This Sunday, All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling join forces to present the historic AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Many of the top stars from AEW and NJPW are currently out of action due to injuries, but that hasn’t stopped the companies for putting together a card featuring surreal match-ups that fans never thought they’d see.
SEScoops correspondents Andrew Ravens, Joey G and I got together and run down the card for AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door.
Here are our official Forbidden Door predictions:
The Buy-In: Max Caster & Gunn Club vs. LA Dojo (Yuya Uemura, Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight & The DKC)
Joey G: Max Caster will cut an epic rap, then get the absolute piss kicked out of him by the LA Dojo boys. (Prediction: LA Dojo)
Andrew Ravens: The match is fine and will be a fun match. I don’t see why the NJPW guys would go over and AEW needs to do a better job protecting The Acclaimed as they’re clearly over with the fans. (Prediction: Max Caster & Gunn Club)
Michael Reichlin: I’m a big fan of Max Caster whole act and the Gunn Club is good in the ring, but I see LA Dojo getting a win for ‘Team NJPW’ – although there has been no mention of formally keeping score of wins for AEW or New Japan. (Prediction: LA Dojo)
Consensus: LA Dojo
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. TBA
Joey G: This will be hard to pick. I presume Danielson would have defeated ZSJ, but since that match hasn’t happened yet it feels like the Brit has to win to eventually build to that. Although, why would a mystery man be brought in just to lose? Too many questions, so instead of a winner I’ll pick who I think the surprise is. Many will guess Claudio (Cesaro), ROH champion Jonathan Gresham, or Johnny Gargano. But me? I think it’s time for a hero. (Prediction: Chris Hero)
Michael Reichlin: It’s unfortunate that Bryan Danielson is out of this one due to injury, but he’s promised a replacement that fans will be excited about. The replacement will be the newest member of the Blackpool Combat Club and will also take Bryan’s spot in Blood and Guts on Wednesday. Who else could it be, but Cesaro? These two will put on a technical classic that will showcase what sets AEW and NJPW apart from the rest. Cesaro (well, Claudio Castignoli) returns and begins the best run of his career. (Prediction: Cesaro)
Andrew Ravens: The mystery opponent has to be Cesaro. He goes back with Bryan Danielson and would fit well in the group. He’s also someone that the fans will be behind in this role and would be a welcome addition to the AEW roster. It would be odd for AEW to beat this mystery person on their first night with the promotion so I’ll side with the mystery opponent who I think is Cesaro. (Prediction: Cesaro)
Consensus: Cesaro
Fatal Four-Way to Crown the First AEW All-Atlantic Champion: Pac vs. Miro vs. Malakai Black vs. Clark Conners
Andrew Ravens: It comes down to one man and one man only for me and that’s Miro. He’s been away for a while and has been booked strongly since coming back. Sure, you can make the case for the other guys, but it’s pretty obvious who should win the title here. (Prediction: Miro)
Joey G: All options are good options in what is sure to be an underrated gem. Ishii going out means the young Clark Conners gets a chance to prove himself on a big stage, and PAC, Miro, and Malakai have all gotten very over to the AEW faithful. Miro feels like he’s ready for to enter the world title scene, and while PAC would be great holding gold, Malakai could kickstart a dominant run for the House of Black by capturing gold here. I’m going Malakai. (Prediction: Malakai Black)
Michael Reichlin: I won’t get into the debate surrounding AEW adding another mid-card championship belt, or the specifics of what makes an “All-Atlantic” champion. I do like the idea of stars like Pac, Miro and Black having a reason to face each other and this match is over-stuffed with talent. I’m a huge Miro guy and he had a memorable run as TNT Champion. Between these four, I see Miro as the best choice to be champion. (Prediction: Miro)
Consensus: Miro
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta & Shota Umino
Joey G: This will most definitely be a lot of fun, but the heels seem destined to take this one. Kingston seeing blood will distract him from going for the win, and while Yuta and Umino are great, Suzuki is evil and Jericho and Guevara are as thick as thieves. Jericho and company get the W here. (Prediction: Jericho, Guevara & Suzuki)
Andrew Ravens: This could be a toss-up as it’s just a match on the card with some history. Jericho has been getting the upper hand a lot on Kingston so I will side with the babyfaces here and Suzuki taking the pinfall loss. (Prediction: Jericho, Guevara & Suzuki)
Michael Reichlin: This could easily be one of the most enjoyable matches of the night. I expect a bunch of crazy spots, including Sammy or Yuta jumping off something high. Kingston always delivers, Jericho adds star power and Suzuki will get violent. (Prediction: Jericho, Guevara and Suzuki)
Consensus: Jericho, Guevara & Suzuki
IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy
Michael Reichlin: Cassidy can go, so don’t write this off as just a comedy match. Ospreay is one of my favorites and I still can’t believe he’s been gracing an AEW ring. I hope we get to see more from him over the next few months, if they could negotiate him doing a tour in the US. The crowd will each this one up and Ospreay will have another showcase performance. (Prediction: Will Ospreay)
Andrew Ravens: It doesn’t make much sense for Cassidy, a comedy guy, to win an NJPW title and then defend it in Japan where they book strong-style wrestling. This could be one of the better matches on the card as Ospreay will be able to tell a great story around Cassidy’s gimmick. (Prediction: Will Ospreay)
Joey G: A match that will exceed all expectations both due to Ospreay’s incredible in-ring agility and Cassidy’s even better character work and sloth-style. However, as much as OC is loved he’s gonna get destroyed by the Aerial Assassin’s Hidden Blade. (Prediction: Will Ospreay)
