AEW & NJPW FORBIDDEN DOOR

United Center, Chicago

HIROOKI GOTO & YASHI-HASHI vs. AARON SOLO & QT MARSHALL (8:55): What a fucking show. AEW really delivers the kitchen sink with their PPV's. 4 pre-show matches, 9 main card matches. Big debuts (Cesaro!). Shocking appearances (Shibata!). The pre-show was 1 hour, the main card went 3 hours and 45 minutes. So, yeah, it was a bit too long, but the first handful of matches on the main card had me thinking: is this going to be the greatest PPV of all time? The rowdy, raucous, deafening Chicago crowd certainly helped. And this was all for a show that didn't even have a dream matches. Omega was injured so we unfortunately didn't get to see an Omega/Ibushi match or an Okada/Omega match. Ibushi is out with an injury and feuding backstage with management so he was out. CM Punk and Bryan Danielson are injured. Hiromu Takahashi had a fever so he couldn't get on the plane. Ishii is injured so he was out. Jesus Christ, is there anyone left? There were a few names left off the card like Evil and Yano that, really, weren't missed. You could tell how great a crowd this was as Goto and Yashi-Hashi got roars of approval like they were Hulk Hogan. None of the pre-show matches were all that great but the crowd made them awesome. **1/2

LANCE ARCHER vs. NICK COMOROTO (6:10): Archer is the lone AEW star in the G1 this year. That might not last long, as he did a cannonball entering the ring and landed right on his head. Yikes. This was just too big guys doling it out. It was okay. *1/2

KEITH LEE & SWERVE STRICKLAND vs. EL DESPERADO & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU (12:05): I'm not sold on Swerve Strickland yet. He has to have a really great singles match for me to see how great he is. The crowd adore Keith Lee, though. This was fun. **1/2

THE GUNN CLUB & MAX CASTER vs. YUYA UEMURA, ALEX COUGHLIN, THE DKC & KEVIN KNIGHT (5:35): Billy Gunn's sons left the ring to chase after Danhausen so they weren't even in this match. Billy Gunn got some big pops. It's so funny seeing how taller he is than everyone else when in the WWE you never noticed it. The opening rap that Caster does with the Gunn Club saying the wrong city they're in is always hilarious. I think putting The Acclaimed and The Gunn Club together was actually a great move. The crowd loved this. **1/2

MINORU SUZUKI, CHRIS JERICHO & SAMMY GUEVERA vs. EDDIE KINGSTON, SHOTA UMINO & WHEELER YUTA (19:00): This was a fantastic match. You couldn't get a better crowd. My God did they make these matches ten times better than they were. The one thing they did that I liked was they really pushed some of the new New Japan guys like Shota Umino. He became a fucking star because of this match. Umino is Red Shoe's son and they showed clips of Jericho putting him in The Walls of Jericho in Japan during a match. Later on during this show, Jericho threw a fireball into Umino's face backstage. This was just all action and was super entertaining. ***1/2

FTR vs. JEFF COBB & THE GREAT O'KHAN vs. ROPPONGI VICE (16:25): One member of FTR did the injury gimmick and came back out later taped up to get the crowd to pop. FTR ended up winning the IWGP tag titles here, which means they hold those, the AAA titles, and the ROH titles. I'm guessing they're going to do a 4 title unification match with the Bucks down the line. This had a lot of good action but, man, The Great O'Khan is so terrible it's not even funny. FTR is super over, though, so them winning was great. ***

PAC vs. CLARK CONNORS vs. MIRO vs. MALAKAI BLACK (15:05): Another great match. This string of good to great matches early on was really impeccable. Ishii beat Connors to be in this match but Ishii got injured so they put Connors in anyway. They really pushed him which helped. The ending to this match was genius, really. Malaki Black had Connors in a submission and they were crawling around and PAC got up on the top rope and did a 450 or whatever it's called to break it up. PAC won the new All Atlantic title, which is kind of superfluous since every title can be held by someone from any country. Everyone looked good in this match. ***1/2

