AEW

2022 - 6 - 27

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Image courtesy of "New York Post"

The scary thing about AEW, NJPW's superb 'Forbidden Door' show (New York Post)

Injuries left a number of AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling's top stars unavailable to perform in their first-ever joint show. It didn't stop the show from ...

Except for during the very early stages of the company, PAC has been occupied with a lot of faction feuds and multi-man matches. Ospreay had his way with and mocked Cassidy early to build heat, and it only made the gorgeous strings of combos and counter wrestling that followed that much more meaningful. It feels like a potential winner-take-all match with Matt and Nick Jackson – the AEW world champions – would be possible at “All Out.” Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States championship had show-stealing potential, and it delivered on all it of it. It all ended with the surprise return of the legendary Katsuyori Shibata, who has wrestled sparingly recently due to injury, to save Cassidy from an attack by Ospreay and United Empire. Castagnoli is the newest member of the Blackpool Combat Club in a dream stable with Moxley, Danielson and William Regal. Khan said during the post-show media scrum that he originally talked to Castagnoli about debuting at Ring of Honor’s upcoming “Death Before Dishonor” show. The King of Swing got a huge pop from the Chicago crowd — and plenty of tweets from WWE talent, including Becky Lynch — in his first appearance since letting his WWE contract run out in February. He showed off his signature strength, carrying Sabre Jr. up the ring steps and then bumping him over the top rope. Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood have won seven different tag team championships from the top wrestling companies in the world. They now hold the AAA, ROH and IWGP tag team titles after defeating the teams of Jeff Cobb-Great-O-Khan and Rocky Romero-Trent Beretta on Sunday. Each team was given moments where you thought they would win before FTR hit the Big Rig to bring home the New Japan belts. After spending his entire first title reign performing in front of zero fans, he became the first man to get a second go with the belt as he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi — the competitor he’s been chasing for years — in a very good main event. The tensions between the Bullet Club-rooted groups grew even more when Jay White pinned Adam Cole to win the four-way match that also included “Hangman” Adam Page and Kazuchika Okada to retain his IWGP world heavyweight championship. It made the show’s last impression feel more like a go-home show than a pay-per-view.

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Image courtesy of "Deadspin"

AEW doesn't let you get to the bathroom (Deadspin)

As we've said a few times now, AEW always has a way out. Their Forbidden Door PPV last night, a joint effort with Japan's biggest wrestling company NJPW, ...

And you’re willing to make that trade, such is the quality. 12 matches, four and a half hours total, with three trips to the toilet, two of them flanking the show. Rising out of my seat to do multiple Rainmaker poses didn’t help the bladder much, but like I said, sacrifices had to be made and challenges met. And you could honestly make a whole reel of former WWE wrestlers who were underused and underappreciated there and their reaction to their very first AEW entrance. Orange Cassidy and Will Ospreay followed, and though OceanSpray caused the bile within me to rise quickly (and I was already dealing with another bodily fluid being riotous), O.C. is a fave and Ospreay rarely fails to deliver in the ring, And this was no exception. The thing about Sting matches is the real joy is not only in seeing him still being able to hold his own (mostly) but the sheer giddiness of those who get to be in a ring with him. Luckily, I did get back to the seats just in time to see 63-year-old Sting leap from on top of the entrance way for a dive that he definitely should not be doing but no one can keep him from. The equation spit out an answer that the time to strike was during Pac’s title celebration after the four-way, in yet another humper of a match, it hopefully taking long enough to get back before the next match. As I arrived for even the preshow, I knew that it would be a challenge and that sacrifices would have to be made. He was partnering with Minoru Suzuki, Japan’s leading murder grandpa, who somehow was allowed to roam the streets of Chicago unwatched for days and by some miracle the city is still standing. But, as AEW has taught everyone since their inception, there really isn’t a problem in wrestling that can’t be solved by just producing a series of great matches and great shows. The “curse” extended to both sides of the Pacific, as both Tomohiro Ishii and Hiromu Takahashi had to pull out of matches mere days or hours before the show.

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Image courtesy of "Wrestling Inc."

Jay White Comments On AEW Future (Wrestling Inc.)

The IWGP World Heavyweight Champion remained in character when asked about his potential future plans in All Elite Wrestling,

It’s unclear when or where we’ll see White in AEW again, but if Forbidden Door proves to have been a financial success, fans could be treated to a future match between White and the AEW World Champion, something he teased during the scrum. “To answer your question, would I like to [continue to stick around in AEW]? I don’t know. The incident played nicely into White’s response to Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman’s question about what’s next for him in AEW.

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Image courtesy of "Wrestling Inc."

Tony Khan Gives Backstage Insight Into Claudio Castignoli's AEW ... (Wrestling Inc.)

Tony Khan had Castagnoli under contract before any wrestler at AEW knew the Swiss Superman would swing his way into the company.

