By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door Hits
Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP U.S. Championship: A terrific match with some creative choices that caused me to enjoy it less than the gem they had at the Tokyo Dome. The big negative was Don Callis being ejected from ringside early on and then inexplicably returning and interfering right in front of the referee without consequence. If they wanted him involved in the finish and didn’t have a good reason for him being allowed to return, then why script him to be ejected in the first place? And I’m almost as over as the use of the screwdriver as I was when the ring bell hammer was the weapon of choice for Death Triangle. With the negatives out of the way, this was an outstanding match with spectacular work from both wrestlers. The athleticism was remarkable, but I really enjoyed the layers they added with various callbacks that I caught (while others just sailed over my head). I’ve always been impressed that Omega works these things into his matches in a way that rewards the super fans while not alienating the fans who don’t follow the business at that level. I just hope that Omega didn’t suffer any damage when Ospreay dropped him on his head during the Tiger Driver spot.
Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada: With the benefit of hindsight, they really should have closed the show with the Omega vs. Ospreay match. Of course, there was no way to know that Danielson would suffer a fractured forearm, but it’s still asking a lot of a live crowd to sit through four-and-a-half ours of wrestling, which included Omega and Ospreay throwing everything at one another, to stay just hot for a more mat based main event. The fans were engaged and all, but they seemed more invested in Omega vs. Ospreay. Nevertheless, this was a terrific match in its own right. I assume we’ll get to see them run this back once Danielson is healthy and I’m already looking forward to it.
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Konosuke Takeshita, and Shota Umino vs. Hangman Page, Tomohiro Ishii, Eddie Kingston, The Young Bucks: A wild ten-man tag match. It was impressive to see this match go as smoothly as it did given that it involved some New Japan talent that obviously don’t work regularly with the AEW wrestlers. My one knock is that there was so much going on that Kingston saving Moxley wasn’t spotlighted and only felt like a big deal due to the work of the broadcast team.
Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia in a four-way for the AEW International Championship: The four-way was a big upgrade over the needlessly long tag team match that they had on Dynamite. They worked well together and while I never bought into the idea of Cassidy losing, it was a very good match from start to finish. Garcia’s new celebratory dance is so ridiculous that I could see it either catching on or simply becoming a fun heat spot.
CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima in an Owen Hart Cup tournament first-round match: A pleasant surprise. While some wrestlers panic if they don’t get the desired reaction, this isn’t Punk’s first rodeo. He is more than capable of adapting to however the fans choose to respond to him. He played the hometown hero in Chicago, and then flipped the switch and seemed like he was having even more fun playing heel in Toronto. Kojima held up his part well. This looked like a throwaway match when it was announced, but it really exceeded my low expectations.
MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the AEW World Championship: They worked a smart match by going with a basic style that didn’t ask too much of Tanahashi. MJF’s heel work was a blast and I actually laughed out loud that he used the Dynamite Diamond Ring finish. As much as I want clean finishes, especially on this show, there was something that just felt right about MJF’s finish coming off like a troll job on the super show.
Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women’s Championship: An enjoyable match without the usual interference finish involving Ruby Soho and Skye Blue. Willow continues to get over with her charisma and entertaining in-ring work. As much as I tend to roll my eyes at in-character work during media sessions, I was very impressed by the way Storm played her part. Her confidence seems to be soaring and she is coming off like a strong champion and the leader of her faction. This version of Storm is money.
AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door Misses
Sting, Darby Allin, and Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki: The entrances were a lot more fun that the actual mess of a match. It was an off night for Sting. It happens, but it’s clearly time to start pulling back on some of the big spots that he takes part in. The thrill for fans is seeing Sting perform his greatest hits. While it’s admirable that he wants to do more, it’s simply not worth the risk.
Sanada vs. Jack Perry for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: An uneventful match. I don’t think anyone bought into the possibility of Perry winning the championship. While charismatic Sanada showed up for television, the bland Sanada showed up for the actual match. The crowd didn’t seem to recognize the Muta style moonsault as the finish. It even seemed to catch the broadcast team off guard given the way they were talking up Sanada using a different finisher. Oh, and few things in pro wrestling annoy me more than the absurd Paradise Lock.
Zero Hour pre-show: No, it’s not that the all of the pre-show matches were Misses. Rather, they were solid to good. The problem is the toll that these four-match pre-shows take on the live crowds. Going into the show, I thought that that packing in four matches would be fine given the nature of this event. I was wrong. Five hours of matches turned out to be too much, even on the annual event that is geared to the super fans.
I think this was definitely an improvement on last year’s show. I loved Okada vs Danielson, and while I could have done without Omega turning into the Ultimate Warrior halfway through his match, the work from both men was excellent. Takeshita and Nightingale stand out as genuine future stars.
I don’t view storm as the leader of the outcasts faction at all, she comes off as the henchman to Saraya