By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW issued the following press release regarding the AEW and NJPW “Forbidden Door” pay-per-view event that will be held on Sunday, June 26 in Chicago, Illinois at the United Center.
April 20, 2022 — Moments ago on AEW: Dynamite live on TBS, the hinges were fully ripped off the Forbidden Door, as it was announced that AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling will present their first ever joint pay-per-view special this summer. “AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door” will take place live on Sunday, June 26, at the United Center in Chicago, featuring marquee matchups between members of AEW and NJPW’s world-class rosters.
Tickets for the historic PPV event go on sale on Friday, May 6, at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT at AEWTix.com and Ticketmaster.com. Fans in the United States and Canada can watch the PPV via purchase on the Bleacher Report app or via their local Cable or Satellite provider. The program will be available with both English and Spanish commentary. The PPV will be available in international markets on FITE.tv. Fans in Japan can watch on iPPV on NJPWWorld.com with live Japanese commentary.
“As the world continues to reopen, I’m making sure the Forbidden Door follows suit and we can finally give fans the dream events they’ve always imagined,” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “The United Center was home to one of AEW’s biggest events of all time, The First Dance, where CM Punk made his return to wrestling after a seven-year hiatus.
This summer, fans of AEW and NJPW can expect the unexpected during this extraordinary, first-of-its-kind pay-per-view between our two incredible companies.”
“As we have done for more than 50 years, the power of pro-wrestling can energize people by fulfilling their dreams,” said Takami Ohbari, President of NJPW. “Now, it’s quite an important mission for us, the pro-wrestling industry as a whole. We are not only opening this door. We will show you NJPW’s genuine Strong-Style beyond the Forbidden door.”
This announcement furthers the opening of the Forbidden Door, coming just over a month after Tony Khan announced that he agreed to acquire the assets of Ring of Honor, and less than three weeks after he produced the ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view in Dallas, featuring a number of major title changes and ROH alumni appearances including Samoa Joe, The Young Bucks, Wheeler Yuta, Jay Lethal, Lee Moriarty, Matt Sydal, Sonjay Dutt and Mercedes Martinez.
Powell’s POV: This was the latest Tony Khan big announcement that was made on AEW Dynamite. It took the two companies some time to get on the same page, but now that they have it will be really fun to see what type of shows they can produce together. And here’s hoping that we’ll see some AEW talent in this year’s NJPW G1 Climax tournament.
.@AEW & @njpwglobal Announce First-Ever Joint PPV Event, #AEWxNJPW: #FORBIDDENDOOR live from the @UnitedCenter in Chicago on Sunday, June 26! Tickets go on sale Friday, May 6 at 10am CT / 11am ET at https://t.co/UN1cNiJJrQ & @Ticketmaster
Full release – https://t.co/GYpShNYRjT pic.twitter.com/cKh4vC37w0— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 21, 2022
Is it wrong to love the idea of Kazuchika Okada vs. CM Punk? Perhaps for the IWGP World Championship.
The “announcement” segment was also the moment Tony Khan revealed himself to be the worst actor since The Bella Twins.