It’s time to see which side of the Forbidden Door reigns supreme.
For the second straight year, AEW and NJPW are coming together to do something that only a few years ago would have been unthinkable, putting some of the top pro wrestling stars from North America and Japan (and all around the world, frankly) together on one massive card.
Following the success of the first Forbidden Door last year in Chicago, the sequel is coming to us from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. If anything, the card for 2023 looks even better than the original, with most of both companies’ big stars participating.
The night will start and end with big matches. The AEW World Championship is on the line right off the bat, with MJF (reluctantly, as is his wont) defending his title against the Ace of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi. The main event is a dream meeting between two of the very best wrestlers on the planet over the last 10-15 years, Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada.
Yet neither may be the best bout of the night. That honor could very well go to a rematch of a pairing that many consider a top candidate for match of the year, Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay. The two men absolutely thrilled during their first meeting at Wrestle Kingdom in January, where Omega prevailed. Ospreay will pull out all the stops to get his win back, and there’s no reason to think the result won’t once again be spectacular.
We’ll be updating this post in real time as the action plays out.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 results from Toronto:
(click any match with a link for full details)
- MJF def. Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall to retain the AEW World Championship
- CM Punk def. Satoshi Kojima by pinfall in a Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament quarterfinal match; though Punk was heavily booed during the match, he does show Kojima respect afterward
- Orange Cassidy def. Katsuyori Shibata, Daniel Garcia and Zack Sabre Jr. to retain the AEW International Championship by pinning Garcia after Shibata looked like he had Garcia in position to be pinned; afterward, ZSJ confronted Cassidy and Shibata, who shook hands with each other as Sabre headed for the back
- Sanada def. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry by pinfall to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
- Afterward, Perry turns on Hook, clotheslining him on the ramp
- Eddie Kingston, Tomohiro Ishii, and The Elite (Young Bucks and Hangman Adam Page) def. Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta), Konosuke Takeshita and Shota Umino as Ishii pins Yuta
- Toni Storm def. Willow Nightingale by pinfall to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship
- Will Ospreay def. Kenny Omega by pinfall to become the new IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion
- Darby Allin, Sting and Tetsuya Naito def. Minoru Suzuki, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara by pinfall as Naito pins Suzuki
- Bryan Danielson def. Kazuchika Okada by submission