Forbidden Door (2022)
| AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| File:AEWNJPWFORBIDDENDOORPOSTER2022.jpg Promotional poster | |||
| Promotion | All Elite Wrestling New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | June 26, 2022 | ||
| City | Chicago, Illinois | ||
| Venue | United Center | ||
| All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view event chronology | |||
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| New Japan Pro-Wrestling event chronology | |||
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AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door is an upcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and supershow. The event will be co-produced by the U.S.-based promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Japan-based New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It will take place on June 26, 2022, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, and will be the first AEW/NJPW co-promoted event.
Production
Background
In February 2021, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) started a partnership with the Japanese promotion, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), with Kenta being the first NJPW wrestler to appear on AEW's primary weekly television program, Dynamite during the Beach Break special.[1] Since then, both AEW and NJPW have had their wrestlers appear on each other's shows in the United States. On April 15, 2022, it was reported that a planned co-promoted event held by the two promotions was in the works.[2] On the April 20 episode of Dynamite, AEW President Tony Khan introduced NJPW President Takami Ohbari to make a major announcement regarding their respective companies. They were interrupted by AEW wrestler Adam Cole, who officially announced that a co-promoted event titled Forbidden Door would be held on June 26 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.[3] The event takes its name from the same term often used by AEW when referring to working with other professional wrestling promotions.[4] The event will air on pay-per-view (PPV) via traditional PPV outlets, the Bleacher Report app, FITE TV, and will stream in Japan on NJPW World.[5] Pre-sale tickets went on sale on May 5 and sold out in less than 40 minutes, with more than 11,000 tickets sold with only a limited number of tickets set aside to go on sale to the general public on May 6.[6]
Storylines
AEW×NJPW: Forbidden Door will feature professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[7]
On the June 1 episode of Dynamite, newly crowned AEW World Champion CM Punk, called out his NJPW Forbidden Door opponent. Hiroshi Tanahashi would make a surprise debut, indicating he would face Punk for the title at the supershow. On the June 3 episode of Rampage, Punk announced that he would need surgery and would be taking time off. AEW owner Tony Khan had informed Punk he would not have to relinquish the championship. Later that night, it was announced that a battle royal would take place at the start of the June 8 episode of Dynamite, with the winner facing the number one ranked singles competitor, Jon Moxley in the show's main event, and the winner of that match would be placed in the match to crown an interim AEW World Champion at Forbidden Door.[8] It was then announced on AEW's social media that the winner of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto at NJPW's Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall would be the other competitor in the interim championship match at Forbidden Door.[9] On the June 8 episode of Dynamite, Kyle O'Reilly won the Casino Battle Royale, but was defeated by Moxley, who advanced to Forbidden Door.[10] At Dominion, Tanahashi defeated Goto, setting up NJPW's half of the match.[11]
On the June 8 edition of Dynamite, "Hangman" Adam Page wrestled his first match, since losing the AEW World Heavyweight Championship to CM Punk at Double or Nothing, defeating David Finlay. After the match, Page called out IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, challenging him to a match for the title at Forbidden Door. However, Page was interrupted by Adam Cole, who pointed out that Okada may not be champion by Forbidden Door, due to his scheduled title defense against Jay White at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall.[12] On June 12, White defeated Okada to win the World Championship and insulted Page after the match.[13] Page addressed the situation on the June 15 episode of Dynamite, but he was once again interrupted by Cole, who also wanted to face White for the world title. White appeared from behind Page and attacked him with a Blade Runner. White went on to explain that he would not defend his title against Page, pointing out to White being 2-0 in his singles matches against Page, much to Cole's amusement. However, much to Cole's dismay, White also stated he would not defend the title against Cole either, leaving White's Forbidden Door opponent a mystery.[14]
Also on the June 8 episode of Dynamite, AEW unveiled a brand new men's singles championship, the AEW All-Atlantic Championship, to be a secondary championship of the promotion and to "represent the AEW fans watching around the world in over 130 countries". It was announced that four wrestlers, determined through qualifying matches, would battle in a fatal four-way match at Forbidden Door to be crowned the inaugural champion. Pac defeated Buddy Matthews that same night to qualify. On the June 15 episode of Dynamite, Miro defeated Ethan Page to become the second qualifier, and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Clark Connors on June 21 at New Japan Road to qualify. Malakai Black would be the last qualifier, defeating Penta Oscuro on the June 22 edition of Dynamite.[10][15][16]