Consensus: Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm
Joey G: Rosa and Storm on paper are perfect opponents for one another, so the real hope is that the match is as great as the talent in the ring. Only bad thing about this is that Rosa is still early on in her reign so the outcome is all but determined. (Prediction: Thunder Rosa)
Andrew Ravens: AEW has built up Storm very well in this role and it’s been a fun feud to follow along with. Thunder is still way too early in her title reign to lose the title here and I think that may hurt the crowd reactions to the match. (Prediction: Thunder Rosa)
Michael Reichlin: If you remember what I wrote about Thunder Rosa before Double or Nothing, my opinion hasn’t changed much for this latest match. Her title reign is underwhelming and she hasn’t risen to the occasion as someone who can carry the division, but they haven’t built up her challenger enough to warrant a title change yet. (Prediction: Thunder Rosa)
Consensus: Thunder Rosa
Winner Takes All: ROH World Tag Team Champions FTR vs. IWGP World Tag Team Champions United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan) vs. Roppongi Vice
Joey G: This feud has seemed weird from the start, but that won’t stop me from enjoying three very different tag teams tying it up in what should be another fun contest. The most exciting path is that of FTR, because if they grab all the gold that sets up a potential rubber match with the Young Bucks as the main event of ALL OUT 2022 for everything, including the AEW belts. That’s too good of a story to pass up on. (Prediction: FTR)
Michael Reichlin: FTR are the top tag team in the world, but I don’t see them putting another pair of belts on them. That gets complicated, as we saw with Belt Collector Kenny Omega. Cobb and O-Khan retain by pinning one of the members of Roppongi Vice. (Prediction: United Empire)
Andrew Ravens: I believe AEW is heading towards a Young Bucks vs. FTR feud eventually whether that be as early as All Out or at a later date so I do expect them to lose the titles here. It’s a toss-up as to who will win the match, but I’ll side with Jeff Cobb and Great-O’Khan going over as they can always lose the ROH titles whenever needed. (Prediction: United Empire)
Consensus: United Empire
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole
Michael Reichlin: Okada is finally wrestling in an AEW ring and that’s just crazy to me. The dream matches that are now possible should make for some special events in the year ahead. As for the match at hand, I don’t see an AEW wrestler winning the IWGP championship and then going to Japan to defend it regularly. Between White and Okada, I think White retains and these two continue their feud. (Prediction: Jay White)
Joey G: Tony Khan said on the Forbidden Door media call that Okada wasn’t available for AEW television until this past week, so the build of this match was very scattered. That aside, all four competitors are very unique and VERY OVER, so this contest is sure to be red-hot. However, we know whose era this is. (Prediction: Jay White)
Andrew Ravens: White just won the title and it doesn’t make much sense to have AEW talent go over to defend a title in Japan. I see White retaining here and beating either Page or Cole so that still sets up a future White vs. Okada match. (Prediction: Jay White)
Consensus: Jay White
Bullet Club (Young Bucks, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) vs. Dudes with Attitudes (Sting, Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi)
Joey G: This might be the match I’m most excited for even though it was only announced last week. If you’ve never seen Hiromu Takahashi in action you are in for a treat. My main prediction? Sting will jump off of the top of the United Center. (Prediction: Dudes With Attitudes)
Andrew Ravens: I see this as being a pick-em type of match as either team could go over. I side with Dudes with Attitudes just because some NJPW need to go over on this show and with Allin and Sting being on the team, it makes even more sense. (Prediction: Dudes with Attitudes)
Michael Reichlin: This is another match that seems thrown together but will probably rule. With the grab-bag of competitors involved, how could it not? The Bucks are the AEW World tag team champions, but Sting and Darby are a special act that knows how to get the job done. (Prediction: Dudes with Attitudes)
Interim AEW World Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley
Andrew Ravens: Moxley wins it here. I would be shocked to see Tanashi pick up the win. AEW doesn’t have short-term champions so it wouldn’t make sense for an interim champion to have a short reign as the purpose is to fill the role until the actual champion comes back and then the two champions fight. (Prediction: Jon Moxley)
Michael Reichlin: This might be a surprising pick, but I’m giving this one to Tanahashi. This is a dream match with two of the top pro wrestlers in the world, no question. At the end of the day, I think this comes down to politics. More specifically, I could see Tony Khan putting the Interim AEW World title on Tanahashi, as a gesture of good faith towards New Japan, setting up the eventual Tanahashi vs. CM Punk unification match. Maybe we do see Moxley vs. Punk in a few months, but I don’t see AEW pulling the trigger on that match just yet. (Prediction: Hiroshi Tanahashi)
Joey G: While not the original main event for this first ever dream card, no star has carried the spirit of AEW like Moxley has, and him getting the opportunity to go up against one of the greatest of all-time in Tanahashi has made this substitute feel like a big deal. Moxley gets the win and gets to actually defend the company’s top belt in front of fans, something he was denied during his first reign. (Prediction: Jon Moxley)
Consensus: Jon Moxley
There you have it, our AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door predictions. Check back after the event for our Results and news coming out of the show.
