AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Review - June 26, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Buy-In: Chaos (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) def. The Factory (QT Marshall and Aaron Solo)

I'm sorry but The Factory had no business being on this show. Granted, it was the pre-show and they were there to do the honors for Goto and Yoshi-Hashi, but I can think of several other people from the AEW roster who weren't on this card who should have been instead of them. This was a technically fine match and the crowd gave Marshall good heat. Chaos winning was obviously the right call.

The Buy-In: Lance Archer def. Nick Comoroto

Was this advertised in advance? I don't remember seeing it mentioned anywhere ahead of time unless it was announced on social media earlier in the day. I like Archer, but this match was completely pointless. I know Archer will be taking part in the G1 Climax starting next month and that was likely the only purpose this served, but it's hard to care about either of these guys at this point. At least they didn't waste time with this on the main card since it was only decent at best.

The Buy-In: Swerve In Our Glory def. Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado)

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland have been teasing tension as of late, so there was certainly a chance of them losing here to further build toward a split. The split is coming sooner rather than later (and I'm looking forward to it because they should be in singles competition), but I was happy they won this match, not to mention they work wonderfully as partners. The crowd was really hot for Lee and Strickland. It was fun for an outing I didn't have high expectations for beforehand.

The Buy-In: Max Caster and Gunn Club (Austin, Colten and Billy Gunn) def. The DKC, Kevin Knight, Alex Coughlin, and Yuya Uemura

Danhausen's "Ass Boys" bit with Gunn Club has been going on since late last year but hadn't been acknowledged on AEW TV until just now. Danhausen appeared on the big screen before this bout and played a song taunting Austin and Colten Gunn, causing them to run to the back and abandon their partners and turning it into a four-on-two Handicap match in the process. Despite the odds not being in their favor, Caster and Billy Gunn won anyway, which was pretty funny. This was another serviceable albeit unnecessary match.

Minoru Suzuki and Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara) def. Eddie Kingston, ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta and Shota Umino

It was announced that the winning team would earn the advantage for their respective faction in Blood and Guts this coming Wednesday on Dynamite. I honestly had no idea about that coming into this show, so I wish they made that more clear ahead of time to make the match feel more meaningful. That said, this was way better than I thought it would be. I've cared very little for anything involving Jericho Appreciation Society, but from an in-ring standpoint, this was a strong opener with excellent work from all six stars. I thought Umino was especially impressive and I loved all the callbacks to their history in Japan. The heels gaining the Blood and Guts advantage makes sense considering I have Blackpool Combat Club and Kingston's crew going over.

ROH World Tag Team Champions FTR def. United Empire (Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan) and Roppongi Vice in a Winners Take All Three-Way Tag Team Match to Win the IWGP Tag Team Championship

I was really worried when Dax Harwood was taken to the back because I assumed his injury might have been legitimate seeing as how AEW has been so snake-bitten with injuries lately, but it turned out to be a well-executed swerve. The crowd was somewhat quiet before he came back out, but they came alive again once they picked up the pace. While this wasn't the show-stealer I thought it might be, it was still an enjoyable outing with the only outcome that made sense. FTR are without a doubt the greatest team in the world today and them taking all the titles is well deserved. The AEW World Tag Team Championship should be next.

Pac def. Clark Connors, Miro and Malakai Black in a Four-Way Match to Become the Inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Championship

I was really bummed when Tomohiro Ishii got injured right before the pay-per-view and had to be replaced by Connors. Nothing against Connors (who did well for himself in this match), but Ishii against Miro and Black would have been amazing. Oh well, maybe someday. Despite Connors replacing Ishii, this was still an entertaining four-way. Anyone except Connors could have won, though Pac winning certainly surprised me because my money was on Miro and if not him then Black. Then again, Pac has done nothing of note in AEW for the last three years and needed this more than Miro or Black, so I can't complain. I hope they can make the most of that title instead of letting it become an afterthought.