On the May 25, 2022 episode of Dynamite, the United Empire's Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan interrupted a match for the ROH World Tag Team Championships between FTR and Roppongi Vice, attacking both teams.[17] The following week, faction leader Will Ospreay made his surprise debut where, along with other UE stablemates Aaron Henare and Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis of Aussie Open, they attacked Trent Beretta and FTR.[18] On the June 10, 2022 edition of Rampage, Beretta and FTR picked up a victory against Ospreay, Davis and Fletcher.[19] Ospreay competed in his first AEW singles match at Road Rager on June 15, where he defeated Dax Harwood.[20] After the match, Ospreay and United Empire, including new IWGP Tag Team Champions Cobb and O-Khan, attacked FTR and Roppongi Vice once more, only to be interrupted by Orange Cassidy, who stared down Ospreay. Soon after, a singles match between both men was scheduled for Forbidden Door for Ospreay's IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. A few days later, a Winner Takes All triple-threat tag-team match between FTR, Roppongi Vice, and Cobb and O-Khan for the ROH Tag Team Championships and the IWGP Tag Team Championships was announced for the show as well.[21][22]
Following their defeat in the Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing, Eddie Kingston along with Santana and Ortiz continued to feud with the Jericho Appreciation Society. On the June 1 edition of Dynamite, Blackpool Combat Club’s manager William Regal and Kingston issued a challenge to the JAS to fight the trio and the BCC in a Blood and Guts match, which Jericho declined. Ortiz then jumped Jericho from behind and cut a lock of Jericho’s hair off, which led to Jericho accepting the match while also challenging Ortiz to a Hair vs. Hair match.[23] On the June 15 edition of Dynamite: Road Rager, Jericho defeated Ortiz in the match after seemingly receiving outside help from Fuego Del Sol, only for it to be revealed as Sammy Guevara under the mask, who would later be revealed to have joined the JAS along with his fiancé Tay Conti, turning both heels. Later in the night, Jericho interrupted the face-to-face confrontation between Moxley and Tanahashi, and both men were immediately attacked by Suzuki-gun members Lance Archer and El Desperado, despite additional help from Wheeler Yuta. Jericho announced that he and Sammy would team up with their leader, Minoru Suzuki, to face Kingston, Yuta and NJPW wrestler Shota Umino in a six-man tag team match.[24]
On the June 8 edition of Dynamite, Thunder Rosa successfully defended her AEW Women's World Championship against Marina Shafir, only for Shafir to attack her after the match. Toni Storm rushed out to the ring to successfully stop Shafir's assault. Storm then picked up the championship belt, admired it, and handed it back to Rosa, indicating a possible future match against the two.[25] Soon after, the match was made official for Forbidden Door.[26]
Matches
AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator Series bracket
| Qualifiers Dynamite (June 8, 2022) Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall (June 12, 2022) | Final Forbidden Door (June 26, 2022) | ||||||
| Jon Moxley | Pin[10] | ||||||
| Kyle O'Reilly[Notes 1] | 14:15 | ||||||
| Jon Moxley | |||||||
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | |||||||
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | Pin[11] | ||||||
| Hirooki Goto | 12:40 | ||||||
- Casino Battle Royal
- Dynamite – June 8 (Cable Dahmer Arena – Independence, Missouri, U.S.)
| No. | Results[10] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle O'Reilly won by last eliminating Wheeler Yuta | 21-Man Casino Battle Royal for a chance to qualify for the AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator Series. | 10:05 |
- Casino Battle Royal entrances and eliminations
- – Winner
| Draw | Ent. Order | Entrant | Elmin. Order | Eliminated by | Eliminations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clubs | 1 | Lance Archer | 2 | Keith Lee | 0 |
| 2 | Tony Nese | 1 | |||
| 3 | Daniel Garcia | 8 | Eddie Kingston | ||
| 4 | Darby Allin | 15 | Swerve Strickland | 1 | |
| 5 | Eddie Kingston | 9 | Jake Hager | ||
| Diamonds | 6 | Ricky Starks | 13 | Rey Fénix | 2 |
| 7 | Jake Hager | 10 | Wheeler Yuta | 1 | |
| 8 | Rey Fénix | 18 | Andrade El Ídolo | 2 | |
| 9 | Swerve Strickland | 16 | |||
| 10 | Keith Lee | 6 | Swerve Strickland | 4 | |
| Hearts | 11 | John Silver | 7 | Powerhouse Hobbs | 0 |
| 12 | Konosuke Takeshita | 11 | Powerhouse Hobbs & Ricky Starks | ||
| 13 | Max Caster | 3 | Rey Fénix | ||
| 14 | Austin Gunn | 5 | Keith Lee | ||
| 15 | Colten Gunn | 4 | |||
| Spades | 16 | Powerhouse Hobbs | 17 | Wheeler Yuta | 1 |
| 17 | Bobby Fish | 14 | Darby Allin | 0 | |
| 18 | Kyle O'Reilly | — | Winner | 2 | |
| 19 | Dante Martin | 12 | Ricky Starks | 0 | |
| 20 | Wheeler Yuta | 20 | Kyle O'Reilly | 3 | |
| Joker | 21 | Andrade El Ídolo | 19 | Kyle O'Reilly and Wheeler Yuta | 2 |
See also
- 2022 in professional wrestling
- List of All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view events
- List of major NJPW events
Notes
- ^ Won a 21-Man Casino Battle Royal earlier that night to qualify for the tournament.
