We’re just days away from AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, the big crossover show we’ve all been waiting for, and the build has been… questionable.
It’s been a questionable build leading to what’s turned out to be a bit of a questionable card too.
Not all of it is the fault of AEW or NJPW though, because there have been a lot of bumps and hurdles on this journey.
Unfortunately, there are quite a number of big names who aren’t on the card, whether that’s just because of the booking or thanks to circumstances beyond anyone’s control.
With that in mind, here are the 15 biggest names who haven’t made it onto the Forbidden Door card.
15. Scorpio Sky
Yeah, I know it’s Scorpio Sky, but he’s the TNT Champion, so that kind of counts for something.
Sky has been out injured, so maybe if he wasn’t, he’d be on the card.
But considering the state of the TNT Title the past few months, it’s quite probable that he wouldn’t.
14. Wardlow
Speaking of which, the man who looks to be Sky’s next challenger makes this list too.
Heading into, and right off the back of, Double Or Nothing, Wardlow was one of the most popular babyfaces in AEW, so you’d think they’d want him on a big show like this.
He probably still is one of the most popular babyfaces, but the past couple of weeks have been a bit rocky.
Hopefully he can just beat Sky soon and move on to have a dominant title reign.
13. Andrade El Idolo
I’m honestly not sure Andrade would have made this list if it wasn’t for the backstory behind him not being on the card.
If you don’t know said backstory, basically, he WAS going to be on the card, against Will Ospreay of all people.
However, due to Andrade working with AAA, and NJPW’s relationship with CMLL, the rival promotion of AAA, AAA wasn’t going to allow him to work Forbidden Door.
Instead, we’re getting Ospreay vs Orange Cassidy, which has divided opinion.
12. Tomohiro Ishii
Oh what could have been.
Tomohiro Ishii was scheduled to compete at Forbidden Door, qualifying for the All-Atlantic Championship fourway during this week’s New Japan Road events.
While many fans were looking forward to seeing the Stone Pitbull at the crossover event, NJPW announced that Ishii has suffered a left knee injury, and won’t be in action at the event.
Clark Connors has been announced as Ishii’s replacement, and will face off against Malakai Black, Pac and Miro for the new AEW title.
11. Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe was written off AEW TV after Double Or Nothing, so it’s not really a surprise after that that he’s not gonna be at Forbidden Door, but it is a shame.
When people come up with dream matches for a lot of New Japan guys, Joe is usually in the conversation.
His recent match with Minoru Suzuki was evidence of that.
10. KENTA
The very first man to walk through the Forbidden Door onto AEW Dynamite, KENTA has been rather vocal about his spot on the card.
KENTA was pitching for a match against CM Punk before Punk was injured, but even before then, Punk was slated to face off with Tanahashi rather than KENTA.
So KENTA has been left without a match on the show, which is a shame given he was the first man to walk through the door.
9. Tetsuya Naito
Another of NJPW’s most recognised names who we won’t be seeing this coming weekend.
Naito did have an eye surgery recently, but he’s been wrestling since then so that shouldn’t be something that has kept him out.
Naito is a three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, which is quite the achievement. You would have thought he’d have been a factor in such a big crossover show like this.
8. The Hardys
Obviously, the circumstances here are beyond the control of the bookers of the show, but it’s worth putting them on this list nonetheless.
The very first AEW stars who recorded a promo for Forbidden Door were the Hardys, who said at the time they wanted the IWGP Tag Team Championship.
So it seems like that was the original plan, and maybe that was changed before Jeff’s arrest anyway, but they’re still notable by their absence.
7. Hiromu Takahashi
Hiromu Takahashi was also originally announced for the pay-per-view, before the Forbidden Door curse caught up with him.
Initially set to team with Darby Allin, Sting & Shingo Takagi to face off against the Hikuleo, El Phantasmo & the Young Bucks, Takahashi has been pulled from the card as he was unable to travel to the US due to a fever.
Takahashi is one of NJPW’s top junior heavyweight competitors, holding the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title four times, and winning the Best of the Super Juniors tournament for times in total, and for the third consecutive year earlier this month.
We wish Takahashi a healthy recovery.
6. Lucha Bros
The Lucha Bros’ situation is basically the same as Andrade.
Because they work regularly for AAA, they can’t be on the card for Forbidden Door because of the CMLL/NJPW deal.
Why can’t everyone just get along and be friends 🙁
5. MJF
You know, perhaps it’s a good thing that MJF is absent from the Forbidden Door stuff.
The idea of AEW vs NJPW is kinda spurred on by company loyalty in most cases – why would that bother MJF?
And who would he even have an issue with from NJPW, and why?
So he’s a notable absence, and he’s absolutely missed on AEW TV in general right now, but perhaps it wouldn’t be a good fit for him to be involved in Forbidden Door anyway.
4. Kota Ibushi
Perhaps the biggest shame when you think about the circumstances that have led to someone’s omission from the card on this list is Kota Ibushi.
Ibushi has had a falling out with NJPW management that has yet to be rectified.
He’s also had injury issues that kept him out of action, and basically all of this has piled up at the wrong time, because it would have been really fun to see him step into the ring for an AEW dream match.
3. Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is one of the three big names who will not be a part of the show, through no fault of his own.
Bryan was slated for a match with Zack Sabre Jr on the show, but with Bryan injured, he’s handpicked a replacement opponent for Sabre Jr on the show.
Bryan is on arguably the run of his life, and is arguably the best wrestler on the planet, so it sucks to not have him here.
2. CM Punk
It’s been a rocky road to Forbidden Door, and even the main event has had to deviate from the original plan.
We were initially set to see CM Punk defend the AEW World Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi, but his foot injury has rendered him out of action for the foreseeable future.
The pay-per-view numbers may be telling, and CM Punk might prove to be a huge miss, especially given the uncertainty surrounding the show to begin with.
Punk could have been the saving grace, but that’s no longer the case.
1. Kenny Omega
Who would have thought an AEW vs NJPW crossover would be happening without this man…
Omega’s in-ring style over the years has led to an abundance of injury issues, and they all seem to have caught up with him at the end of last year.
Because he’s been out for so long already perhaps it hasn’t quite sunk in for us all, but…
There’s an NJPW/AEW crossover show, and Kenny Omega is not on the card. That is rather sad.
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