The John Report: AEW Dynamite 06/22/22 Review

This week’s AEW Dynamite featured a big tag team match as Jon Moxley teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi against Chris Jericho and Lance Archer on the last Dynamite episode before the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

Since it was the last Dynamite before Forbidden Door, there was a big push towards building the pay-per-view lineup this week. Next week’s Dynamite is also going to feature the Blood & Guts double cage match as well. AEW posted about how to order Forbidden Door on their website today, so check that out for more info.

This was AEW Dynamite episode #142 at the UW-Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means. Jim Ross was on commentary with Excalibur and Tony Schiavone.

Let’s Hear from Bryan Danielson

A promo to start the show? What company is this? Just kidding. Bryan Danielson got a big ovation as he made his way down to the ring for an interview with Tony Schiavone. Bryan took the microphone from Tony and told him he’s not going to give it back.

Bryan said that this week is a great week to be an AEW fan and a professional wrestling fan. Bryan talked about Forbidden Door – an interpromotional pay-per-view with the two best professional companies in the entire world. Bryan said we’ll see some excellent professional wrestling. Bryan said that one week from today on Dynamite, you get the opposite with the bloody spectacle that is Blood & Guts. The fans even chanted “Blood & Guts” so Bryan said he loved that they’re excited about that violence like he was. Bryan said he expected to be part of both of those events. Bryan claimed that Chris Jericho paid Zack Sabre Jr. to have a match and prove he was a better technical wrestler than Bryan Danielson. Bryan said he was going to prove it wasn’t true and crush his trachea. Bryan said he was excited to get into Blood & Guts so he can get revenge on what Jericho’s crew did to him at Anarchy in the Arena. Bryan said he’s got some good news and some bad news.

Bryan said that the bad news is that because of what Jericho and Jake Hager did at Anarchy in the Arena, he is not cleared to compete at Forbidden Door or Blood & Guts. Bryan said don’t worry about him coming back while talking about past injuries and yelled how there is nobody in this world that can wrestle like him. Bryan said that the good news is that Eddie Kingston said that Bryan is a judgmental prick and Bryan said that he is. Bryan said that he has really high standards, so when he promises us something will be amazing, we know it’s going to be amazing. Bryan said that he has found the one person he trusts to take his place at Forbidden Door and Blood & Guts. Bryan said he knows the guy that can take it to Zack Sabre Jr. and can take his place at Blood & Guts while telling us that we’ll be astounded by what he does in AEW. It led to “Who” chants. Bryan said that he came out of the bad guy tunnel and said that he’s not going to tell you. Bryan said he won’t tell Zack Sabre Jr. either, so he’ll find out at Forbidden Door. The fans booed. Bryan said that’s what he likes to hear and Bryan asked who the best technical wrestler in the world is, the fans gave a mixed reaction and that was it.

Zack Sabre Jr. made his entrance to point at Bryan from a distance. Sabre faces a mystery man at Forbidden Door.

Analysis: I don’t know what Bryan’s injury is at this point. I don’t want to speculate either. It was funny how Bryan did a babyface-style promo for most of it and then mentioned how he entered out of the bad guy tunnel, so he switched it around just like that. The mystery opponent deal is a way to get people excited without giving a name and then we have to tune in to find out who it will be. I’m not sure if the mystery guy will be part of Blood & Guts because they have five guys already – Moxley, Kingston, Santana, Ortiz & Yuta. I guess they could take Yuta out of that spot, though. Anyway, Sabre is a talented guy that should have a good match no matter who it is that he faces at Forbidden Door. Two popular guesses for the mystery guy will be Cesaro and Johnny Gargano. I don’t know if it’s either of them, but they are free agents right now as far as I know.

Jon Moxley did a backstage promo talking about the Blood & Guts match next week. Moxley talked about how Ortiz, Santana, Kingston and Yuta are all survivors. Moxley said he hated Chris Jericho because he’s driven by money and ego. Moxley said that we’ll find out how much they can endure inside the bloody steel cage. Moxley talked about Forbidden Door facing Hiroshi Tanahashi saying this means more to him than anything you can imagine. Moxley said that it’s been three years of becoming a better man. Moxley said tonight it’s business when they team up, but Sunday it is personal and he said once that bell rings, he has no respect for anyone.

Analysis: Good intensity shown by Moxley as usual talking about Blood & Guts next week as well as the interim AEW World Title match against Tanahashi on Sunday. I look forward to both matches.

Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero vs. Will Ospreay and Aussie Open – Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher

Cassidy is back after missing a few months with a shoulder injury. Romero with some kicks and punches on Fletcher leading to Trent tagging in with a clothesline. Davis was the bigger man on his team, so he kicked Trent in the face to knock him down. Trent hit a belly-to-back suplex. Cassidy tagged in with some kinesio tape on his left shoulder area. Cassidy did his hands in the pockets routine to a big pop and Davis let him do it, which led to Cassidy hitting a dropkick. Romero and Trent each made tags leading to two clotheslines and a double elbow smash. Ospreay into the ring, Trent gave him a back body drop and then the six guys were all on the floor with Ospreay’s team in control. Ospreay gave Trent a powerbomb while the other two guys gave their opponents slams onto the apron. That led to a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Trent hitting a suplex on Fletcher. Cassidy got a hot tag with the comedy kicks on Fletcher and Davis followed by a double hurricanrana. Cassidy used Fletcher to balance and then he hit a hurricanrana on Davis. Cassidy hit an impressive DDT on Fletcher. Cassidy faced off against Ospreay, who he faces at Forbidden Door. Romero with a headscissors on Ospreay, then Trent with a clothesline and the three faces all hit dives at the same time. Back in the ring, dropkick by Romero, Trent with a shot on Ospreay and Cassidy went up top with a lazy elbow drop on Ospreay. Cassidy went for a DDT, Ospreay blocked it, Ospreay hit a jumping enziguri kick, but then Cassidy reversed a move into a Stundog Millionaire. Romero tagged in against Davis with a jumping hurricanrana, then Davis with a hard chop to the chest and Fletcher was back in for some tandem offense that led to a double team spinebuster for a two count. Davis back in, Romero fought back with a neckbreaker, then all six guys took turns doing moves and Trent/Romero hit a double knee on Fletcher. Trent picked up Fletcher, but Ospreay kicked him into a slam, then Davis picked up Trent and hit a piledriver for two as Cassidy broke up the pin. Ospreay went for a backflip dive over the top on Ospreay, but Ospreay moved and then Rocky dove onto Ospreay on the floor. Trent with a DDT on Davis with JR putting over all the DDTs in the match. Cassidy tagged in with the Orange Punch on Fletcher for the pinfall win after 11 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero

Analysis: ***3/4 An exciting match full of action. It was funny hearing JR talking about how many DDTs there were because there were probably like five or six, but then the move that wins the match is a jumping punch. It made sense for Cassidy to win to give him momentum going into his match against Ospreay, who I think should beat Cassidy at Forbidden Door. They didn’t let Ospreay do that much here compared to his great match with Harwood last week. The fans are still into Cassidy’s gimmick, so that’s why AEW keeps featuring him whether some fans like him or not.

Post match, Jeff Cobb and The Great O-Khan walked out to join their United Empire buddies Ospreay and crew. That led to the FTR team of Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler making their way out for the save, so it was five guys in the ring and then Ospreay’s group bailed to the floor.

Analysis: The FTR guys are in a tag team title match at Forbidden Door, so that’s why they went out there to face off with Cobb and O-Khan, who are part of Ospreay’s group.

Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt were backstage for a promo. Jay ripped on Samoa Joe for not being at work again. Jay said that Joe should either tap up that shoulder and defend the title against Jay or vacate the title because the clock is ticking.

Analysis: That feud is still going on? I guess so. Lethal barely wrestles on AEW TV while his rivalry with Joe has gone on for a long time now.

(Commercial)

Let’s Hear from Christian Cage

Christian Cage made his entrance with JR saying he always felt this man was more comfortable as an antagonist, which is JR’s way of saying that Christian was more comfortable as a heel. He was right. The announcers talked about Christian’s attack on Jungle Boy last week. Here’s a tip to AEW: Show the clip from last week instead of talking about it. You could show it while Christian was walking down to the ring. AEW needs to show more replays of what happened last week. This is an example of that.

