AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door advertised MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the AEW World Championship, CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima, Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay and a main event of Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada.
Fans in Canada once again showered CM Punk with boos while rallying around all things Elite.
This week’s broadcast of AEW Dynamite garnered 902,000 viewers.
AEW Dynamite Results | June 25, 2023
- MJF def. Hiroshi Tanahashi | AEW World Championship
- CM Punk def. Satoshi Kojima | Owen Hart Cup Tournament Match
- Orange Cassidy def. Daniel Garcia, Katsuyori Shibata and Zach Sabre Jr. | AEW All Atlantic Championship
- Sanada def. Jungle Boy | IWGP Heavyweight Championship
- The Elite, Tomohiro Ishii and Eddie Kingston def. The Blackpool Combat Club, Shota Umino and Konosuke Takeshita
- Toni Storm def. Willow Nightingale | AEW Women’s World Championship
- Will Ospreay def. Kenny Omega | IWGP United States Championship
- Bryan Danielson Def. Kazuchika Okada
AEW Dynamite Ratings
- June 21, 2023 | 902,000
- June 14, 2023 | 832,000
- June 7, 2023 | 903,000
- May 31, 2023 | 923,000
- May 24, 2023 | 846,000
AEW X Forbidden Door 2023 Ticket Sales
- AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Venue: Scotiabank Arena
- AEW Dynamite Tickets Distributed: 13,336
- AEW Dynamite Tickets Available: 428
AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Winners And Grades
MJF Def. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Justin Roberts’ announcements were also made in Japan by NJPW ring announcer Makoto Abe.
MJF donned a robe that read “NJPW is an Indie”
There were dueling “Tanahashi/MJF” chants throughout the match as MJF’s upward climb as a heel continues.
The announce team really honed in on Tanahashi’s age and the fact that he’s out of his prime.
Excalibur referenced this tweet seen below, which MJF scheduled to post thinking he would have beaten Tanahashi by now.
MJF sold a knee injury after delivering this move as knee injuries continue to be a theme in his matches.
Hiroshi Tanahashi had a visual pinfall on MJF, but the referee was busy discarding the AEW World Championship. MJF then won with a shot with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. You couldn’t have protected Tanahashi in defeat any more.
Kevin Kelly and Taz were playing up the partisanship between NJPW and AEW, respectively, but their chemistry was way off in this first match.
MJF vs. Tanahashi Grade: B
CM Punk Booed Out Of Toronto, def. Satoshi Kojima
CM Punk once again received a polarizing John Cena-like reaction from this crowd just as he did at Collision, if not worse. There were even “f—k CM Punk” chants.
Punk went with Muay Thai shorts for this Owen Hart Foundation opener.
I was looking forward to this match more than any other, strictly for the reaction. It did not disappoint, and they hadn’t even touched yet.
Satoshi Kojima was the biggest babyface in the building for this match, and they loved him even more when he started popping his pecs. CM Punk popped his pecs right back to a not-so-warm reaction.
CM Punk continued to lean into his heel reaction with a Hulk Hogan-like leg drop.
Punk further channeled his inner John Cena with “boo-yeah” strikes.
Punk hilariously screamed “lariat” while clotheslining Kojima in the corner. Punk later trolled Kojima by delivering a Mongolian Chop similar to Kojima’s longtime tag team partner Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
Punk looked just fine in his first singles match since returning, and the announce team even marveled at his cardio.
Kojima crushed CM Punk with a flying elbow. Taz said it better by saying “he got him in the yam bag.”
Add “Pepsi sucks!” to the amount of anti-CM Punk chants in this match.
Despite his heel reaction, CM Punk was gracious in victory and helped Kojima to his feet after the match.
CM Punk vs. Kojima Grade: B+
Orange Cassidy Def. Garcia, Shibata and Zach Sabre Jr.
Daniel Garcia was described as the only person in this Fatal 4-Way to enter this match without a title. It describes AEW in a nutshell.
Orange Cassidy began the match with low kicks on all three of his opponents.
Orange Cassidy and Katsuyori Shibata received the first “this is awesome” chant of the night for a seated exchange.
Orange Cassidy retained with a rollup on Daniel Garcia, straight vulturing a pin from Shibata.
All-Atlantic Championship Fatal 4-Way Grade: B+
Sanada Def. Jungle Boy
Jungle Boy walked out with Hook, which will put Jungle Boy squarely on heel alert.
There was a “red shoes” chant to start this match, followed by “let’s go red shoes.”
This match was contested under NJPW rules including a 20-count.
Sanada was able to trap Jungle Boy in the Paradise Lock, and Taz remarked that nobody used that move on him “and there was a reason for that” (due to Taz’s short limbs.)
Despite being top stars, both Sanada and lame-duck babyface Jungle Boy are ice-cold as characters right now in their promotions, and this match showed it.