DARBY ALLIN, STING & SHINGO TAKAGI vs. EL PHANTASMO & THE YOUNG BUCKS (13:00): This was a lot of fun but more a comedy, entertainment match than any kind of high drama thing. Sting started the match appearing above the entranceway and jumped down onto everyone. ELP and The Bucks did the stupid comedy back scratch spot which got a huge pop. This, like the 3 previous matches, had so many people doing dives and flips and moves non-stop that it was just super engaging. ELP did a top rope walk into a moonsault to the floor which was great. Hiromu was supposed to be in this match but was sick. Sure, it'd have been great if he was in it, but this match didn't suffer at all without him. This was a total blast. ***1/2

THUNDER ROSA vs. TONI STORM (10:40): New Japan doesn't have women's wrestlers so I guess they figured they needed women on this show so they put this title match on. Stardom is owned by the same company as New Japan but Stardom had a PPV on the same day, hence why Thunder Rosa wasn't defending against Karai Sane or someone. This was pretty mediocre to be honest. The AEW women's division has never been that good for one reason or another. *1/2

WILL OSPREAY vs. ORANGE CASSIDY (16:45): This was the match of the night. Considering Will Ospreay is the best wrestler in the world, of course it was. Cassidy started with comedy bits but by the end they were trading big moves and excellent near-falls. Ospreay is the king of the near-fall, always kicking out at the last possible millisecond. Ospreay retained the U.S. title. After the match, Ospreay and Aussie Open started to beat up Cassidy so Shibata came out and beat up Ospreay. Are they really going to do it? Let Shibata have a real match again? They keep toying with it, giving us a grappling match against Zack Sabre, Jr. and having him do some bumps and wrestle a bit here. He looked great. Ospreay vs. Shibata at the Dome would be epic. ***1/2

CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI vs. ZACK SABRE, JR. (18:30): Bryan Danielson was supposed to be in this match but was injured so they had a surprise to replace him. It turned out to be Cesaro, using his old ROH name. The crowd of course went ape shit for him. The problem was we got a too long, Zack Sabre, Jr. match. I thought most of the match was boring. Great intro for Claudio, though. **

JAY WHITE vs. 'HANGMAN' ADAM PAGE vs. ADAM COLE vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA (21:00): This was really good but the end was very anticlimactic. Cole got pinned by Jay White after White gave Okada a Blade Runner. Why he didn't pin Okada but went over to pin Cole is probably because Okada is too big a deal to be pinned. Cole looked like he got knocked out or had a concussion or something so maybe the ref called an audible and just ended the match shorter than planned. The one problem with this match was no one thought they'd give the IWGP title to Cole or Page. I could've seen Okada winning it, though, but they went with the boring choice and let Jay retain. Jay White was the weak link in this. While everything he does looks polished...he wrestles too methodically and slow and he's only in great matches once in a blue moon. Page and Cole looked great and Okada looked kind of slow but he is getting older. ***

JON MOXLEY vs. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (18:20): CM Punk was supposed to defend his title in this match but he got injured. Moxley ended up winning the interim AEW championship here. This match was actually better than I expected, although not a classic main event or anything. I always bash Tanahashi these days because he's old and slow and not as great but to his credit he did everything you'd want to see and hung in there for 18 minutes never looking tired or anything. Moxley wanted to bleed because he loves hardcore stuff so he bled like a stuck pig. The problem? He wasn't even hit in the head with anything. One moment he was just at ringside bleeding all over the place for no reason. After the match they did the Blood and Guts angle where Jericho's team ran out and Claudio and Wheeler Yuta and Eddie Kingston ran out and everyone brawled. I didn't really need to see more after a 5 hour show and the main event over but I guess they needed to push Wednesday's show. All in all this turned out to be a very entertaining, often great PPV. Considering it came about on short notice and most of the big names were injured, this was a total winner. ***

NJPW DOMINION

 

