Hook accompanies Jack Perry for his walk to the ring for this big title opportunity. Sanada has just Douki with him from Just Five Guys. Red Shows is the referee for this one and gets some love from the crowd.
Chants break out for both wrestlers as the referees discuss how neither man was familiar with the other’s work. Perry gets the Snare Trap applied, but the champ quickly gets to the ropes.
Sanada does a couple of leapfrogs and hits a beautiful dropkick. But Perry blasts him off the apron to the floor and hits a tope suicida before hurling Sanada into the barricade.
They trade shots before Sanada looks for the Paradise Lock. Neither he nor Perry can get it applied, but the champ gets it on tight the second try before booting Jack from behind with a dropkick and using an arrogant cover for two.
Now chops are exchanged in the middle of the ring, with Perry taking the worst of it. A big boot crashes home for Sanada, but Perry rallies with a thrust kick and a running lariat. A Tiger Driver forces the champ to kick out at two.
Sanada buys himself a breather with a neck screw as Red Shoes checks on both wrestlers. They rise to their knees to exchange more strikes, and Jack doesn’t look out of place in these Strong Style spots. He catches Sanada with a backslide for two, then drops into Skull End, Sanada’s own hold. The champ’s boot eventually reaches the bottom rope for a break.
A series of counters leads to a Sanada TKO for two count. Perry rolls away from a moonsault to hit a poison rana; he also counters Skull End into a pinning predicament.
Sanada hits his own poison rana and a Shining Wizard for another near fall. His moonsault is on target now, and that’s it for Jungle Boy.
But the real drama comes afterward, when Perry turns on Hook, clotheslining him on the ramp and holding his tag team partner’s FTW title aloft, seemingly turning heel in the process.
Click here for full Forbidden Door 2023 results from Toronto.