This year’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view was a great success for both AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, with both companies speaking out already about their desire to run a sequel event next year.
Monetary gain isn’t the only reason to run a sequel event, as a lot of the top stars across both companies missed this year’s show due to injury or other reasons.
So in theory, if everyone is healthy and ready for Forbidden Door II, here are 10 matches we hope to see at the show.
10) Britt Baker, Toni Storm, Thunder Rosa, Hikaru Shida & Athena vs. Donna Del Mondo
We saw one women’s match at this year’s show, and we should see one women’s match at next year’s show, albeit under different circumstances.
Tony Khan has expressed interest in working with Stardom, and Stardom wrestlers are reportedly set to feature on New Japan of America shows moving forward, so they could realistically represent team NJPW at Forbidden Door.
There are no true women’s factions to face off against any of Stardom’s many groups, so I went with a collective ‘Team AEW’ super team facing off against Giulia, Maika, Natsupoi, Himeka and Thekla of Donna Del Mondo.
9) Jon Moxley vs. KENTA
The first match that was set up through the Forbidden Door on AEW television was an IWGP United States Championship clash between Jon Moxley and KENTA.
KENTA was not a part of this year’s Forbidden Door show, but that shouldn’t also be the case for next year and beyond.
A nice callback will be running back the match that kickstarted the AEW and NJPW working relationship.
8) Tomohiro Ishii vs. Miro
You know what every card needs? Miro.
You know what else every card needs? Tomohiro Ishii.
You know what the Forbidden Door II card needs? Miro and Ishii slapping meat.
7) Jay White vs. Adam Cole
I don’t know how much longer AEW can hold off the big Bullet Club/Undisputed Elite fallout, but with Jay White making sporadic appearances, that side of the story should be easy to hold off on.
Cole would be the babyface here looking for revenge on his old friend who stabbed him in the back by pinning him in the four-way at this year’s event.
Maybe it’d be for the IWGP title, but I don’t see White taking the belt into Forbidden Door II.
6) The Young Bucks vs. Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi
We nearly got a taste of this this year, and why not run it back next year but without the moving parts.
A straight tag team match between Shingo and Hiromu and the Bucks sounds like a MOTY candidate to me.
Though they wouldn’t be the sole LIJ representation on the card this time.
5) Andrade El Idolo vs. Tetsuya Naito
Naito was another of NJPW’s top stars that wasn’t featured on the Forbidden Door show, and he was ‘genuinely upset’ about it, though that may now have been turned into a storyline.
Next year the wrongs should be righted, and Naito should go in there and tear it up with the other man who is using the Ingobernable name on AEW TV right now.
Sure, it might be with Naito’s blessing, but a lot can change in one year…
4) Will Ospreay vs. Hangman Page
Just a great match between a very good babyface wrestler and a very good heel wrestler.
Ospreay had arguably the match of the night at this year’s event, and he and Adam Page will have one just as good if not better than Ospreay’s outing with Orange Cassidy.
Plus Hangman will probably have gone through eight character arcs by then, as that seems to be his thing.
3) Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr
A good portion of next year’s Forbidden Door card should just be running back the matches that couldn’t happen this year due to injury.
Claudio was a fantastic replacement for Bryan Danielson, but for my money, you can not replace Bryan Danielson. He’s the best wrestler in the world.
With Danielson not being slated for the G1, I don’t see this match happening in Japan between now and then, so it’s time to provide the match we were denied.
2) CM Punk vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Speaking of matches we should have got this year.
The world decided that we would not be treated to CM Punk vs Hiroshi Tanahashi this year. This was the world’s true heel turn, and it’s already an uber heel as it is.
Punk vs Tanahashi should be run back next year, it’s only right.
1) Kenny Omega vs. Kazuchika Okada
It’s time.
While we still have no idea when Kenny Omega will return to AEW, when it does happen, he needs a key role at Forbidden Door II.
What more key role is there than adding another chapter into the greatest wrestling story of the modern era? None, I don’t think.
Ultimately though, it doesn’t matter what the card looks like, so long as it involves the super talented rosters of both companies, any combination of matches could give us incredible shows for the next 10 years.
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