Christian was asked to explain what happened, so the fans booed him. Christian said that the people of Milwaukee aren’t very intelligent, they booed more and he told them to shut up. Christian mentioned you didn’t expect him to let Jungle Boy eliminate him from the Casino Battle Royal last year and he claimed that pissed him off because of the way the fans reacted to him. Christian said he thought maybe he should do a background check on Jungle Boy, the fans chanted “shut the f**k up” and Christian claimed he went on social media being a cesspool of losers. Christian told the fans that they know nothing about the business. Christian said he’s one of the best to ever step foot in the ring and he has it figured out. Christian said it would be like him telling you (the fans) to take an order. Christian spoke about how he did minimal work by standing at ringside and cash that paycheck. Christian said he wasn’t there to help younger talent and he was there to cash his paycheck. Christian talked about how he once had a match that they name pay-per-views after, which is true because of the TLC PPV that used to exist. Christian said that the one time he doesn’t give pre-match advice or walk out with Jungle Boy, they lose the Tag Team Championships. Christian said now he’s going to have to take control, he’ll have to get his hands dirty and that pisses him off.

They finally showed a clip from last week when Christian told Jungle Boy’s mom and sister that they raised a “piece of sh*t.”

Christian said that he thinks that she (Jungle Boy’s mom) was a little sweet on Christian Cage and he thinks she wanted Christian to be Jungle Boy’s father. That drew a big “ooohhh” reaction from the crowd. Christian said he never wanted to be his father because he had a father since his father is dead (Luke Perry) and it’s a good thing he is dead because he didn’t get to see Jungle Boy beaten up like that. The crowd was booing that. Christian told Jungle Boy to enjoy his early retirement at 25 years old and stay gone. The Jungle Boy music played as Luchasaurus finally made his way out to the ring. Luchasaurus choked Christian in the ring. Christian mentioned Marko (Stunt), who was part of the group. Christian tried to get him to stop by saying Luchasaurus was like a son to him. Christian said that they need to talk in private, not in front of these people. Christian talked in Luchasaurus’ ear and then hugged him. Luchasaurus was conflicted a bit in the ring as he walked away without hurting Christian.

Analysis: It was a good promo from Christian, who has always been a great talker. The part about Jungle Boy’s mom wanting Christian to be a dad to Jungle Boy got personal and then taking a shot at Jungle Boy’s dad Luke Perry being dead got him even more heat because you don’t mention stuff like that unless you’re trying to be a dirtbag heel. Christian got a lot of heat for what he said because Jungle Boy is really liked by the fans, who enjoy his athleticism and ability in the ring. Christian trying to talk to Luchasaurus is interesting to see if they have Luchasaurus go heel with Christian. I thought this was a good segment overall.

They showed a clip from Rampage when Darby Allin hit a Coffin Drop on the steel chair on Bobby Fish’s leg. It’s because Sting came back to help Allin win the match.

The Young Bucks were there with the AEW Tag Team Championships with Kyle O’Reilly by their side. The Young Bucks said they will be part of Forbidden Door. Kyle talked about getting revenge on Sting and Darby Allin. Anyway, they will be part of yet another tag team match on the Forbidden Door card.

Malakai Black made his entrance for the All-Atlantic Championship qualifying match. Penta Oscuro was the opponent.

Malakai Black vs. Penta Oscuro

The three guys in the All-Atlantic Championship match are Pac, Miro and Tomohiro Ishii. Whoever wins this match will join them. I missed the beginning of the match and then they went to a picture in picture break.

(Commercial)

Penta hit two clotheslines, then roll through and a cross body block off the middle rope. Black was on the apron, Penta tried a move, Black kicked him and Penta ducked a kick leading to a Penta kick to the head. Black into the ring, he kicked Penta into the head, then Penta back in and he hit a Cutter for a two count. They battled by the turnbuckle, Black tripped him up and Black hit a rising knee to the head to knock Penta out of the ring. Black hit a moonsault off the middle rope onto Penta on the floor. Black went up top, he jumped off with a double foot stomp and that got a two count. Black with a kick to the head. Black went up top, Penta connected with a jumping kick to the head and Penta hit a Fear Factor piledriver off the top rope. The fans chanted “holy shit” while Penta was too hurt to cover right away and Penta covered with one arm, but Black’s foot was on the bottom rope for the two count. Penta went for a move, but his back was hurting, Penta went for a kick, Black blocked it and Black hit a spin kick to the head for the pinfall win after about ten minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Malakai Black

Analysis: ***1/4 A pretty good match that was even most of the way. Penta doesn’t sell injuries much in tag team matches at times, but he did a nice job of selling the back pain here and that led to Black blocking a kick and hitting his own spin kick for the win. They need to call that finishing kick by Black the Black Out or something like that. I know it was Black Mass in his WWE days. Just give it something to make it stand out.

After the match, Pac went into the ring to have a staredown with Black. Miro appeared on the video screen with a promo mentioning Pac, Black and Ishii while telling us that he was The Redeemer. It was brief. That’s the 4-Way match for the All-Atlantic Title.

