The Forbidden Door was kicked down last night in Canada. This past Sunday night live from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. AEW and NJPW presented their now annual Pay Preview Forbidden Door. This PPV sees the best from AEW take on the best from NJPW in a cross-promotion battle to give the fans the fantasy booking they have been dreaming of. The fans in Canada brought the noise and the fire from start to finish. And because of this the card top to bottom put together an amazing night of wrestling for the fans watching at home and live in attendance.
The fans in Canada saw it all this past Sunday. You had heel turns, titles changing hands, and of course the tables. Forbidden Door was set to have four pre-show matches. Followed by ten main card matches. Unfortunately, early Sunday afternoon Tony Khan put out a tweet letting the fans know some breaking news. The match set to take place between Adam Cole and Tom Lawlor was called off due to an illness suffered by Adam Cole. Hopefully, it’s nothing serious for Cole, and is back in no time at all.
The results in Canada
- AEW World Championship Match: MJF (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall.
- Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament First Round Match: CM Punk defeated Satoshi Kojima by pinfall.
- AEW International Championship Four-way Match: Orange Cassidy (c) defeated Zack Sabre Jr., Katsuyori Shibata and Daniel Garcia by pinfall (on Garcia)
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Sanada (c) defeated “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry by pinfall.
- 10-Man Tag Team Match: The Elite (“Hangman” Adam Page, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson), Eddie Kingston, and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli), Konosuke Takeshita, and Shota Umino by pinfall.
- AEW Women’s World Championship Match: Toni Storm (c) defeated Willow Nightingale by pinfall.
- IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Match: Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega (c) by pinfall to win the title!
- Trios Tag Team Match: Sting, Darby Allin, and Tetsuya Naito defeated Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara) and Minoru Suzuki by pinfall.
- Bryan Danielson defeated Kazuchika Okada by submission.
Canada Screw Job
One moment on the night truly stands out above the rest would have to be the post-match turn from Jungle Boy. For weeks there have been rumblings that possibly a Jungle Boy heel turn will transpire. After a hard-fought match against Sanada in which Jungle Boy showed he belonged in the ring with the likes of Sanada. Jungle Boy and Hooked were walking to the back together, Jungle Boy hit Hook with a close line out of nowhere. Sending Hook crashing to the ground. The fans in Canada were red-hot at this moment. Chanting some R-rated phrases at Jungle Boy.
The spot that sold this moment was Hook’s dad Tazz on the announce team during this turn. Tazz played the concerned father role perfectly. He mentioned how he was going to try and remain professional but as a father it’s hard. AEW even took this a step further and went on a break, after the show had returned Tazz was no longer at the booth. The announcer noted that Tazz was so shaken by what he had seen that he needed to step away for the night. Fans love it when lines are blurred. Last night this angle did just that. It will be interesting to see where AEW takes this heel Jungle Boy story in the future.
Ospreay vs Omega
WOW.WOW.WOW. There aren’t many words other than wow that can be used to describe this match. At the base of it all wrestling is an art. This match between Ospreay and Omega was close to the purest form of that art we have gotten in years. Omega proved why he is the best bout machine. Ospreay proved why he is considered one of the best wrestlers in the world. This match was 40 minutes long but the speed and action that took place during this match made it feel like it was 5 minutes.
Often you hear fans chant fight forever, this was one of those matches where I truly wish these two men fought forever. Ospreay in this match did a great job at playing up the heel role and sticking it to the fans in Canada. Recreating the HBK flag spot really fired up the crowd. This will go down without question as the best match of the year. Ospreay was able to get the win with some outside help from Don Callis. Having Don involved in the match to me felt like a mistake. This was such a classic match that will be talked about for years, just hate that it ended with outside help.
Round 3
As things currently sit the record for 2023 between Ospreay and Omega is 1-1. One would have to think the pay-off rubber match would take place at a huge event. To me, the perfect spot is All-In live at Wembley in England. There is a couple of reasons for this thinking. The first is All-In will be one of the biggest none WWE wrestling events in years with one of the biggest wrestling gates ever. The second is England is where Ospreay is from round two was in Kenny’s home round three will be in Ospreays home. That event needs a main event this match would be perfect to fill that spot. Wherever the rubber match takes place it will be a must-see for sure.
What’s Next
Sunday night in Canada the Forbidden Door was open for the second time. The product put on Sunday night has the fans asking for more. The hope is that this is the second of a yearly show that will happen every year. This card had the fans and viewers at home excited and engaged the entire night. This card was a great start to a very busy summer for AEW. Next up will be the historic All-In event in August. AEW’s debut in England at the historic Wembley stadium. This will be a record-breaking event that saw tickets move fast. Be sure to tune in to AEW every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday to see all the Fallout from this Forbidden Door event. Along with the build-for All-In
Joe Wood was born and raised in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia. A dedicated father of 2, a boy and a girl. Who is a lifelong Philadelphia 4 for 4-er. Joe found a passion for Professional wrestling from a young age thanks to his father, who took him to live events. Currently, Joe is studying at Full Sail University to achieve his bachelor’s degree in sports marketing and media. Once completed, he hopes to be able to cover sports full-time.
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