“I wasn’t sure if he would be coming in here or Death Before Dishonor,” he revealed, using the question as an opportunity to announce the next Ring of Honor event. “It was actually the day after the [Los Angeles KIA] Forum, so it would have been June 2 I called,” Khan said. During the post-show media scrum, AEW President Khan was asked by Denise Salcedo about to how Castagnoli became “All Elite.”

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Image courtesy of "Figure Four Online"

AEW 'Heroes & Villains' panel set for San Diego Comic-Con (Figure Four Online)

CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy and Bryan Danielson will take part in a panel discussion titled "AEW: Heroes & Villains" moderated by ...

"The Q&A will feature a conversation with AEW stars CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy and Bryan Danielson, and will be moderated by AEW commentator Excalibur. This discussion will dig into the heroes, villains, and championship quests through the eyes of the biggest names in wrestling. AEW: Dynamite airs every Wednesday from 8-10 p.m. ET on TNT and attracts the youngest wrestling audience on television; the fight-forward show AEW: Rampage airs every Friday from 10-11 p.m. ET. Follow the fandom on Twitter and Instagram at @AEW and @AEWonTV." CM Punk, Jade Cargill, Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy and Bryan Danielson will take part in a panel discussion titled "AEW: Heroes & Villains" moderated by Excalibur.

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Image courtesy of "Comicbook.com"

Watch: AEW Fan Attempts to Fight Security Guards at United Center ... (Comicbook.com)

AEW's Forbidden Door pay-per-view had violence both in and out of the ring on Sunday night. A loud chant of 'You F—ed Up!' chant started ringing throughout ...

And now Wrestle Kingdom has gone to two nights. "WWE had an interesting approach to it to be honest, I don't think it's something anybody in AEW besides me has ever entertained, but I see it's not only lucrative business-wise but there are so many stars in AEW and frankly, there too. He compared it to what WWE and New Japan have been doing with WrestleMania and Wrestle Kingdom in recent years. - (Buy-In) Lance Archer def. - (Buy-In) Bishamon def. Numerous videos have revealed that a fan was being escorted out of the arena by security guards, but the fan started throwing punches once he was escorted to the top of a staircase.

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Image courtesy of "Bleacher Report"

AEW Rumors on Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley's Original PPV ... (Bleacher Report)

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from All Elite Wrestling and WWE. Claudio Castagnoli's Original Debut Plans ...

What wasn't known, until it was reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, is that Moxley was originally planned only to be part of the multiman tag match that started the show. Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. While bringing Castagnoli back at Death Before Dishonor would have been a nice full-circle moment for the former Ring of Honor star, a debut on the biggest possible stage at Forbidden Door was probably a better move. It was part of an ongoing series of comedy-related storylines involving FTR on the WWE main roster, as their direction moved significantly away from what brought them success in NXT. It was great to have a great moment here at Forbidden Door. Things worked out perfectly. "I figured there was a chance that if Bryan made it back, there was a good chance that he would have started at Death Before Dishonor, and it would have been a great moment there," Khan told reporters Sunday night.

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Image courtesy of "TMZ"

AEW Fan, Security Guard Exchange Punches In Wild Scene At ... (TMZ)

A fan and a security guard got into a wild fistfight in the stands of an AEW event Sunday night.

AEW Fan, Security Guard Exchange Punches ... Wild Scene At Wrestling Event There was action both inside the ring and outside of it at Sunday night's AEW event in Chicago ... as a fan and a security guard got into a wild fistfight in the stands. AEW Fan, Security Guard Exchange Punches In Wild Scene At Wrestling Event

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Image courtesy of "Comicbook.com"

WWE Stars Celebrate Cesaro's AEW Arrival (Comicbook.com)

Cesaro (now going by his real name Claudio Castagnoli) made his AEW debut on Sunday night a the Forbidden Door pay-per-view as the newest member of ...

- (Buy-In) Lance Archer def. - (Buy-In) Bishamon def. What do you think Claudio's future in AEW will lead to? Check out the full results from Sunday's Forbidden Door below! It just fits, you know, and at the end of the day, I'm always looking for new challenges and here in AEW, it's like I'm a kid in a candy store." And while his arrival was well-received by fans, Cesaro's former coworkers in WWE even got in on the celebration on Twitter.

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Image courtesy of "Wrestling Inc."

DDP Believes WWE Losing Top Star To AEW Was A Mistake (Wrestling Inc.)

The WWE Hall of Famer went on the record about the AEW star, calling him the best in the world and to lamenting WWE letting him go.

Danielson has since wrestled in several critically acclaimed matches and challenged for the AEW World Championship twice, going to a 60-minute time limit draw with then-champion “Hangman” Adam Page in his first attempt. “I think [Bryan Danielson] is the best guy in the world,” Page said. While on his and Jake Roberts’ podcast, “ DDP Snake Pit,” WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page revealed his thoughts on WWE not re-signing Bryan Danielson.

