New Japan Pro Wrestling Articles - Page 6

How does one determine who is the best modern tag team in wrestling right now? Is it the top team in the top wrestling promotion in world, which would thus be The Usos of the WWE? Or maybe it’s the team who has the most overall, unique title wins, a feat The Young Bucks have […]

In case you haven’t heard, AEW‘s newest stable, La Faccion Ingobernable is on a bit of a roll. Since the arrival of Rush in the promotion, the duo are undefeated in singles action, with Andrade picking up a fantastic win over Rey Fenix and the man formerly known as “Toro Blanco” going 1-0 with a […]

A lot happens at an AEW show when the live Dynamite cameras stop rolling. For one thing, the promotion has to film AEW Dark Elevation and Ramage – unless it’s a week where Rampage happens live – with some other recorded segments being put together before or after the show kicks off too for good […]

When you think of a cross-promotional Pay-Per-View where the top wrestlers in AEW take on the best of the best NJPW has to offer, who is the one tag-team that comes to mind that has to be on the card. Drum roll……. The Young Bucks FTR. Wait, what? FTR? I mean yeah, they are by […]

After almost a week of anticipation, The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer finally released his ratings for AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door, and needless to say, they were relatively predictable in the best possible way. Sure, some fans wibble with a rating one way or another, but for the most part, the information matched the eye […]

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 […]

Many a wrestler in both AEW and NJPW has taken credit for being the Forbidden Door. While Hiroshi Tanahashi came up with the phrase, Jon Moxley has called himself the Forbidden Door, as has Tony Khan in his weirdly charming Impact Wrestling commercials, and Jay White, ever one for modesty, took credit for pretty much […]

While Forbidden Door is officially finished, the afterglow of the AEW x NJPW co-promotional Pay-Per-View is very much still alive and well for the fans who either watched along from home or were lucky enough to make it out to the United Center in Chicago. The card had long-term storytelling, newfound rivalries, and made more […]

Forbidden Door is officially over. AEW and NJPW officially pulled it off and while the event didn’t go on without a hitch, as both Dax Harwood and Adam Cole suffered injuries during their matches, it’s hard to call the show anything but a resounding success both in the ring and on the financial ledger. Jon […]

Wrestling, regardless of whether it’s done in an AEW, WWE, or any other ring, is built on feuds. AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door was chocked full of intriguing in-ring battles between performers who have been passing like ships in the night for years – Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi – white-hot, livewire rivalries between an […]

FTR is riding pretty high right about now following their big win at AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door. Despite a scare early on in the three-way championship match alongside Roppongi Vice, and the United Empire duo of Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan, where Dax Harwood had to be taken backstage to tape up his shoulder, the […]

Jon Moxley entered AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door with a lot to prove but also nothing to prove at the very same time. If he won the main event of Forbidden Door and became the Interim AEW World Championship then great; that would make him the first-ever two-time champion in the promotion’s history and he’d […]

Did the ending of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match at AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door look a little weird to you? Did, after an extended build-up and a growing crescendo towards what should have been an ending worthy of firecrackers, Jay White’s decision to slither back into the ring, take out Kazuchika Okada with […]

AEW x NJPW‘s Forbidden Door didn’t have one main event, but two. Though many a fan of AEW wanted nothing more than to see who would leave the United Center with the Interim AEW World Championship Belt and eventually earn a match with a returning CM Punk, the four-way bout for the IWGP World Heavyweight […]

In the end, if Bryan Danielson’s replacement versus Zack Sabre Jr. was anyone other than the man formerly known as Cesaro, fans of AEW, NJPW, and wrestling as a whole – though maybe not Max Dupri – would have been massively disappointed. Why? Well, for one thing, Cesaro, who has reverted to his indie/real name […]

Goodness, if you had Orange Cassidy versus Will Ospreay on your match of the year prediction bingo card then you, my friend, are in luck, as the duo came out to the ring in their usual styles, began the match with their hands in their respective pockets, and turned in one of the best matches […]

As you may or may not know, New Japan Wrestling doesn’t have a women’s division. While they do work closely with Stardom and have had women’s championship matches on shows they have promoted before, their co-promotion with AEW presented fans in Japan with a rare opportunity to see Thunder Rosa go against one of her […]

The Young Bucks haven’t been associated with the Bullet Club since January of 2019, when they officially left New Japan to join the company they helped to start alongside Kenny Omega, Tony Khan, and… some other guy: AEW. And yet, you can take the Bucks out of the Club, but you can’t take the Bullet […]

PAC has been a member of AEW since the beginning, debuting at All Out 2019 well before the promotion had a weekly television show or employed wrestlers like CM Punk, Miro, or FTR. Though he’s wrestled in a few big matches, recorded signature moments, and even had a few title shots, he’s never held a […]

When AEW’s Dax Harwood came up gingerly from a move early on in FTR’s three-way match with Roppongi Vice and NJPW’s United Empire tag team of Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan, it looked like the end of what could have been a guaranteed 5-star match. Harwood rolled under the ropes with Cash Wheeler following close behind […]

