Tony Khan and AEW Give the Fans What They Want With Unforgettable Forbidden Door II | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
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At AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Excalibur proclaimed the event “a love letter to professional wrestling” as the show faded to black.
And he wasn’t far off.
The show was the embodiment of the sheer premise of AEW set forth by Tony Khan—the open-arms approach to a sport that has enabled a rather understated golden age of professional wrestling where this sort of thing is now routine and almost taken for granted.
Look no further than the main event, a technical masterpiece between international icons and GOAT-contenders, Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada.
It’s not just that a more traditional company like WWE might never have permitted such cross-pollination on a global scale, but also the fact such a technical showcase, culminating in Okada tapping out, occurred at all.
Call it surreal to think the match even happened. What’s fun here is the encounter didn’t need much in the way of backstory. Two all-timers got together in the squared circle and put up their best. That’s the hook, draw, whatever else fans want to call it, even in the fickle (as Danielson might have called it a time or two) internet age of fandom.
Sometimes AEW gets hit with allegations of random matchups, especially at crossover events. But we’re talking about American Dragon vs. the Rainmaker. But for many internationally, this was a dream encounter on the level of Sting and Undertaker or Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. Before Sunday, Okada even painted the encounter as something critical to the sport as a whole.
“I want fans to be excited to see how great professional wrestling is,” Okada, said, according to Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso. “It’s cool to know that there are still world-class dream matches like this that bring everyone together. Bryan has done incredible things everywhere he’s been, WWE and AEW included. I think this is an awesome match to make.”
Sidebar—Okada tapping out is a stunning feat and expresses the sheer trust AEW has earned with the likes of NJPW to let one of their top guys tap to a non-champion.
What’s next? Danielson will probably move back into more AEW-centric storylines for the time being, while fans get left to wonder what dream match the forbidden door might open up for Okada next. CM Punk? Someone else? Or maybe a Part II with Danielson?
Speaking of Punk, he too is an embodiment of the only because of AEW thought process. Drama aside, it was AEW that brought him back to fans and Sunday night’s event that put him in a brilliant, old-school style throwdown with walking legend and veteran of 30-plus years, Satoshi Kojima.
That was also a good example of promotion and event still furthering the former’s stories, with Punk’s win a step forward in the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament. Plus, he’s very blatantly, finally turning into the heel AEW needs him to be.
It hardly stopped there. MJF bested Hiroshi Tanahashi in a good showing to retain his title, keeping him on track for Adam Cole. Jack Perry had a massive, awaited heel turn after losing to the seemingly random fight with SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, attacking Hook. Jon Moxley’s BCC lost in a tag match that sets him on a can’t-miss collision course with Eddie Kingston. Kenny Omega even looked all the way back to form with a show-stealing classic against Will Ospreay. Fans even got a Chris Jericho-Sting staredown with implications in what was really a cool-down match before the main event.
Notice something else there? AEW pay-per-views, while still overloaded with too many matches (notice the tired crowd during the main event?), present a variety of different styles that cover the bases for almost any type of fan. It’s incredibly impressive, especially when a company like WWE can come off so formulaic. That can be good too, and has even been great lately, but it’s refreshing to see the variety.
The whole fan-service-while-pushing-the-industry-forward idea seeps into the presentation, too. It was hardly the first example of it happening, but how great is AEW coughing up the dough so Danielson can hit the ramp with “The Final Countdown” punching nostalgia buttons nearly 15 years in the making?
Things haven’t always been perfect for AEW, be it self-inflicted wounds or the usual ups-and-downs a promotion faces. But it’s rather fitting that the excellence of Sunday night’s classic only strengthens a major upswing as the company heads into a tantalizing summer and fall of massive villains, incredible stories that blend with reality and must-see feuds.
After a classic that preceded it, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II faced uncanny expectations. Also fitting is the fact that the company responsible for it and so much good in the pro wrestling landscape didn’t have any problems navigating those expectations while delivering another classic installment.
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