less television, there is no offseason for wrestling fans, and there are marquee feuds people want to see in All Elite Wrestling and WWE to carry them through the hottest months of the year.

In AEW, the tag team and women’s divisions have been booked to near perfection in recent weeks, setting the stage for two marquee title matches this summer between the Young Bucks and FTR, as well as Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm.

In WWE, lackluster storytelling is everywhere, but the stage has been set for world champion Roman Reigns to face his biggest challenge to date when Randy Orton returns for a possible SummerSlam matchup.

Here are the AEW and WWE feuds wrestling fans want to see this summer.

---

FTR vs. Young Bucks

With the Young Bucks earning the AEW tag team championships, the wrestling world is wondering which of the many talented duos in the company will be the next to challenge for the gold.

There is no tag team in the world better right now than FTR, and they deserve to take the titles from the Young Bucks.

For weeks, FTR has been ranked No. 1 in AEW’s tag team rankings but has yet to receive a title shot. With an existing rivalry between the champions and the top contenders, the company should start hyping up an eventual rematch between the teams.

The Young Bucks are already one of the most decorated duos in tag team wrestling history, so putting on a great match against FTR before dropping the belts and giving the Living Legends a legitimate run with the gold would be ideal for their long-term credibility.

---

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

On Friday’s edition of SmackDown, Brock Lesnar returned for the first time since WrestleMania 38 and attacked Roman Reigns. As a result, WWE announced the two men would fight for the Undisputed WWE Universal Title in a Last Man Standing Match at SummerSlam.

While this is the same feud the WWE Universe saw at WrestleMania 38, Crown Jewel, WrestleMania 34, Greatest Royal Rumble and SummerSlam 2018 and more, this time around should actually satisfy wrestling fans.

On one hand, Reigns’ run as world champion has been long, but boring at times. With few challengers likely to take the title from him and Randy Orton reportedly dealing with an injury, there is only one man who could conceivably take the belt from the champion.

On the other hand, Lesnar’s current cowboy character may be his best iteration, giving the WWE Universe some hope that The Beast will walk into SummerSlam and take the gold from Reigns. If he does win, the Clash at the Castle could become a Triple Threat that has Match of the Year potential.

---

Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm

Sandbagging controversy aside, one of the biggest possible matches Tony Khan can book in AEW’s women’s division would be current titleholder Thunder Rosa squaring off against former WWE Superstar Toni Storm.

Rosa is one of the most popular performers on the AEW roster, but her reign as champion has not been booked as well as many had hoped. With Storm also being a charismatic figure wrestling fans support, the possible battle between the two women is a money feud.

With Britt Baker still lurking around the women’s championship scene and a plethora of talent surrounding Jade Cargill and the TBS Championship—Kris Statlander, Athena, Kiera Hogan and more—the Rosa and Storm program could become the defining moment in the women’s division’s ascension to greatness.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).