Dudes with Attitude (Shingo Tagaki, Darby Allin and Sting) def. Bullet Club (El Phantasmo and AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks)

Hiromu Takahashi was originally scheduled to team with Tagaki, Allin and Sting before a fever took him off the show, so Hikuelo was removed from the heel team and it turned into a six-man tag team match instead. That was another bummer because I really like Takahashi, but hopefully he'll pop up in AEW at some point. Nonetheless, it was cool to see the Bucks come out to the Bullet Club entrance music for the first time in several years. This was another blast and Sting continues to amaze with what he can do at his age. Using him in small doses has been a brilliant call on AEW's part, and I'm glad Allin won his first big match in a few months (even though he didn't pick up the win for his team).

AEW Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa def. Toni Storm

This was probably one of the biggest matches AEW could have done with Rosa as champion because she and Storm are two of the best the AEW women's division has. It's just a shame the build was rushed because it didn't feel as big as it could have. As a match, it was pretty good. They're definitely capable of better, but here's hoping we haven't seen the last of them against each other. Rosa winning with Dustin Rhodes' finisher was a nice touch given their connection, but I don't think the crowd recognized that because they didn't really react to it.

IWGP United States Champion Will Ospreay def. Orange Cassidy

As I've said elsewhere before, the idea of Ospreay vs. Cassidy on paper didn't get me very excited because I thought it was a waste of Ospreay, especially after Andrade El Idolo revealed in an interview he was likely going to face Ospreay on this show before company politics with NJPW/AAA/CMLL played a part in getting it nixed. That said, this turned into a tremendous match, arguably the best of the night by far. Ospreay is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world without a doubt, but I think Cassidy really showed (or at least reminded) people of how skilled he actually is in the ring. The second half in particular was phenomenal and the crowd was white hot for all of it. This is what I'd like to see more of from Cassidy. The post-match appearance from Katsuyori Shibata was wonderful as well knowing his comeback to the ring.

Claudio Castagnoli def. Zack Sabre Jr.

Castagnoli was the expected opponent for Sabre and I'm so glad they didn't deviate from that in attempt to shock everyone. Castagnoli is not only a terrific fit for the AEW roster but also Blackpool Combat Club given who else is in there. He received a thunderous reaction. The match itself was exceptionally wrestled as you could imagine. Sabre is so technically sound and thus their styles meshed amazingly well. A fully-unleashed Castagnoli in AEW is going to be remarkable to watch

IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White def. Adam Cole, Kazuchika Okada and "Hangman" Adam Page in a Four-Way Match

This had more of a big fight feel than anything else on the entire card from before the bell rang. All four of these men are big stars with Okada being the biggest star of the bunch. It was a fantastic four-way with everyone getting their time to shine, though I feel Okada would have been better showcased if he was in a one-on-one match. My only real knock on this was the flat finish. White pinned Cole even though he didn't hit him with anything. Unfortunately, it was reported soon after that Cole suffered a concussion, so that would explain the abrupt ending. Otherwise, I have nothing but praise for this.

Jon Moxley def. Hiroshi Tanahashi to Win the AEW Interim World Championship

This had been hyped up as a "dream match" going into the event, and while I don't think they quite reached that level, it was a hell of a main event with both guys bringing the physicality. I don't know if Moxley getting busted open was necessary, but it was quite the visual, that's for sure. I just wish the outcome wasn't so predictable because that took away from some of the drama down the stretch. I also wish Moxley's title win had more time to breathe than immediately being lumped into the post-match brawl building toward Blood and Guts, but I won't complain about Cesaro getting another moment by closing out the pay-per-view.

Overall Show

It's wild when you think about how this show suffered from so many top stars getting injured beforehand as well as a weak build and yet it still wound up being one of AEW's strongest shows to date. Seriously, this was stellar stuff. Without a bad match on the (main) card, the four hours flew by and the Chicago crowd was incredibly electric. A majority of the matches were above average and it was awesome to see the NJPW stars treated like stars. Now imagine how much better next year's installment will be with everyone (or at least almost everyone) being healthy.

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