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Image courtesy of "TJR Wrestling"

AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door 2022 Reaction: 5 Thoughts – TJR ... (TJR Wrestling)

Reacting to the AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view that saw Jon Moxley become Interim AEW World Champion, FTR won more gold and more.

Like I said earlier, from a purely in-ring perspective, it was one of the best shows of the year. It seems to be leading to a match with the Young Bucks for all the gold. She’s always delivered on Pay Per View, but it feels like she isn’t a priority when it comes to airtime on Dynamite. That needs to change moving forward or get the title on someone you will invest the time in. It was a great show match-wise, but I don’t think it did a lot to establish NJPW stars to an American audience due to the buildup leading to the show. DUDES WITH ATTITUDES DEFEAT BULLET CLUB:If you thought there was any chance a team with Sting on it was going to lose, you haven’t been watching the product. Seeing Okada in a big match on a national stage was a treat. I felt he didn’t get nearly the push he deserved in WWE, but he still had a pretty great career there. This was the match I was most looking forward to. He got a pretty big pop from the fans in the United Center as he came out to face Zack Sabre Jr. Like I said, solid opener but you knew who was going to win as soon as they announced the stipulation. As soon as they added the stipulation of the man advantage, you could tell who was going to get the win here. I’m still frustrated with the lackluster build to the show, but it is what it is.

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Image courtesy of "Bleeding Cool News"

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Delivers; Bleacher Report Does Not (Bleeding Cool News)

The show, which saw multiple changes to its card due to injury, also saw Adam Cole reportedly suffer a concussion during the IWGP Championship match, leading to ...

For all the injuries leading up to this event and even a lot of complaints about a lack of storyline build, as it turns out, delivering five hours of world-class wrestling is enough to please wrestling fans. I like supporting AEW with my money, but I don't appreciate getting taken out of the matches when the video fails and I have to restart it and recast it. Like in the next match, I was hoping for a surprise ending, but I understand that White winning was the obvious choice. For a moment, I was thinking, "please don't have Sting lowered from the roof when you have a deal with the Owen Hart Foundation." Luckily, it was a ruse, as Sting was actually on top of the entrance tunnel, where he leapt onto the heels. The lights went out and the cameras cut to Sting up on the catwalk, WCW style. This felt like an excuse to get more guys on the card with a match that would have otherwise worked on AEW Dark.

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Image courtesy of "ClutchPoints"

AEW: 2 reasons why Tetsuya Naito likely wasn't on Forbidden Door (ClutchPoints)

While Forbidden Door had a little bit of everything, one notable absence was that of Tetsuya Naito, who didn't appear on the AEW x NJPW show.

That’s right, Tetsuya Naito, the trucker cap-wearing leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon who has torn up rings across TNA, Ring of Honor, and CMLL, in addition to being one of the biggest stars in all of NJPW over the past half-decade. Re: Naito not working Forbidden Door – wouldn't surprise me if NJPW wanted to wrap him in cotton wool before the G1 starts considering what happened last year. The card had long-term storytelling, newfound rivalries, and made more than a few NJPW talents, most notably, Clark Connors, El-Phantasmo, and Shota Umino, who transformed themselves into legitimate names to watch for stateside fans of professional wrestling.

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Image courtesy of "FanSided"

Fan brawls with security during main event of AEW x NJPW ... (FanSided)

All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling hosted their dual pay-per-view event, Forbidden Door, on Sunday, June 26 at the United Center in Chicago, Ill.

You can check out the incident in the video below. It turns out there was an incident taking place which saw a fan get escorted out of his seat and up the stairs to the exits. That was when the fan managed to throw punches towards a guard, who responded in kind.

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Image courtesy of "Augusta Free Press"

Another AEW pay-per-view, another bad experience with Bleacher ... (Augusta Free Press)

I did eventually get to watch last night's AEW-New Japan “Forbidden Door” pay-per-view, but it was no thanks to Bleacher Report.

I only missed the opening match. My buddy Brian had excitedly organized a watch party at his house when word first hit that the two companies were planning the supershow. Brian was miraculously able to get a live person on support when he called, but the woman on the other end of the line was not the best at English, and communication was difficult.

AEW Rampage rating and viewership for the Forbidden Door go ... (ProWrestling.net)

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet). The AEW Rampage television show delivered 422,000 viewers for Friday's episode on TNT, ...

The show ran opposite an NHL Stanley Cup Final game that delivered a 1.49 rating with 5.145 million viewers for ABC. Powell’s POV: Rampage finished 26th in Friday’s cable ratings with a 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demographic, up from the previous week’s 0.10 rating in the same demo. The AEW Rampage television show delivered 422,000 viewers for Friday’s episode on TNT, according to Showbuzzdaily.com. The number was up from the 331,000 viewership count from the previous week.

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