Fans did react to Sanada’s spinning dragon sleeper.
Sanada won this match, almost out of nowhere, with a moonsault.
After the match, Hook consoled Jungle Boy. The two walked out together, and as soon as they turned the music off, it seemed like there would be a heel turn, but there was not. AEW cut to the announce team, but then cut back to Jungle Boy who clotheslined Hook. Taz reacted with “holy s—t!”
Taz was excellent expressing disgust with Hook’s heel turn, calling Jack Perry “a deadman” and agreeing with a loud chant of “y0u f—ked up!” Fans chanted “Taz” and he later stormed away from the booth.
Sanada vs. Jungle Boy Grade: C
The Elite, Ishii And Kingston Vs. The Blackpool Combat Club, Shota Umino And Takeshita
This was a very pro-Elite crowd due to Kenny Omega’s association with them.
Tomohiro Ishii and Takeshita had a highly physical exchange strong enough to put hardcore wrestling fans in a joy coma.
Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley tagged in and fans came to their feet. They immediately paid it off with an endless exchange of chops.
Takeshita absolutely leveled Ishii with a forearm and Ishii sold it like he was dead. You can tell Ishii loves working with him.
Fans loudly chanted “Cowboy Shit” in strong support of Hangman Adam Page as another veiled shot at CM Punk.
Eddie Kingston took a bullet for Jon Moxley when he stepped in front of a double super kick.
This match was peppered with chants of “this is awesome” and “fight forever!”
Despite Kingston saving Moxley, Moxley delivered a cutter to Kingston later in the match, only to finally eat a double superkick.
Ishii picked up the pinfall over Wheeler Yuta, who has now eaten one pinfall after another following a string of high-profile pins.
The Elite vs. Blackpool Combat Club Grade: A
Toni Storm Def. Willow Nightingale
Storm and Nightingale had a tough act to follow but fans eventually came around and they had a good match.
Skye Blue was shown disappointed backstage after Toni Storm’s shady victory, as was Britt Baker.
Toni Storm, who had a bloody nose, stayed in character after the match, cursing out Nightingale.
Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale Grade: B-
Will Ospreay Def. Kenny Omega
There was a video package mimicking a news story, which called for riots in Canada. Ospreay was then see, ripping off The Miz’s WrestleMania 27 entrance in a control room. Add Will Ospreay to the long list of wrestlers who rip off The Miz. Ospreay’s version, however was like if Nas sang “Hate Me Now” a capella.
One of the biggest pops of the night came when the bell rang. Fans chanted “holy s—t” before the two even touched.
Don Callis was flanked by two masked security guards. The first time he interfered, he received huge heat, and fans popped loudly when he was ejected.
Surprisingly, there were “Ospreay” chants early on, which were immediately answered by chants of “Kenny.”
The last IWGP World Heavyweight Title match on this show was competed under IWGP rules, which means a 20-count. This IWGP US Title match is also being competed under IWGP rules, but with an AEW referee, which means no counting at all.
Will Ospreay tasted Kenny Omega’s blood, eliciting chants of “you sick f—k!”
Will Ospreay continued heeling by jawing with a pair of children in mohawks. He then used the Canadian flag to wipe himself, similar to Shawn Michaels. He then used the Canadian flag to wipe his nose, similar to Shawn Michaels.
Ospreay’s heel work paid off as fans rallied behind Omega, who bloodied Ospreay right back.
Tony Schiavone summarized this match perfectly: “We’ve seen faces covered in blood, but bodies?”
Callis returned, with fans serenading him with “P.O.S.” chants.
This was not the level of its predecessor, but an excellent match nonetheless.
Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay Grade: A
Los Stingobernobles Def. Le Suzuki Gods
Sting wore Joker-inspired facepaint similar to his TNA days as the Insane Icon.
Surprisingly, this match didn’t seem to get cut for time. It was 8:30 pm PST by the time it ended.
The highlight of the match came when Le Suzuki Gods (Jericho, Guevara, Suzuki) did a triple decker pose.
With this match, Chris Jericho and Sting finally competed in a ring together for the first time.
With the show flirting with the four-hour mark, fans definitely showed signs of fatigue as this match dragged on.
Stingobernobles vs. Suzuki Gods Grade: B-
Bryan Danielson Def. Kazuchika Okada
Fans popped huge for Bryan Danielson using his old “Final Countdown” theme.
This was definitely a NJPW-paced match, and though the crowd was committed to loving this match, they couldn’t help but be down for stretches of this match.
In a night full of flat finishes, Bryan Danielson’s submission victory over Okada to a “stunned” ScotiaBank Arena was a fitting end.
The announcers teased that there will be more matches between Okada and Danielson, so thankfully they’ll have additional chances to live up to the hye.
