McGuire’s Mondays: NJPW’s Wrestle Dynasty means the collaborative bubble has burst

By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Staffer

Editor’s Note: This blog contains a couple of non match result spoilers from the TNA television tapings that were held over the weekend.

That’s it. Call off the hounds. Cancel the order for backup. It’s over. I’ve seen enough.

I hereby proclaim a moratorium on all cross-promotion events between pro wrestling companies near and far.

Crammed into the 59 hours and 72 matches that made up AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Forbidden Door” Sunday night was the announcement that NJPW will hold their own Forbidden Door the day after Wrestle Kingdom next year. Titled “Wrestle Dynasty” (not to be confused with “AEW: Dynasty” or “Dynasty: The Soap Opera”), the event will bring together all of the same promotions that were featured on Sunday night’s pay-per-view: AEW, Ring of Honor, NJPW, Stardom and CMLL.

Why? Because this is a business that has absolutely no problem running one idea into the ground until it stays so far beyond its welcome, the next party has already started.

What gives? It’d be one thing to cobble together a completely different lineup of companies to showcase under a completely different, more imaginative guise. But, this? This is just “Forbidden Door: Japan.” If there’s anything that will make this event different from what we’ve grown to expect from the AEW X NJPW “Forbidden Door” franchise over the last few years – outside of this taking place in the Tokyo Dome, of course – then that’s yet to be announced. As it stands now, there’s no discernible reason to think this will further the formula.

To be fair, this was something New Japan first announced all the way back in February 2020,  before the first “Forbidden Door” occurred. The show was supposed to take place at Madison Square Garden – and it kind of/sort of came on the heels of the ROH/NJPW successful supercard that went down in 2019. But then, you know, there was that pesky global pandemic that changed everybody’s plans.

Now, nearly five years later, the only problem is … well … it’s already been done. Multiple times, even. And to water things down even more, a lot of the talent that ROH and NJPW showcased back then have been signed to work under the Tony Khan umbrella in one way or another since that initial New Japan announcement. This isn’t the New Japan or Ring of Honor of 2019; this is one company that has become an afterthought amidst the AEW glow and another company that has had such a hard time restocking its shelves, it had to put its most important belt on one of AEW’s most recognizable superstars for the last couple months just to get by.

So, why rehash this idea? Only three years into the “Forbidden Door” concept and we’ve already made it to the point where the main event (and probably the show’s best match) came in the form of a straight up AEW world title bout. There was no dream match left to be had on American soil between the two companies. As a result, Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay went out and had a hell of a match … but it was still an AEW match. The days of wondering what would happen if X Wrestler from X Company stepped into a ring with X Wrestler from X Company are gone (thanks in part to TK’s desire to gobble up the world’s best wrestlers, don’t forget).

And no, this isn’t specific to only AEW and New Japan, either. WWE’s latest foray into talent sharing with TNA has been … OK? Maybe? But at this point, outside of Jordynne Grace’s appearances on NXT shows and in the Royal Rumble, it’s somewhat of a nothing-burger. Look at the TNA tapings from over the weekend. WWE sent Izzi Dame, the New Quarter Catch Crew, and a dozen cheesesteaks to the old ECW Arena and this is supposed to be groundbreaking?

To what end? I haven’t been a full fan of this concept since the inception of this column, but even if you’re still frothing at the mouth to see mid-card wrestler A take on mid-card wrestler B only because the acronyms they work for are different from one another, aren’t you even a little tired of pretending like it’s a big deal anymore? Half of the people on the NXT roster aren’t recognizable anyway; throw them onto a show with a company that doesn’t even really have a notable television deal and not only is the charm gone, but the idea isn’t even fresh.

The only way the cross-promoting idea could be worth it at this stage is if everyone – and I mean everyone – worked together. Treat pro wrestling like it’s pro football or basketball or whatever. The AFC vs. the NFC for a once-a-year Super Bowl – but wrestling. Take the three biggest stars from each company, throw together a tournament and crown a champion once a year. This will never happen because the amount of politicking that would go into who might win or lose would deserve its own season of Dark Side Of The Ring, but it’s also the only way that these collaborations could truly matter again.

It’s a shame because it wasn’t long ago when an idea like this felt so novel. It was a thrill when Kenny Omega hopped in a car at the end of a Dynamite and made his intentions clear that he’d show up on Impact television. Ditto for Will Ospreay squaring off with Orange Cassidy at the first “Forbidden Door.” But at this point, we’re not just sharing talent for random TV shows in random companies; we’re now going to run two full-blown collaboration shows with the same companies each year?

The shine is gone. Give it up.

They won’t, of course. Because (rightfully) nobody listens to me on these things. But I do wonder: For those of you who still love seeing talent pop up on shows in companies different from the ones with which they hold full-time contracts … what’s the ceiling? Is there a point where Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley doesn’t really feel that special anymore (as in, you know, like it didn’t last night)? Could there be a formula that I’m missing that would make these events more notable?

Don’t forget: The people at the center of a lot of these dream match conversations aren’t going to be around much longer. Kenny Omega is held together by some Scotch tape and glue while Bryan Danielson says he’s giving it up after this year. Does that Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jack Perry match feel like it could generate the gravitas of a multi-company pay-per-view main event someday (assuming TK doesn’t snag Sabre’s services up for AEW between now and the next time we do this)? I’d guess it doesn’t. But that’s just me.

For now, it’s on to January, when, as is the trend in mainstream pro wrestling anymore, one night of your year’s biggest event just isn’t enough, and Wrestle Kingdom will turn into Wrestle Dynasty. Will you be watching?

Perhaps more importantly: Will you still care?