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Updated 2022 AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door Match Card Ahead of PPV
Jun 25, 2022
OSAKA, JAPAN - JUNE 12: Hiroshi Tanahashi enters the ring during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling - DOMINION at Osaka-Jo Hall on June 12, 2022 in Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
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).
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Bray Wyatt-WWE Speculation; Sasha Banks, Naomi Rumors; Jeff Hardy, Adam Cole Injured
Jun 1, 2022
Professional Wrestling: WWE SummerSlam: Bray Wyatt (top) in action vs Finn Balor during match at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn, NY 8/20/2017
CREDIT: Chad Matthew Carlson (Photo by Chad Matthew Carlson /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
(Set Number: X161332 TK1 )
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.
Wyatt Possibly Returning to WWE?
Former WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt sparked speculation Tuesday by changing his Twitter name and firing off multiple tweets teasing his return to professional wrestling.
While Wyatt has not competed for any wrestling company since getting released by WWE last summer, he has been going by his real name of Windham Rotunda, and his Twitter handle remains @Windham6.
His Twitter name is now "WYATT 6," however, which caused fans to suggest a return to WWE could be in his future.
Since Bray Wyatt is his WWE name and can't be used elsewhere, there is some thought that adopting the Wyatt name again could be a clue that he is WWE-bound.
Wyatt also posted three tweets consecutively about his impending return to wrestling:
Everything good that’s ever happened to me, first came a period horrible suffering. I never ask why, I just wait for the rough part to end. I was chosen for whatever reason. And I’ve got shit to do. It doesn’t hurt anymore, it burns.
I’m tired of watching. Tired of hearing irrelevant clowns speculate how I’ll be perceived. Tired of hearing about my greed, my desire questioned. Wherever and whenever I decide to return, I’ll remind everyone why they know my name. Again. And again. Believe in me.#IFoundIt
Although it may just be a coincidence, the fact that Wyatt is tweeting about a return now makes the timing interesting, as WWE's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view is on Sunday.
Seth Rollins is competing in the main event against Cody Rhodes in a Hell in a Cell match, and Wyatt has some well-documented history with Rollins inside the cell.
At Hell in a Cell 2019, Rollins and The Fiend faced each other inside the cell, and Rollins won by referee stoppage. The match was roundly criticized and viewed as one of the worst Hell in a Cell matches of all time since it was supposed to be an anything-goes affair.
It took Rollins a while to get back in the good graces of the WWE Universe after that, and it can be argued that Wyatt never fully recovered.
Having Wyatt confront Rollins inside the cell at Hell in a Cell would be a full-circle moment and could possibly start the healing process for both men.
Failing that, an AEW debut can't be ruled out for Wyatt either, as Dynamite is taking place in Los Angeles on Wednesday and AEW President Tony Khan could want a splashy debut on the show in the form of another former WWE star.
Update on Banks, Naomi's Status with WWE
Since getting suspended indefinitely a couple of weeks ago, Sasha Banks and Naomi reportedly haven't had much contact with WWE.
According to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingInc's Eric Mutter), Sasha and Naomi have had "minuscule to nonexistent" contact with WWE, and all of their future travel plans have been canceled by the company.
WWE suspended Banks and Naomi indefinitely after they walked out during a recent episode of Raw. The then-WWE women's tag team champions had been scheduled to compete in the six-pack challenge main event that night against Becky Lynch, Asuka, Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H.
WWE changed the match to Lynch vs. Asuka in the middle of the show and subsequently released the following statement regarding Banks and Naomi walking out:
Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out on tonight’s Raw after Banks had issues with “creative ideas pitched,” per @PWInsidercom
On the ensuing episode of SmackDown, it was announced that Sasha and Naomi had been both suspended and stripped of the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships.
Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) reported the night of the walkout that Naomi had been scheduled to win the six-pack challenge and face Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Championship at Hell in a Cell.
That reportedly led to Banks and Naomi expressing concern about what that meant for them as a tag team and leaving the building when the booking of the match wasn't changed.
