AEW x NJPW: FORBIDDEN DOOR

 

AEW x NJPW FORBIDDEN DOOR

Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino & Wheeler Yuta
What a terrific way to kick off this show. All 6 men were firing on all cylinders and delivered red hot performances-- Eddie Kingston is a star in just about any match he's in, but he truly was the MVP here, and that's saying something, because as I said, everybody rocked the shit outta their roles! ***1/4

FTR vs. United Empire vs. Roppongi Vice
This was quite fun. Cash got to shine as the FIP when Dax went out, O-Khan was awesome as usual with his uniquely funky offense, and both of the RPG Vice lad had really solid showings as well. I would say it dragged a bit towards the end after Dax returned into the match, but all in all, I thought this was pretty good. **3/4

Clark Connors vs. Malakai Black vs. Miro vs. PAC
This got better as it went on, which is the norm for multi-man matches like this anyways. I wasn't really feeling it before the table got introduced, but everything from that moment onward was some good shiet. A pretty good, solid fun match overall. **3/4

Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi & Sting vs. El Phantasmo & The Young Bucks
STING kicking the match off with that badass entrance was amazing. The whole match was superb fun all the way through - classic Bucks 6-man tag pacing bell-to-bell, and predictably Shingo in particular matched up perfectly with it alongside his awesome explosive offense. ***

Thunder Rosa vs. Toni Storm
This wasn't anything. No heat at all & the action wasn't anything memorable whatsoever. A match that happened. *

Orange Cassidy vs. Will Ospreay
I don't like to say it, but this did absolutely nothing for me. It's THE Orange Cassidy big match, you know what that means, now with Will Ospreay as his opponent. Nothing new or interesting about it. I can recognize a few singular moments of greatness where Ospreay's already-nasty offense looked all the more brutal, 'cause of OC's willingness to let himself look like a ragdoll, but yeah, ultimately this just simply wasn't for me. *3/4

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
The pop Claudio got = goosebumps. He was always the most perfect man for this particular spot, and I am oh so glad it actually happened. The match absolutely rocked too. They did the most natural story they could, with Double C using his superior power game to dominate Zack, and Zack was focused & hyena-like in his compelling attack on Claudio's arm. A beautiful debut in every way for an exceptional wrestler. ***1/2

Adam Cole vs. Adam Page vs. Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada
This was never going to be my type of a match, but I thought it was actually was pretty solid. Certainly nothing memorable whatsoever, but the overall energy & great atmosphere kinda carried it - awkward ending aside, this was perfectly alright. **

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley
This, to me, felt like it never really got flowing or going as it should. It's unfortunate because Tana vs. Moxley should be a banger, and especially so in 2022 when Moxley is killing it against just about everyone, but yeppers, this was more about the moment than the actual match. **