References
- ^ "AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling Established Working Relationshp". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. February 4, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ "Update on joint AEW/NJPW show rumor". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Barrasso, Justin (April 20, 2022). "Tony Khan Announces First-Ever AEW, NJPW Joint Pay-Per View Event". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (February 10, 2022). "Tony Kahn Admits He Butchered His 'Forbidden Door' Definition, Which Led To Securing Jay White". Fightful. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
The term "forbidden door" has always been used in reference to companies working together and not signing exclusively with one company.
- ^ Staff, AEW (April 20, 2022). "AEW and NJPW Announce First-Ever Joint Pay-Per-View Event,"AEW x NJPW: FORBIDDEN DOOR"". All Elite Wrestling. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Currier, Joseph (May 5, 2022). "AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pre-sale tickets sell out in less than 40 minutes". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ McGuire, Colin (June 3, 2022). "6/3 AEW Rampage results: McGuire's review of CM Punk's announcement, 'The Young Bucks' Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson vs. Penta Oscuro and Rey Fenix, Scorpio Sky vs. Dante Martin for the TNT Title, Athena vs. Kiera Hogan". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (June 4, 2022). "AEW Announces Multi-Stage Interim World Championship Eliminator Series". Fightful. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Barnett, Jake (June 8, 2022). "6/8 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of Jon Moxley vs. the Casino Battle Royale winner for a spot in the Interim AEW World Championship match at Forbidden Door, Pac vs. Buddy Matthews, Thunder Rosa vs. Marina Shafir for the AEW Women's Title, Hangman Page vs. David Finlay". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ a b "High Fly Flow to Chicago: Tanahashi moves to face Mox". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "Adam Page, Adam Cole Vie for Forbidden Door Shot at NJPW's Top Belt". June 9, 2022.
- ^ "Jay White Defeats Kazuchika Okada to Become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion". 12 June 2022.
- ^ "Jay White Doesn't Want Adam Cole or Adam Page at AEW's Forbidden Door". 16 June 2022.
- ^ a b All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (June 9, 2022). "All Elite Wrestling on Twitter: "#AEW proudly presents All-Atlantic Championship, a new Title that represents the AEW Fans watching around the world in over 130 countries! Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 9, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "New Japan Road Night 4 (June 20) Preview". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "NJPW Stars Invade Tonight's AEW Dynamite".
- ^ "AEW Dynamite Winners & Losers: Moxley Wins Big, Will Ospreay Debuts, & A New AEW Title". June 9, 2022.
- ^ "AEW Rampage live results: Will Ospreay & Aussie Open vs. FTR & Trent Beretta".
- ^ "AEW Dynamite Road Rager Results". 15 June 2022.
- ^ "Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy set for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door".
- ^ "ROH & IWGP Tag Team title match added to AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door".
- ^ "AEW Dynamite Results for June 1, 2022". 2 June 2022.
- ^ "AEW Dynamite: Road Rager Results for June 15, 2022". 16 June 2022.
- ^ "AEW: Thunder Rosa Retains World Title in Kill Bill Ring Gear".
- ^ "AEW News: Forbidden Door Gets Massive Will Ospreay, Thunder Rosa Boost Ahead of June Show". 16 June 2022.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (June 22, 2022). "Eight-Man Tag Team Match Announced For AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Buy-In". Fightful. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (June 12, 2022). "NJPW Representative Set In Interim AEW World Title Bout At AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Fightful. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (June 15, 2022). "All Elite Wrestling on Twitter: ".@IAmJericho decides now is an appropriate time to introduce the new members of the #JerichoAppreciationSociety, @sammyguevara, @TayConti_, @LanceHoyt and @ElDesperado5, and makes a challenge for #ForbiddenDoor LIVE on PPV! It's #AEWDynamite: #RoadRager LIVE on @TBSNetwork!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 15, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Guzzo, Gisberto (June 15, 2022). "Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy, AEW Women's Title Match Announced For AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Fightful. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (June 17, 2022). "Winner Takes All IWGP And ROH World Tag Team Title Match Announced For AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Fightful. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (June 22, 2022). "Zack Sabre Jr. To Face Opponent Handpicked By Bryan Danielson At AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Fightful. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (June 22, 2022). "IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match Made Official For AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Fightful. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
- ^ Guzzo, Gisberto (June 22, 2022). "Dudes With Attitudes vs. BULLET CLUB Made Official For AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door". Fightful. Retrieved June 23, 2022.