Osaka, Japan

AARON HENARE, TJP & FRANCESCO AKIRA vs. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, MASTER WATO & HIROYOSHI TENZAN (10:31): It's kind of sad that New Japan wasn't working with AEW when AEW first started. Supposedly New Japan's president at the time didn't want to do it. The new president does, and so we have AEW & NJPW's first PPV together happening later this month in Chicago. It's a shame that it's happening now and now 3 years ago because New Japan has lost a lot of it's luster lately and become somewhat of a dull, lame company. The Pandemic can be blamed, because fans in Japan are still sparse and still masked and still can't cheer or boo. But also the top stars; Tanahashi, Okada, and Naito, have gotten old. The PPV coming now isn't the greatest timing either, as Omega is out with injuries, CM Punk, who was supposed to main event against Tanahashi, got injured, and Ibushi is feuding behind the scenes with management and hasn't wrestled since his injury in the G1 final last October. Dominion is NJPW's 2nd biggest show of the year (3rd if you count Wrestle Kingdom being 2 shows). Considering this is supposed to be their 2nd biggest show of the year, the cracks in the foundation were obvious and glaring. They did have an IWGP title change...which was something big at least. The undercard was entirely forgettable except to see the best wrestler in the world, Ospreay, in action. It's sad seeing such a great company flounder. The glory days were never going to last, though, and we all knew it. This opener was a fun, short, all action match. A bunch of the young, new wrestlers in these first two matches were in the Super Jr.'s tournament that just ended with Hiromu winning. TJP I remember from Impact Wrestling years ago. He still looks the same which is shocking considering I use to watch his X-Division matches like ten years ago. Akira is a new guy they picked up and he's at least fairly exciting to watch. Tenzan got pinned of course. **1/2

TAIJI ISHIMORI, EL PHANTASMO & ACE AUSTIN vs. TETSUYA NAITO, BUSHI & HIROMU TAKAHASHI (8:04): Ishimori is the Jr. champ and he's facing Hiromu for the belt later this month at a random Korakuen Hall show. They used to have the Super Jr.'s winner face the Jr. champ at Dominion...but not this year. I'm guessing because they wanted to give the guy's some rest? Either way it made this card fairly weak without that match. This was more of a comedy match than anything. Ace Austin did a bit where he did some flips and then magically a cane appeared out of his wrist. I guess his gimmick is David Copperfield? Naito did have 2 unsuccessful main event title matches this year against Okada, so he is still being pushed, but why is one of their big stars in a superfluous, multi-man tag match early on this big show? This was at least amusing, and ELP always entertains. **1/2

TORU YANO vs. DOC GALLOWS (4:05): Sadly, this show featured Gallows & Anderson in singles matches. Ugh. As if their tag matches aren't enough of a chore to watch, we have to see two singles matches with them? Gallows flew all the way to Japan to lose to Yano. I hope he got a good paycheck for that humiliation. There wasn't much to this. Gallows isn't good with humor. 1/2*

EVIL, YUJIRO TAKAHASHI & SHO vs. ZACK SABRE, JR., EL DESPERADO & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU (9:25): The House of Torture retained the 6 man titles thanks to cheating. They do this in all of their matches and it got old the second The House of Torture was created. Zack looked good. Desperado was wasted in this. At least the intensity was there. **

GREAT O'KHAN & JEFF COBB vs. BAD LUCK FALE & CHASE OWENS (11:52): O'Khan and Cobb won the tag titles. It really says something about the tag division considering Fale and Chase Owens were the champions. Fale looked like he got really fat, although he never was skin and bones or anything. Maybe I just haven't seen him in awhile. Chase was the star of the match. He works hard but isn't spectacular or anything. Cobb won with the Tour of the Islands. I really can't stand O'Khan. He's just the worst of the worst. *1/2

HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. HIROOKI GOTO (12:40): CM Punk won the AEW title last month at Double or Nothing. Then he broke something in his foot on Dynamite. He was supposed to defend the title against Tanahashi at Forbidden Door. So AEW did a Battle Royale which Kyle O'Reilly won. O'Reilly lost to Moxley and Moxley would face the winner of this match for the interim AEW title. Man, I really wanted to see a Goto vs. O'Reilly PPV main event. Can you fathom that? So, no, the outcome of this match wasn't up in the air. Moxley vs. Tanahashi is a big match on paper...but Tanahashi doesn't "brawl" and Tanahashi is old and limps around. I doubt that will be a very good match. Goto, shockingly, still looks more alive than Okada, Tanahashi, and Naito. I guess he wasn't in too many 30+ minute IWGP title matches over the years and thus is body is saved. He was in one once, though, in 2011 at Dominion he lost to the champ, Tanahashi. I'm guessing that that match was probably better than this, which was mediocre. **

SHINGO TAKAGI vs. TAICHI (10:00): Shingo and Ospreay are New Japan's best wrestlers...so why are they giving the title to Jay White? Baffling, really, although Shingo and Ospreay did get the title last year. Spreading the wealth? Gedo loves Jay White for some unknown reason. This match had a 10 minute clock and who ever got the most pinfalls won. So if you got a 1 count you got 1 point. Shingo won. I think it was 11-10 or something. Taichi got 3 counts at the end. This was hard hitting but would've been better in a real, longer match. Shingo retained the KOPW title. **1/2

KARL ANDERSON vs. TAMA TONGA (16:27): This was better than I expected. Maybe because they worked fast and hard unlike Okada's matches where he leisurely walks around the ring for most of the match. Anderson won the NEVER title. Is he not with Impact anymore? Does anyone care? This company has way too many titles. **

WILL OSPREAY vs. SANADA (12:48): Juice was the U.S. champ but supposedly had his appendix taken out and couldn't make the show. I don't think New Japan believed his excuse because they put out a statement saying he refused to come to the show and was stripped of the title. The last time Sanada and Ospreay wrestled, Ospreay landed feet first on Sanada's head in the New Japan Cup and broke his orbital bone. Maybe that's why they only went 12 minutes? Ospreay was also seriously ill recently, apparently close to dying from a kidney infection. Was it that bad, though, considering he's already back flying to Japan and wrestling? He also wrestled on AEW Rampage last week. He looked as great and incredible as he's ever looked in this match. Sanada didn't really attempt to make this a great match, so it was just okay. I really hope they put Ospreay in a singles match at Forbidden Door. I don't want to see him barely used in some dumb multi-man tag match. **1/2 

JAY WHITE vs. KAZUCHIKA OKADA (36:04): Jay White won the IWGP title. I guess that's not too big of a surprise...although on AEW Dynamite, Adam Page called out Okada and said he wanted the title. Nobody wants to see Page vs. Jay White. And considering the IWGP title is usually rarely defended from this show until Wrestle Kingdom...does that mean Jay White will be champ that long? I don't want to see that. I especially don't want to see Jay White in the main event of either night of WK. Granted, his last WK main event was awesome, that 45 minute epic against Ibushi. But Jay White is very rarely in great matches. There so few and far between that I remember them all. That great match in California against Juice Robinson. That short Okada match at WK. That ROH match against Ospreay in NYC from years and years ago. Those are great Jay White matches. This was not one of them. Okada does still have a little left in the tank. His matches aren't awful. He doesn't hobble around the ring like Tanahashi. Okada's match against Ospreay at WK this year was great. But usually, Okada matches are fucking boring. A lot of this match was Okada just walking around like he was on a Sunday stroll. Jay White isn't much better, either. So you had two slow guys doing some cool stuff here and there sparingly. The final flurry was good and the title change was at least something memorable. But...if you're going to give the title to someone besides Okada...don't give it to Jay White, give it to Ospreay. This isn't rocket science. **1/2

WWE HELL IN A CELL

Rosemont, Illinois

BIANCA BELAIR vs. ASUKA vs. BECKY LYNCH (18:56): Besides Cody's injury, this PPV was pretty forgettable. They probably should have just made this the main event and put it in the Hell in a Cell and cancelled the Cody vs. Seth match. This was a decent match. Belair retained the title. Charlotte Flair was off getting married to Andrade so she wasn't on the show. Sasha Banks and Naomi were suspended for no-showing RAW a few weeks ago so they were off the show (they disagreed with creative about them both losing to the women's champions on this PPV). There wasn't much to this match but the hot crowd was into it and it was perhaps the best match on the show. **1/2

