If you asked Tony Khan a year ago (pandemic restrictions notwithstanding), if he wanted to try a dual-branded pay-per-view with New Japan Pro-Wrestling without Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes, he almost certainly would have said no. The same would have been true six months ago pondering a Forbidden Door without CM Punk and Bryan Danielson.
This past Sunday in Chicago, AEW and NJPW pulled off one of the more entertaining and ambitious pro wrestling cards in recent memory without any of them.
While Rhodes departed of his own accord to return to WWE several months ago (and ironically got injured since then), the other three wrestlers all missed Forbidden Door due to injury. Punk and Danielson were penciled in for specific matches: Punk against Hiroshi Tanahoshi for the AEW World Championship, and Danielson in a battle for technical supremacy against Zack Sabre Jr. Omega has been out longer term, but considering his history with NJPW, he almost certainly would have been in one of the night’s matches, like the four-way match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
It’s a testament to the amount of talent that AEW has acquired and developed that other members of the roster were able to step up and fill the void almost seamlessly, a fact not lost on Khan during the post-event media scrum.
“You could headline any pay-per-view ever with the list of people who were out on this pay-per-view,” Khan said. “The roster is so deep compared to where it started, and we’re able to sustain it.”
Indeed, having Jon Moxley sub in for Punk worked for a variety of reasons, not least of which because Mox had been seeking a match with Tanahashi for some time, and Khan admitted to delaying it. That paid off handsomely in Sunday night’s main event, with much of the crowd cheering for Tanahashi but also showing Moxley love when he emerged with the victory.
Moxley also missed time in recent months due to checking himself into alcohol rehab, but he and Jericho — as well as Orange Cassidy, who shined at Forbidden Door in a singles match against Will Ospreay — returned to the fold just when AEW needed them most.
Khan’s continued knack for talent acquisitions helped as well, with Claudio Castagnoli making his AEW debut as Danielson’s hand-picked replacement to face Sabre. Amid the ongoing debate over whether AEW has too large a roster in some parts of wrestling fandom, it could have been seen as a luxury signing. But if Forbidden Door proved anything, it’s that you never know when any newcomer or foundational talent will be needed to play a big part on short notice.
“The people who came in helped fill that void,” Khan said, referring to Punk and Danielson. “Now they need the time, now they’re beat up, and now these guys can step back in, the originals, the first few champions. And new faces come in for the company, including, now, Claudio. I just think it’s really cool, to talk about it again, full circle, being back here in Chicago. … So it all came together even though it wasn’t the original plan for tonight.”
It certainly wasn’t, and probably never would have been at any time in AEW’s history. But darned if it didn’t turn out just fine anyway.