Tony Khan Says Mystery Opponent “Worth The Wait”

Without giving away any details, Tony Khan has hyped up who Zack Sabre Jr’s opponent will be at Forbidden Door by saying it will be a “great moment”.

It has been an injury-plagued build-up to the historic Forbidden Door event, with wrestlers from both AEW and NJPW being forced to withdraw. One of the first was current AEW World Champion CM Punk, who announced on the 3rd June edition of Rampage that he would be unable to compete, and that an interim World Champion would be crowned in the meantime.

It was only on the 22nd July 2022 edition of AEW Dynamite that Bryan Danielson officially confirmed that he was not medically cleared for his match against Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door. Speaking during a recent media call, AEW President Tony Khan discussed losing both Punk and Danielson, but that pulling the latter from the show was the right thing to do.

Talk about the one-two punch of injuries, losing CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, two of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Bryan Danielson is so valuable to the company, backstage and of course on-screen. And most importantly on-screen, fans were so excited for Forbidden Door, him wrestling Zack Sabre Jr.

I think the anticipation was there, we had been hoping that we could really start building it up and Bryan was really starting to feel well after Anarchy in the Arena. He didn’t have any doubts whatsoever, I just didn’t want to take a chance … So I shut him down, and I think it was the right thing to do.

Tony Khan went on to discuss how he had hoped to bring in Danielson’s replacement under different circumstances, however the man entering the match against Zack Sabre Jr. will create a great moment and be “worth the wait” in finding out.

It was one of those also perfect situations because rarely do the stars align where you have a mystery opponent and a chance to build up a moment like this. It’s very fitting to go back to the United Center, where we’ve only had one show, and it was a great moment, and I know for sure we’re going to have that great moment.

I think there’s going to be a lot of great moments to expect on the show, but one thing I know is this great moment when we introduce Zack Sabre Jr’s mystery opponent. I’m really excited about it and I wish it had happened under different circumstances.

With thanks to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.