Analysis: I’d like to see Malakai Black with a title in AEW, so I hope he wins it. Miro and Pac are good options too while Ishii is unlikely since he lives in Japan.

(Commercial)

Wardlow was featured in a video package saying he always gets what he wants. Wardlow said he wants the TNT Title. Wardlow said when Scorpio Sky is healed and ready, he will welcome him into Wardlow’s world.

Adam Cole made his entrance to join commentary for this match. Silas Young entered first as the veteran wrestler from ROH who is from Milwaukee. “Hangman” Adam Page was up next to a big pop.

“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Silas Young

Young is an ROH veteran that wrestled Page many times in ROH. Young is from Milwaukee, so they brought him in to put over Page. I like the mustache look that Young has. They did some mat wrestling early on with some counters, nearfalls and things like that leading to Page hitting a boot to the face. Page with some chops, then Young with two chops and Page hit an overhand chop knocking Young down. Young with an eye rake, Page sent Young out of the ring and Page went for a dive, but Young avoided it. Page bounced off the ropes with a clothesline. Page went up top and hit a moonsault onto a standing Young for a two count.

(Commercial)

The match returned with Page hitting a superplex off the top rope. They exchanged strikes, Page picked him up and hit a fallaway slam across the ring. Page hit a running clothesline in the corner, then Page did a springboard clothesline and a slingshot dive over the top onto Young on the floor. Page went up top, he jumped off with a clothesline and got a two count. Cole claimed this is where Silas will turn it around. Young with a backbreaker followed by a clothesline. Young hit a rolling senton, then he had trouble getting up and missed a moonsault-style move off the rope. Page with a German Suplex, a clothesline and a Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall win after nine minutes.

Winner by pinfall: “Hangman” Adam Page

Analysis: *** It was a solid match. The announcers tried really hard putting over Silas, but we all knew Page was winning here. Young is a talented veteran wrestler. I don’t know why they need to bring him in when they have 50+ people backstage that are rarely on TV that could be in this spot, but that’s what AEW does sometimes. I’m sure the wrestlers that are there every week are thrilled to have a two-minute match on Youtube instead.

Post match, Adam Cole wanted to give us story time, but he was interrupted by IWGP Heavyweight Jay White. Jay apologized for interrupting story time, but he feels like he owed Cole an explanation. White said that he is responsible for making Forbidden Door as big as it can be. White said that as much as he could make it about Bullet Club and the Undisputed Elite, his opponent at Forbidden Door can’t be Cole. White said it’s because Cole lost to Page twice.

White walked down to the ring with the IWGP World Heavyweight Title and he got in the ring with Page. White said that he will not face Page, who slapped the microphone out of White’s hand. Page punched White, Cole tried making the save, but Page sent Cole out of the ring to the floor. Page tried to set up for the Buckshot Lariat, but Cole was there to hit Page with a low blow uppercut punch. Cole teased hitting White with the title, but then he didn’t do it. Cole told White to hold up Page for a belt shot and that led to somebody making the save.

Its’s Kazuchika Okada! The New Japan legend! Huge ovation and the crowd chanted “holy shit” for him. Okada went into the ring to fight with Page against Cole and White. The faces Okada and Page were in full control, then Page had a staredown with Okada in the ring. The heels managed to escape at that point.

Analysis: Okada is my favorite NJPW guy, so the fact that he’s going to be a part of the show makes me more interested now. Of course I was going to watch it and review it anyway. I’m just saying Okada’s presence and star power helps a lot. It would be nice if AEW actually announced something with these guys weeks in advance instead of days before the show, but that’s just the way they have approached this show. I’m surprised at how unorganized it is. Anyway, good interaction by all four guys with Cole teasing a potential attack on White while Page fought back valiantly and Okada’s appearance drew a big ovation.

Jade Cargill’s group was interviewed by Tony Schiavone. They mentioned Red Velvet had some injury. Stokely Hathaway said that they were looking for a “Baddie” to join them. Cargill said that she had to be a top-notch bitch. Hathaway said they had to keep it PG. Cargill told Tony to “cut the shit” to end it with Tony saying “PG” at the end.

(Commercial)

The duo of Kris Statlander and Athena were interviewed by Tony Schiavone. They mocked the “Baddie” search. They spoke about how Jade can do a Baddie search while they added that they have a friend in Willow Nightingale. I don’t know what the point of this was other than to set up some match in the future, I guess.

Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir (w/Nyla Rose)

Storm is challenging Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women’s Title at Forbidden Door on Sunday.

This is when they usually put the lone women’s match on the show. Shafir had Rose with her because I don’t think Rose has had a TV match in months, so it’s a way to get her on TV. Shafir went for a cross armbreaker, but Storm got to the ropes to force a break. Storm hit a dropkick. Shafir came back with a kick to the chest. Shafir kicked Storm to the floor, then a referee distraction and Rose hit a senton splash on Storm on the floor. That led to a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

Shafir was still in control with a kick that knocked Storm out of the ring. Shafir went for a kick, Storm avoided it and hit a Tornado DDT on the floor. Lots of DDTs on this show. Back in the ring, Storm with a German Suplex. Storm hit the running hip attack, then Rose grabbed Shafir to save her ally from a move. Shafir went for a pumphandle slam, Storm slipped out of it and got a ROLLUP OF DEATH~! using her body to cover Shafir.

Winner by pinfall: Toni Storm

Analysis: ** Just an average match or even below that. It wasn’t interesting. It was the typical women’s match on Dynamite getting the same amount of time nearly every week and having an obvious result. Storm is in the title match at Forbidden Door while Shafir is doing okay, but she doesn’t get a crowd reaction. They are trying to get Shafir over, but she’s not at the level of the the better women in the company.

Post match, Rose and Shafir tried a double team attack on Storm. Thunder Rosa made the save with the AEW Women’s Title in her hands. Rosa kicked Shafir out of the ring. They worked together to take care of Rose with Storm hitting Rose with the title. Storm handed Rosa the title back and they had a staredown.

Analysis: There’s no storyline, but it should be a good match between Thunder and Toni.

Darby Allin and Sting did a promo with Darby saying they’ll have Shingo and Hiromu joining them. Sting said it will be Showtime. I don’t know if Sting even knows the guys on his team or on the Young Bucks team, but he’s ready. Sure he is.

This Friday on Rampage:

* Hook vs. The DKC. Who?

* Andrade El Idolo vs. Rey Fenix. They showed taped promos from both guys. That should be great.

* Serena Deeb & Mercedes Martinez in tag team action.

* Cash Wheeler vs. Jeff Cobb.

There was a rundown of the Forbidden Door lineup that was way too fast for any sane person to try to watch and understand because Excalibur speaks so quickly. Anyway, the IWGP World Title match is a Fatal 4-Way with Jay White defending vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Adam Cole. The full card is at the bottom of this post and we’ll have a preview on TJRWrestling on Saturday.

Chris Jericho made his entrance with Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti for Jericho’s tag team match.

(Commercial)

Lance Archer made his entrance for the main event. He’s the only guy in this match that isn’t wrestling at Forbidden Door, so try to guess the match result here. Hiroshi Tanahashi was up first for the babyface team with JR putting over how amazing Tanahashi is and compared him to Bret hart as an incredible, all-time great talent. Jon Moxley entered through the crowd as usual and got a big ovation like always.

Jon Moxley & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Chris Jericho & Lance Archer

William Regal joined commentary to support his buddy Moxley. It started out as a brawl with Moxley beating on Jericho with punches at ringside. Moxley whipped Jericho into the barricade. Tanahashi with a dropkick to Archer’s knee. Archer came back with a Full Nelson slam. Jericho tagged in, Tanahashi avoided the bulldog and sent Jericho into the turnbuckle. Tanahashi with a splash on Jericho against the turnbuckle. Moxley tagged in with forearms followed by a clothesline over the top to the floor. Moxley shouted “Blood and f**king Guts” right into the camera as he worked over Jericho on the floor. Sammy with a distraction, so Jericho hit a springboard dropkick. Jericho with a catapult into the bottom rope. Archer tagged in with a pounce shoulder tackle that knocked Moxley into the ropes. They went to a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

