5 things AEW should do at the upcoming Forbidden Door event - Cesaro debuts to join top faction, 23-year-old star joins Blackpool Combat Club
The cross-promoted event between AEW and NJPW, Forbidden Door, is fast approaching and promises at least three new champions will be crowned.
Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi are squaring off in the final of a series to determine the new Interim AEW World Champion. FTR, United Empire and Roppongi Vice will meet in a three-way ROH and IWGP tag title winner takes all match.
Additionally, there will be a four-way between Miro, Pac, NJPW's Tomohiro Ishii and the winner of Dynamite's Penta Oscuro vs. Malakai Black. The winner will be crowned the inaugural All-Atlantic Champion.
It is sure to be a spectacle, and there will almost certainly be surprises in store. While the promise of the card has been stated, it's up to AEW to deliver. Let's take a look at five things AEW should do in order to accomplish this goal.
#5. Daniel Garcia should turn on the Jericho Appreciation Society to join Blackpool Combat Club
https://t.co/bBV0Ge2hKv
When Bryan Danielson first pitched the Blackpool Combat Club idea to Jon Moxley, he earmarked some of the best youngsters in the game. Two of the names mentioned were Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia. While the former would go on to cement his place in the Academy of Violence, Garcia has opted for a different path by joining the Jericho Appreciation Society.
Now, Garcia finds himself in the unique position of having to stand against the team that showed such an interest in him, having seen the JAS' feud with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz involve the BCC.
The JAS added Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti to the mix last week on AEW Dynamite, which Garcia appeared far from happy about. Perhaps now is as good a time as any for Red Death to bury the hatchet with Kingston, Moxley, and co.
Garcia was left off the Forbidden Door card by Jericho, after all, as Y2J opted to partner with his former Inner Circle protege instead.
#4. Thunder Rosa should turn heel with Jamie Hayter and Ruby Soho to form AEW's Oedo Tai
Thunder Rosa is set for perhaps her biggest test as champion as she looks to defend her AEW Women's title against Toni Storm. Storm is a competitor who has won gold pretty much everywhere she has landed: in Australia, England, Germany, the United States and Japan.
It feels pretty apt that Storm is challenging for the title in an event cross-promoted by NJPW, given her previous prominence in Japan. However, fans may remember that Thunder Rosa herself enjoyed a successful stay in Japan, even becoming the first Gaijin to capture a title in TJPW.
Rosa was part of the Oedo Tai stable, a villainous faction founded in part by fellow AEW star Ruby Soho back when she went by Heidi Lovelace. Jamie Hayter is another All-Elite name who has served in the faction; however, neither of the three shared time in the stable, having been members at different periods.
If AEW's intentions are to work with Japanese promotions more often, and with Forbidden Door and Rosa's imminent TJPW return, they could do worse than having the three shockingly turn heel to form a western branch of Oedo Tai.
Storm has been a rival of the faction previously, so an angle that sets her against the new trio of villains would be a natural extension of her current storyline.
#3. Cesaro should make his AEW debut to join Suzuki-Gun
Cesaro wants to be Minoru Suzuki so bad http://t.co/DH1LP7s9dq
Suzuki-Gun have well and truly thrown their hat in the ring for Forbidden Door, with Lance Archer teaming with Chris Jericho against Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi ahead of the Chicago event.
Minoru Suzuki himself will be coming to this weekend's event to team with Jericho and Sammy Guevara against Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino, and Wheeler Yuta.
Cesaro has been a free agent for months following his WWE departure, but maybe Forbidden Door will be his first appearance. The hard-hitter would make a perfect addition to Suzuki-Gun, bouncing from promotion to promotion much like Lance Archer and Suzuki have done previously.
Cesaro and Eddie Kingston famously have issues dating back to their shared time in Chikara. The Swiss Superstar could make his impact by providing the interference victory for Suzuki, Jericho and Guevara at Forbidden Door, igniting his first blood feud in the promotion at the same time.
#2. The Blackpool Combat Club should join Bullet Club
The Blackpool Combat Club is now being targeted by two factions: the Jericho Appreciation Society and Suzuki-Gun, who have united this past week.
Between the JAS and Suzuki-Gun, there are 14 men gunning for the BCC, Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz. Perhaps to even the numbers, one club needs to become two, and there's no greater stable in Japan that can go against Suzuki-Gun than Bullet Club.
Like the other factions, Bullet Club are set to have their own involvement in the Forbidden Door event. Although unknown at this point, Jay White will have an opponent for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship as well.
As shown thus far, White is unafraid of immense personnel changes and recruitment, ridding BC of originals like Tama Tonga purely to bring in the Good Brothers.
Why shouldn't the latest addition to the group be the BCC? It would fit the hiring process of the faction to bring in three of the toughest competitors in AEW, and it would appear Jay White is nearing the end of his relationship with Adam Cole and the Undisputed Elite.
It would make for must-watch viewing to see the Bullet Club hand victories not only to Wheeler Yuta against the JAS/Suzuki-Gun, but also the Interim World title to Jon Moxley, spiting Tanahashi once again.
#1. Kenny Omega should return to stand against the winner of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
This week's AEW Road To, building up the go-home Dynamite for Forbidden Door PPV opened with... KENNY OMEGA.
Excalibur mentions how Omega passed the torch to Jay White and Will Ospreay when he left New Japan.
Very unique timing here. https://t.co/itgap1BTYw
As briefly touched on before, Jay White has an opponent for the IWGP world title, but has yet to confirm who that will be.
Despite saying the opposite last week on AEW Dynamite, it does feel like his opponent is going to be Adam Cole, Hangman Page, or both. Should that be the case, any of the three possible IWGP World Champions walking out of Forbidden Door can be confronted by their old foe Kenny Omega.
Kenny has been absent since his world title loss to former tag partner Hangman Page at Full Gear last November, so returning to challenge his foe for the IWGP belt makes perfect sense in that regard. He and Adam Cole are also set to have an interesting dynamic when he returns.
Omega kicked Cole out of Bullet Club prior to his joining WWE and there have been visible tensions between the pair in their interactions. Kenny even went as far as to exclude Cole when he left the Young Bucks in charge of the Elite faction.
Jay White has famously been a thorn in Omega's side, defeating him for the IWGP US title and usurping the Cleaner for the Bullet Club throne. Any of the three men walking out of Forbidden Door may find Kenny Omega hot on their heels, looking to once more reign with New Japan's top prize.