On paper, an AEW pairing of Chris Jericho and Minoru Suzuki doesn’t make much sense. They’re like making a bathing suit out of silk or dipping apple slices into fish sauce – two good things are good on their own but seemingly incompatible together. But in the ring, melded together into a make-shift trios tag […]

It’s here, it’s finally here: AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door has officially arrived. Soon, fans will trickle into the United Center, the lights will dim then rise, and nine matches – plus four more on the pre-show – will take place with hundreds of thousands of fans watching in utter disbelief that Tony Khan was […]

Fans have been wanting to see Johnny Gargano in an AEW ring since he initially became a free agent back in December of 2021 and time and time again, they have been let down. Mystery arrival at a Pay-Per-View?  Hasn’t been Gargano. Suprise arrival at a home state show in Ohio? Hasn’t happened either. Heck, […]

AEW x NJPW’s Forbidden Door is a card for the ages. With nine matches on the books and 28 wrestlers – and counting – set to compete for seven different championship belts, fans will find themselves entertained for hours once the show officially goes underway at 8 pm EST. But hey, just because the Pay-Per-View […]

While the phrase “Forbidden Door” was initially just a fun little phrase coined by NJPW Star Hiroshi Tanahashi, it has since become a title for multiple people in the industry, including Tony Khan himself, the symbol of cross-promotional matches and angles, and an incoming collaborative pay-per-view between New Japan and AEW. Oh, and if recent […]

Blake Christian has wrestled in AEW on two occasions, both of which occurred at Dark tapings in Orlando, Florida. Though he has secured a win in the promotion, besting Rohit Raju in a match televised via Youtube on March 3rd of 2022, Christian, who was known as Trey Baxter during his limited run in NXT, […]

When FTR opted to leave WWE to pursue wrestling opportunities outside of the promotion, it was never supposed to be AEW or bust. Sure, most everyone expected to see the team formerly known as The Revival make their way to Tony Khan’s promotion, as he’s the biggest paying game in town outside of The Fed, […]

AEW has a lot of things going for it as a promotion: A deep roster – despite numerous injuries currently plaguing them – generally good to great to incredible in-ring work, and of course, a solid music department. While yes, Chris Jericho’s “Judas” will always get entire arenas singing the verse and chorus, and Tony […]

Unfortunately, the hits keep on coming for Forbidden Door, as, just 24 hours before the big event, AEW has announced that two more performers, Hiromu Takahashi and Hikuleo had been removed from the card. Now granted, the duo are unavailable for very different reasons; Takahashi reportedly has a fever and was unable to travel from […]

As if Forbidden Door‘s card wasn’t already loaded enough, AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling have added two more bouts to the big-time card on this week’s edition of Rampage, with the pre-show now featuring three matches and 16 total wrestlers for good measure. That’s right, joining the already intriguing eight-man tag match featuring Max […]

As you may or may not know, Andrade El Idolo and Rush – plus the Lucha Brothers – are not allowed to wrestle at AEW’s Forbidden Door due to the relationship between CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling. That’s the bad news, especially since Andrade already disclosed what could have been a very interesting angle […]

Tony Khan and AEW are in full-throttle hyping up the upcoming collaborative Pay-Per-View Forbidden Door, even despite an absolute ton of speed bumps along the way. Between an absolute truckload of injuries both new – see Tomohiro Ishii bowing out of the All-Atlantic Championship four-way – and old – see Kenny Omega, who made it […]

When news broke that Tomohiro Ishii was unable to go at AEW/NJPW’s Forbidden Door, it left many a fan of both promotions with a major case of the bummers. Though he may not be a household name to fans outside of Japan – though he did win the Ring of Honor Television Championship back in […]

AEW is on a roll heading into Forbidden Door. They’ve reportedly pulled in a $1 million gate, are expected to draw big money on the Pay-Per-View circuit, and, according to Tony Khan, have already begun discussing Forbidden Door II, which could be very intriguing indeed for all of the potential dream matches that still need […]

Brand synergy is a beautiful thing, and AEW knows brand synergy all too well. From ex-roster member Cody Rhodes’ game and reality show excursions, to the gloriously goofy Elite Space Jam 2 tie-in, these collaborations can be strange at times, but they’re also a good sign that Tony Khan’s promotion and their TV partner, Warner […]

When addressing the media before Forbidden Door, AEW‘s owner, Tony Khan, had a lot to say. He discussed when wrestlers became available for the show, when more matches for the show would be announced, and even suggested that the two promotions have been discussing Forbidden Door 2, despite the first show having yet to officially […]

Forbidden Door is almost upon us and fans of AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and independent wrestling as a whole are hyped. The card is (mostly) set, the vast majority of the stars are booked, and for the price $49.99, fans will get to watch it all from the comforts of their own home – […]

AEW started off this week’s edition of Dynamite with a classic example of good news, bad news. The good news? Bryan Danielson is not retiring from wrestling due to a lack of desire or a career-ending injury. He is very much still committed to Tony Khan’s promotion and will continue on as a member of […]

Social media is truly a wonderful modern tool for wrestlers to sharpen their character work and build up feuds, and AEW wrestlers understand this just as well as anyone. Though when arguably one of the main catalysts for the entire promotion stemmed from a certain tweet to Dave Meltzer, AEW’s roster should absolutely understand the […]