AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Guide: Match Card, Predictions
James Rogers 
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- Six more matches were added to the Forbidden Door card during this week's Dynamite.
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UPDATE: 2023/06/22 10:55 EST BY JOSH COULSON
Six more matches were added to the Forbidden Door card during this week's Dynamite.
The term Forbidden Door has been used so much over the course of the past two years, I can't remember whether it was something we used to say before AEW started working with NJPW and Impact. Whether it was or not, it is very much a term synonymous with AEW and New Japan at this point. So much so that Forbidden Door has become an annual PPV the two promotions run together, and the event will return for its sequel in 2023.
RELATED: Will Ospreay Says He Hopes Forbidden Door Is Actually Open To WWE
It was unclear when the first Forbidden Door show ran in 2022 whether it would be a one-time thing, something we get every now and again, or a PPV that happens around the same time every year. Turns out it's that final option, and you'll get no complaints from me. Taking place on Sunday June 25, with the main card beginning at 8 pm EST, fans in the US will be able to watch live through B/R Live, and others around the world can tune in through Fite. It should also be available to NJPW World subscribers, as was the case in 2022, and everything announced for the card so far can be found below.
Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Championship
Hey, did you know Kenny Omega has a title? You'd be forgiven for forgetting The Cleaner is IWGP US Champion since he won it from Will Ospreay back in January and has defended it just one time since. At Forbidden Door, Omega and Ospreay will go at it for a second time, and the Brit will be looking to bring NJPW's US Title back home.
Since Omega won the first match between these two, and has barely acknowledged the title he won in the process even exists since, this one will almost definitely be Ospreay's for the taking. That may well open the door for a third match at All In since it goes down in Ospreay's home country.
Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada
No, you're not dreaming, this match really is happening. A showdown that defines the term Forbidden Door. Kazuchika Okada picked up a win over other members of the Blackpool Combat Club at Dominion and as he celebrated the win with his teammates, Bryan Danielson appeared on the screen and threw down the gauntlet.
Okada obliged and now we'll be getting a bonafide dream match at Forbidden Door. An explanation as to why Danielson has seemingly been protected lately. To make sure he didn't suffer an injury so this match is able to happen. As for who wins, I really don't say this often, but who cares? We, the fans, win because this will almost inevitably be a fantastic match.
Sanada vs. Jungle Boy Jack Perry for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Jungle Boy will make it back-to-back PPV World Title matches at Forbidden Door when he goes up against Sanada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Sanada issued an open challenge on Dynamite and even though wrestlers weren't rushing at the chance to take him on, Jungle Boy had accepted by the end of the show.
Jungle Boy in World Title matches is good. He is a potentially massive future star for AEW. However, two title matches a month apart that not only is he not going to win, but no one really believes he has a chance of winning might not be the best look. Hook will be in his corner, so I do predict a turn of some sort that drives a wedge between them.
MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the AEW World Championship
Having wrestled three matches in two months, which is a lot for MJF, the AEW Champion made it abundantly clear he had no intention of defending his title or even competing at Forbidden Door. Tony Khan had other plans, booking the champion to defend his title against NJPW legend Hiroshi Tanahashi, the second time in two years he'll have a chance to win AEW's top prize.
I'm absolutely fascinated to see how this match unfolds. While I don't doubt MJF wins, giving him the biggest feather in his cap to brag about so far, exactly what will happen has me very interested. I feel like I'm one of the few who loves what MJF does in the ring, so seeing him clash with someone like Tanahashi is going to potentially make for a very good match.
Jericho Appreciation Society and Minoru Suzuki vs. Sting, Darby Allin, and TBA
As soon as Chris Jericho claimed he had no interest in ever wrestling Sting, you knew a match between him and Sting had probably already been arranged. Jericho will team with Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki when he goes up against The Icon, Darby Allin, and a mystery partner.
The most exciting part about this match is the third man. Some fans have convinced themselves it's going to be Goldberg. That would be quite the get, and we'll find out if it is or not this Saturday on Collision. Goldberg or no Goldberg, Team Sting wins this one.
Blackpool Combat Club, Konosuka Takeshita, and Shota Umino vs. The Elite, Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Iishi
Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Elite sounds terrific on paper. The trouble is, both teams have major players tied up in big matches at Forbidden Door. However, that has allowed this ten-person match to be more of a crossover bout than anything else on the card as Eddie Kingston and NJPW stars have stepped in to fill the gaps.
The BCC has been picking up a lot of wins and a tonne of momentum lately. For that reason alone, I'm expecting The Elite plus their special guests to win this one. Someone needs to take Jon Moxley and the gang down a peg or two eventually.
Orange Cassidy vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia for the AEW International Championship
Orange Cassidy is on such a great run right now that Wardlow has lost the TNT Title three times since he became International Champion. He seems almost unbeatable at this point, which might be why he's having three very capable challengers thrown at him at once at Forbidden Door.
Although I'm fully expecting Cassidy to win this one and continue his impressive run, this is the first match so far where I wouldn't be surprised to see him lose. If he does, I can see Daniel Garcia being the one who pins him. He's the only person in this match without a title after all.
Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women's Championship
Toni Storm hasn't really made a mark as Women's Champion just yet, and it doesn't feel like this will be the match where she does. If Willow Nightingale's title was on the line in this one too it might have felt like a bigger deal, but that's clearly not the direction AEW and NJPW want to go.
In fact, this match probably wasn't supposed to happen at all. Mercedes Mone was injured in the final to crown a NJPW Strong Women's Champion which appears to be the only reason Nightingale picked up the win. Storm to win here, but if Mone had been in the match instead, who knows what might have happened?
CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima
CM Punk is back, and so are AEW's Owen Hart tournaments. No, that dream match between Punk and Kenta still isn't happening. On the bright side, if Punk can make it past Satoshi Kojima on Sunday, it's very likely Samoa Joe will be waiting for him in the next round.
It does seem likely Punk will be winning at Forbidden Door too. While I'm not convinced Punk will go the whole way in this one (as I said, Joe may well be waiting), I do think he handily beats Kojima.
Athena vs. Billie Starkz
On the women's side of things in the Owen Hart tournament, Athena and Billie Starkz will be continuing proceedings at Forbidden Door. Although this will be night one for the men, two other women will have already progressed by this point.
While Starkz could get a big leg up by winning this one, AEW has given the impression its Owen Hart tournaments are about big names. If that remains the case this time around, then Athena will get through to the final four at Forbidden Door.