BOBBY LASHLEY vs. OMOS & MVP (8:25): It tells you a lot about the WWE that they push lumbering bores like Omos instead of, say, Ricochet or Ciampa. Lashley is a good guy now which kind of baffles me because he was a great heel not to long ago. This was forgettable trash. 1/2*

KEVIN OWENS vs. EZEKIEL (9:20): This was actually a pretty good match, although I do miss Elias' songs on RAW where he ripped the hometown. That was usually the highlight of RAW. I suppose they figured that schtick was getting old. Ezekiel is just a good guy version of Elias. Owens is always fantastic so this was entertaining. **1/2

EDGE, DAMIAN PRIEST & RHEA RIPLEY vs. AJ STYLES, FINN BALOR & LIV MORGAN (16:03): This was strange. On RAW, Finn Balor joined Edge's evil alliance...and then the 3 of them turned on Edge. Considering PPV's are supposed to be a bigger deal than RAW...why didn't they do the Finn Balor heel turn on this show? Edge literally just turned heel and now they've turned him into a babyface all of a sudden? WWE creative is totally baffling. Finn Balor is not a heel. I guess they just have no idea what to do with great wrestlers like Finn Balor. Remember when he was the Universal champion for a day? Someone got it right then. So they were correct for 24 hours. Sad. I honestly totally forget this match. That's how great it was! Liv Morgan is at least somewhat pushed and the crowds are kind of into her. And Edge is better as a good guy. Damian and Finn are better as good guys, though, too. AJ did look good in this match if I recall. And Finn is awesome as always. I just can't stand these weird mixed tag matches where the men and women aren't allowed to touch each other. **

MADCAP MOSS vs. HAPPY CORBIN "NO HOLDS BARRED" (12:05): This was a weapons match. I kind of forget what happened in this match as well. Can you tell how excellent this show was? I also watched the NXT PPV the night before this. That was probably even more forgettable. It's so sad what happened to NXT. *

THEORY vs. MUSTAFA ALI (10:25): The WWE wanted to be able to trademark all of their wrestler's names so they changed a bunch of them. Austin Theory's real first name was Austin so now he's just Theory. Seriously, that is the worst wrestling name in the history of wrestling. Theory? Do they know what Theory even means? Obviously not. They've been pushing him to the moon for no good reason and are just shooting themselves in the foot by pushing a guy with a stupid name. Ali attempted to quit the company but they wouldn't let him out of his contract so now they're kind of pushing him. I'm not sure why they wanted to keep him as it's not like he'd be a huge star in AEW or something. This was a basic, RAW type of match. Theory retained the IC title. *1/2

CODY RHODES vs. SETH ROLLINS "HELL IN A CELL" (24:21): Cody tore his pectoral muscle lifting weights and so he had this huge, horrible, black and blue bruise across his chest. It was grotesque, so much so that the arena was dead silent for the early part of this match. Why he still wrestled here makes zero sense. Why they let him wrestle makes even less sense. A lot of people were saying how brave and how heroic he was to wrestle and all of this bullshit. Nope, it was fucking stupidity. I guess he felt sorry because if he didn't wrestle the main event would be off. That's not his fault! It's the WWE's fault for unifying the titles and only having one champion, then letting that champion, Roman Reigns, sign a new contract that lets him only wrestle limited dates. Reigns isn't on the next PPV, Money in the Bank, either. If they didn't unify the titles they'd at least have another championship match on this show. Or, God forbid, don't give the title to a guy that isn't going to be two straight PPV's. As for this match...it was a basic Hell in a Cell match. They used a Singapore Cane, broke some tables, tied each other to a bull rope for no apparent reason (I guess Dusty Rhodes was in some bull rope matches?). I just had a really hard time watching this match considering Cody was injured and shouldn't be taking bumps. He had surgery this week and is out for 6 months. Considering he was the #1 top babyface...what the fuck are they going to do at all these stadium shows coming up? **