Jericho was in control of Moxley with a forearm knockdown, but when Jericho went for the Lionsault, Moxley got the knees up to block. Tanahashi tagged in with a forearm, then a back elbow and cross body block off the ropes. Tanahashi with a senton splash off the middle rope for a two count. Jericho wanted the Walls of Jericho, but Tanahashi countered it for a cradle. Jericho hit a Codebreaker for two with Moxley breaking up the pin. Moxley hit a suicide dive on Archer on the floor. Jericho went for Judas Effect on Tanahashi, who avoided it and Tanahashi hit a Cutter. Tanahashi up top, he hit a cross body block, Jericho rolled through and applied the Walls of Jericho in the middle of the ring. Moxley made the save with a Cutter on Jericho. Archer with a boot to Moxley. Tanahashi hit a Slingblade neckbreaker on Archer. All four guys were down in the ring. Moxley tagged in against Archer with Moxley hitting two clotheslines, then a forearm and Moxley got a kick to the gut followed by a DDT. I guess it was a Paradigm Shift with no lift. Tanahashi went up top and hit the High Fly Flow splash aka a Frog Splash for the pinfall win after about ten minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Jon Moxley & Hiroshi Tanahashi

Analysis: ***1/4 A good main event tag team match with the obvious result of Archer taking the pin. It’s not like they are going to have Moxley or Tanahashi get beat before their title match at Forbidden Door. The interaction between Jericho and Mox/Tanahashi was good, but Archer just didn’t seem like a big deal in the match. Mox tagging in Tanahashi for the finish is fine to put over Tanahashi going into their match.

Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi exchanged words in the ring as the announcers tried to tell us that all of AEW was on Moxley’s back because he had to win it for AEW.

Eddie Kingston showed up at ringside to brawl with Chris Jericho. Kingston threw a chair at Sammy Guevara. Wheeler Yuta joined the fight as well. Minoru Suzuki went down to ringside, so Yuta fought with him. There were more members from Jericho’s group that showed up at ringside to join the fight. Shota Umino was there to fight with the faces. In the ring, Moxley and Tanahashi were having a staredown while wrestlers were fighting all around the ring. There were referees that showed up to try to break the fights around ringside. There were more security guys that went out to ringside to try to break up the fights, but then they were getting beat up as well. The announcers were promoting what’s coming up on the weekend. It ended with Moxley staring at Tanahashi. I think they stared at eachother for like three minutes. That was it.

Analysis: A chaotic ending to the show. AEW loves booking those kinds of finishes. Since the Blood & Guts match is next Wednesday as well, they had to try to promote that as well as Forbidden Door. It’s a lot going on. It’s too chaotic for my liking, but I am looking forward to the matches. Oh, and if you’re wondering, I think Moxley beating Tanahashi for the Interim AEW World Title is likely.

Three Stars of the Show

1. Christian Cage
2. Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero
3. Jon Moxley & Hiroshi Tanahashi

The Scoreboard

This Week: 7.25 out of 10

Last Week: 8

Final Thoughts

I thought it was a good show overall, but holy shit there was a lot going on. It was tough to keep track of everything they were promoting for Forbidden Door. The show ending scene was chaotic. There were so many moments in the show where I felt that things were rushed and they need to slow down a little bit. Pacing is so important in a pro wrestling show. Anyway, I did enjoy the surprise of Kazuchika Okada showing up, so that was cool. It should be a great 4-Way match for the IWGP World Title at Forbidden Door.

In terms of matches, the six-man tag that was the first match on the show was probably the best in terms of in-ring action. The main event tag was okay with an obvious result. Other matches were obvious as well since they featured people on the Forbidden Door card against people not on the card. With that said, it wasn’t as good as the usual Dynamite in terms of in-ring action, but I think it can be forgiven since there’s a PPV on Sunday night that should have a lot of great matches.

That heel promo from Christian Cage was great. The best thing he’s done in AEW so far. He tried to make it personal by mocking Jungle Boy’s late father Luke Perry, so that got him a lot of heat and should lead to a hot crowd when Jungle Boy comes back.

We’ll have a preview of Forbidden Door on Saturday and then I’ll have a live review on Sunday night.

AEW/NJPW Present the Forbidden Door pay-per-view this Saturday from Chicago. Here’s the lineup:

* AEW Interim World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. “Hangman” Adam Page

* AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Pac vs. Miro vs. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Malakai Black

* IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Orange Cassidy

* AEW Women’s World Championship: Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Toni Storm

* Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship and IWGP Tag Team Championship Winner Takes All: FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) vs. United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb) vs. Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero)

* Trios Match: Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta and Shota Umino

* Bullet Club (Young Bucks, Hikuleo & El Phantasmo) vs. Darby Allin, Sting, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi

* Zack Sabre Jr. vs. ????

* PRE-SHOW: Max Caster and Gunn Club (Billy Gunn, Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) vs. Yuya Uemura, Alex Coughlin, The DKC and Kevin Knight

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Thanks for reading. Go Toronto Blue Jays. You can contact me using any of the methods below.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport