Fantasy Booking The Forbidden Door AEW/NJPW PPV
Last night on AEW Rampage, Tony Khan announced the Forbidden Door PPV, a partnership between AEW and NJPW to put on a PPV from the United Center in Chicago. Upon this major announcement, social media went crazy thinking of all the incredible possibilities this PPV could offer. Being the massive wrestling fan that I am, my brain immediately went into doing a fantasy booking for this first time ever event. Here is how I would book the Forbidden Door PPV.
*I will be going off of AEW’s last PPV, AEW Revolution, in terms of matches. Therefore, this will be a 12-match fight card. These matches I list likely won’t go too into detail about the match itself or an outcome, but these are matches I would want to see*
Match #1: Tetsuya Naito x CM Punk
As any PPV should, you open the Forbidden Door PPV with two fan favorites and the Chicago kid. Your opening bout should get the fans energized and bring a level of electricity to an event that gets the fans hooked from the first bell.
Match #2: Shingo Takagi x Miro
Yes, please. Miro has done incredible things since joining AEW, and picking up a convincing win over Shingo could catapult himself into superstardom. I’m going to try and not book winners and losers in this, but I would very much like to see Miro win here.
Match #3: United Empire x Death Triangle x House Of Black (with Red Shoes AND Aubrey Edwards referring)
United Empire sends out Aaron Henare and TJ Perkins, since Rey Fenix is still injured we have PAC and Penta for Death Triangle, and Malaiki Black and Buddy Matthews for House of Black. This is likely one of the best tag team matches you will see, and to contain any outside interference, I thought it would be fun to have Red Shoes join forces with Aubrey Edwards to referee this match.
Match #4: Orange Cassidy x Toru Yano x Danhausen
After a good bit of hard-hitting, technical wrestling, let’s lighten the mood a little with a good ol’ fashioned comedy spot here. These guys can go, so this doesn’t have to be a laugh-fest, but this relaxes the crowd and gets a few good laughs in there.
Match #5: Keith Lee x JONAH x Tomohiro Ishii
I love big men (pause). I love big men who can go (double pause). The thought of Keith Lee, JONAH, and Ishii just clobbering each other has me rather excited (triple pause). Keith Lee is among my favorite wrestlers in the world right now, and JONAH is soaring in popularity currently. Big beef boys doing big beefy things. Yes, please.
Match #6: “Switchblade” Jay White Promo, Open Challenge
Jay White hits the ring right in the middle of the Forbidden Door PPV to cut a promo on how the Bullet Club still runs the wrestling game. He makes little jabs at all of the factions going rn, even hinting at WWE, and finally gets to the Elite. After a minute or two of bashing the Young Bucks, familiar music hits: it’s Kenny Omega. The United Center erupts at the return of Omega, but he doesn’t come out of the stage, he runs through the crowd and blindsided White, ambushing him with the help of the Young Bucks before hitting a One-Winged Angel on him and simply stares down the camera before leaving the ring. Oh, the possibilities after this.
Match #7: FTR x Jeff Cobb/Great-O-Khan (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship)
Am I turning FTR into belt collectors?
Yes.
Yes, I am.
Match #8: Jon Moxley x Hiroshi Tanahashi (No Holds Barred)
Finally, Jon Moxley gets the match he wants so badly, and it happens at the Forbidden Door PPV. This could be a good bit of fun.
Match #9: Sammy Guevara x KENTA x Kushida x Kota Ibushi – Ladder Match (IWGP Intercontinental Championship)
Oh yes, please. Kushida makes his AEW debut to make a triple threat a fatal four-way match. These four men are technical wizards who will put on a match of the night caliber show.
Match #10: “Hangman” Adam Page x Will Osprey (AEW World Championship)
Is it selfish of me to want to add in Zach Sabre Jr.? Osprey always has something to say about the scene, so he challenges Adam Page weeks in advance, taking out members of the Dark Order from afar, paying off people to injure them to get the match he wants. Page prevails but by the skin of his teeth.
Match #11: Battle Royale For The Vacant IWGP United States Championship
All of the men who you were thinking “wow, they aren’t on this card?” are in this battle royale. Have it be 20 men, formatted like their Casino Battle Royale. Your last four are Samoa Joe, Chris Bey, Daniel Garcia, and Wheeler Yuta, with Daniel Garcia winning. Yes, putting the title on Yuta given how hot he is right now is tempting, but this is the ticket that gets Garcia into the Blackpool Combat Club.
Match #12: Bryan Danielson x Kazuchika Okada – Iron Man Match (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
Is it lame to book Bryan Danielson to reach a time limit draw three times in a calendar year in world championship matches? It’s lame. But at the same time, you almost are cornered into booking it that way because of the first two draws you have. Otherwise, you have to have Danielson winning…which I do. Not without controversy, however. It is a 60-minute time limit match, with there being hesitation about the ref’s hand coming down right as the time limit expires. They award Danielson the final pin, winning the bout 1-0.
After they hand Danielson the belt, the lights go out. When the lights come back up, Danielson is in the grasp of Sister Abigail from The Fiend, who hits the move on both men before standing over both of them holding the title as the PPV closes. (The Fiend will mainly wrestle in NJPW, but since he will be feuding with Danielson, he will rarely pop up on AEW).
And that is how I would book the Forbidden Door PPV!
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