In the almost week since Jon Moxley triumphantly held the Interim World Championship above his head before being viciously attacked by Chris Jericho, a lot has been said about AEW x NJPW's Forbidden Door.

Some have called it the Pay-Per-View of the year, Tony Khan called it the second-most profitable event in AEW history, and more than a few bouts have been defined as legit Match of the Year candidates.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, to his credit, considered the event a resounding success, even despite all the hurdles the promotions had to jump through, and declared there were no real duds during the night, as his official ratings clearly show. With that being said, did Meltzer get it right? Are his match reviews dead-on, or were some of his reviews too harsh or too generous? Let's find out.

Did Dave Meltzer get his AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door ratings right?

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston/Wheeler Yuta/ Shota Umino –  4.75

In the first match of the night, a fast-paced and high-action trios bout with JAS and Suzuki Gun vs. Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, and Shota “Shooter” Umino in a match that was rightfully tied for the highest-rated match on the card according to Meltzer. The crowd went nuts for Minoru Suzuki, JAS made Umino look like an absolute star despite eating the pin, and Jericho turned in one of his best performances in All Elite Wrestling regardless of context. At 51, Jericho's best days in the ring athletically may remain behind him, but he remains one of the savviest minds in the business, as this match clearly shows.

CP Rating – 5

FTR vs. The United Empire's Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan vs. Roppongi Vice – 4.5

This is the first match on the card that was probably affected negatively by an in-ring injury. Early in the bout, Dax Harwood rolled out of the ring with an apparent shoulder injury and left the ring for an extended period of time, leaving his partner, Cash Wheeler, to have to tag out to Trent Beretta at one point. Though he ultimately did return to the ring, some of the momentum left the arena ring along with Harwood and it took some of the shine off of what should have been one of the best bouts on the show.

Meltzer seemed to think the Harwood injury angle was a work, which might be the case, but why would Khan book an injury angle on a show defined by injuries and then hold it over until the next show, where the older FTR member remained taped up for his three-on-three battle with the Gunn Clubb alongside Danhausen on Dynamite. Either way, the injury angle brought down the match and the rating as a result.

CP Rating: 4

PAC vs. Miro vs. Clark Connors vs. Malakai Black – 4.5 stars

This match had a little bit of everything. It had fast-paced action, high-flying moves, big hoss hits, and even an angle between Clark Connors and Miro that, despite having absolutely no setup, moved to be one of the more effective mini-feuds on the entire card.

Despite a strong comeback effort by Connors that saw him put Miro through a table before attempting to finish off PAC – who also came seconds away from submitting to a Game Over from Miro – Malakai Black hit him with the Black Mist, then the Black Mass, and he was ultimately submitted by “The Bastard” with a Brutalizer.

CP Rating: 4.5

The Bullet Club (Nick and Matt Jackson, El-Phantasmo) vs. Dudes With Attitudes (Sting, Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi) – 4.5

While some assumed the Jacksons would find themselves in some sort of title match at Forbidden Door, that wasn't the case. No, despite being the AEW Tag Team Champs, the Young Bucks instead found themselves in a trios match against Sting and Darby Allin with an NJPW star on either side of the match in El Phantasmo and Shingo Takagi respectively. The match was a fast, fun, lighthearted spotfest with more than a few big spots designed to make both Sting and ELP look like stars.

CP Rating: 4.5

Thunder Rosa v. Toni Storm – 3.75

This match was always going to be a tough sell for the fans watching from home and assembled in Chicago. It exclusively featured AEW wrestlers – even if Storm spent a ton of time in Stardom – was sandwiched in the middle of the card following four big-time bouts, and wasn't technically perfect in its execution or buildup. Still, neither Thunder Rosa nor Toni Storm turned in a bad effort and they ultimately did a good job of showing the best AEW's women's division has to offer.

CP Rating: 4

Will Ospreay vs, Orange Cassidy – 4.75

Will Ospreay and Orange Cassidy put on the match of the night and a genuine candidate for Match of the Year, even if Meltzer's rating of 4.75 may ultimately eliminate that from consideration. The match started out slow, with OC pulling off his typical shenanigans before the match predictably sped up into a finisher fest of Orange Punches, near falls, and a full-on fight to the end with the leader of the United Empire securing the win before Katsuyori Shibata hit the ring and kicked him to the curb.

Maybe Meltzer still doesn't “get” OC, though he acknowledges his strength as a draw, maybe he was salty that Cassidy's new tie-dye look and “Jane” entrance theme didn't arrive until the following Dynamite, either way, this match deserved to be higher and in the conversation for best NJPW match wrestled on American soil.

CP Rating: 5.5

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – 4.5

When Claudio Castagnoli's music hit and he emerged from the back wearing a zip-up Blackpool Combat Club jacket, this match could do no wrong. Was it as technically dominant as it would have been if Bryan Danielson was on the opposite side of the ring from Zack Sabre Jr.? No, though Castagnoli does have significant technical skills, he isn't going to rip off a dozen different counters to submissions in a dazzling display of grappling.

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Will Ospreay in front of the AEW Dynasty logo

Matty Breisch ·

Cody Rhodes with a text bubble reading "I don't think The Rock has one more match left in him" next to The Rock with the RAW logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Will Ospreay with a text bubble reading "You have no idea what I fight for!" with Triple H on his left and Dave Meltzer on his right and the AEW Dynamite logo as the background.

Matty Breisch ·

Still, the “King of Swing” delivered on the goods and that's all that matters.

CP Rating: 4.5

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. Adam Page – 4.5

Another match that had its rating negatively affected by injury – one that even Meltzer admitted was a complete shoot. For the first 20 or so minutes of the match, this was a marvelous display of the best of the best both promotions have to offer, with Jay White, Kazuchika Okada, Adam Cole, and Adam Page all connecting on massive moves and showcasing their talents on their biggest stage of the year.

Had Cole not suffered the 1-2 combo of a shoulder injury and a concussion and the match ended with any definitive-feeling finish regardless of the outcome, this would have been a five-star match at the bare minimum, but the co-main event's final sequence, which saw White hit the blade runner on Okada before rolling up an ailing AC for the 1-2-3 left the arena is disbelief – in a bad way – and left fans with a bad taste in their mouths.

CP Rating: 4

Jon Moxley defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi – 4.5

Seven years ago, this would have been the most hotly anticipated match of the year. Both performers were in their primes, were in the World Championship pictures of their respective promotions, and were dominant performers in the ring and outside of it. In 2022, it was still very good but it's clear Tanahashi's best athletic days are behind him and he's had to adjust his in-ring style to accommodate as a result.

The match had big hits, holds, psychology, and even some blood and in the end, the entire United Center cheered “Go Ace” as Tanahashi attempted to overcome Moxley but ultimately fell to the once and current AEW World Champion. Meltzer got this one right, this was a 4.5 star match and a good one at that.

CP Rating: 4.5