While Fightful hasn't been able to confirm a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer that Banks and Naomi have been suspended without pay, it did note that it spoke to a WWE higher-up who said WWE is unlikely to freeze the contracts of Sasha and Naomi if they aren't being paid.
If that is the case, Banks and Naomi could both possibly become free agents soon, as former WWE writer Kazeem Famuyide recently said on The Ringer's Masked Man Show (h/t Mutter) that he had heard both of their WWE contracts were set to expire in the next two months.
Although there has been no confirmation regarding the contractual status of Banks or Naomi, two of WWE's top female Superstars hitting free agency at the same time would be huge news in wrestling and a possible coup for a competitor like AEW if they are able to land one or both of them.
Jeff Hardy, Cole Out of AEW Match with Injuries
Tony Khan announced Tuesday that Jeff Hardy and Adam Cole had been removed from a scheduled 10-man tag team match set for Wednesday's episode of Dynamite in Los Angeles.
The original match would have seen Jeff team with his brother Matt Hardy as well as Jurassic Express and Christian Cage against Cole, The Young Bucks and reDRagon.
With Jeff and Cole out, Khan noted that Darby Allin is replacing Jeff in the match and New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Hikuleo is taking the place of Cole.
Both Jeff and Cole competed at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on Sunday in winning efforts.
Jeff and Matt Hardy defeated The Young Bucks in a tag team match, while Cole beat Samoa Joe in the finals of the Owen Hart Foundation men's tournament.
Although Cole didn't show any obvious signs of injury or distress, Hardy did seem to be laboring at times during his match, as he struggled to get to the top rope and gain his footing on a couple of occasions.
Despite that, Jeff gutted it out and finished the match, and he even completed a huge spot with a Swanton Bomb to the outside of the ring on top of the steel steps.
While Hardy and Cole are big losses from Wednesday's match, it should still be a highly entertaining affair given all the talent involved.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).
Adam Cole Beats Samoa Joe to Win AEW Men's Owen Hart Cup Tournament Final
May 30, 2022
CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: Adam Cole makes his way to the ring during AEW Dynamite on January 26, 2022, at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Adam Cole beat Samoa Joe at All Elite Wrestling Double or Nothing on Sunday night to win the inaugural Owen Hart Foundation men's tournament.
Cole brought The Boom—literally and figuratively—to Joe en route to the victory. He caught his opponent flush on the back of his head with an exposed knee, which was enough to keep Joe down for the three count.
AEW announced in September 2021 that it had reached an agreement with the estate of Owen Hart to use his name and likeness for numerous purposes, including the Owen Hart Cup.
Both men's and women's tourneys were held with qualifying matches beginning at the end of March. The tournaments ran throughout April and much of May, and the finals were contested at Double or Nothing.
On the men's side, Cole and Joe each scored three victories on the way to the finals, picking up plenty of momentum along the way.
Cole had to beat New Japan Pro-Wrestling star Tomohiro Ishii to qualify for the tournament, and he followed that up by taking down FTR's Dax Harwood in the quarterfinals and Jeff Hardy in the semifinals in what was a first-time-ever match.
Joe made his debut under the AEW umbrella at Ring of Honor Supercard of Honor XV in April, shortly after AEW president Tony Khan purchased ROH.
In subsequent weeks, the 43-year-old veteran defeated Max Caster of The Acclaimed to qualify for the tournament. After that, he beat former WWE star John Morrison, who wrestled under the name Johnny Elite, in the quarters and then Cole's longtime stablemate Kyle O'Reilly in the semis.
Cole and Joe have worked in many of the same places over the years, including ROH and WWE NXT, but Sunday marked the first time they ever wrestled each other.
Prior to Double or Nothing, all they had was a confrontation in NXT when Joe was serving as an enforcer for then-NXT general manager William Regal, as he choked out Cole in a backstage segment.
Although the payoff happened in a different company, Cole got his revenge at Double or Nothing by winning the Owen Hart Cup and perhaps put himself back in the mix for an AEW World Championship opportunity in the near future.
Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: profanity).
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