Could a New Japan star win the AEW World Championship?
AEW Forbidden Door promises to be a historic night for a number of reasons. It's the largest crossover event we've seen in a long time, and has the added intrigue of featuring international stars that many fans have heard of, but have never taken the time to watch.
When AEW owner Tony Khan declared that he wanted to 'bust down the forbidden door', he wasn't kidding. Not only has he cooperated with IMPACT Wrestling, AAA and other promotions, he has also purchased one of the largest promotions in the United States in Ring of Honor.
Now, with the versatility of basically having two promotions and an open line of communication with companies all over the world, Khan appears to have achieved his goal.
Oddly, it wasn't the AEW President who coined the phrase, 'forbidden door'. The honor for that would belong to the Ace of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi. The Japanese star was mentioning the idea of passing through 'the forbidden door' long before Khan uttered the phrase.
Perhaps that's why it's so ironic that, years later, Tanahashi is on the cusp of stepping onto a premium event of the same name, with an opportunity to capture the interim AEW World Championship.
AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door promises to be an unforgettable night. The event sold out The United Center in Chicago and will have the eyes of the entire professional wrestling world on it.
That's why having a star of Tanahashi's stature in the main event looms even larger. His presence and appeal could lead to a showdown that shakes the foundation of sports entertainment.
While he still has to qualify for the match to advance to the big evet on June 26th. However, his opponent is Hirooki Goto at NJPW Dominion on June 12, and it's almost assured that the bigger name, Tanahashi, will come out on top in that one.
For Forbidden Door, the AEW title match (Moxley vs Tanahashi or Goto) will headline.
For the IWGP title match, Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White winner looks to be defending in a three-way vs Adam Page and Adam Cole.
- WON https://t.co/7RzUv7etTo
That would mean one of the brightest stars from The Land of the Rising Sun, battling the Wild Thing, Jon Moxley. At first glance, that appears to be how it's all going to shake out. Which begs the question:
Could Hiroshi Tanahashi win the interim AEW World Championship at Forbidden Door?
Tanahashi is a hero in his home promotion, and is considered the guy who 'rescued' New Japan Pro Wrestling during one of its darkest times. He eventually passed the torch to Kazuchika Okada as the promotion's franchise player, but remains a mega star in his native land.
Tanahashi: "A guy with a look like that, the physical gifts that he had, and then they give him the Rainmaker name on top of that. The implication was that this guy would bring all the riches and prosperity to NJPW. That’s a pretty righteous thing to say when you think about it." https://t.co/ysxt2TPCpU
If there was ever a singles star from another promotion that Tony Khan might take a chance on? It could be someone like Tanahashi.
While it may seem out of the realm of possibility, the fact that this is an interim title may hold the key to the answer on this one. The Japanese sensation could win the belt and essentially hold the promotion hostage until the rightful titleholder returns. That sets up a clash with CM Punk, likely at All Out in September.
Once again? This may seem far-fetched. But at this point, do we even really know what is possible or impossible anymore? After all, we're in a time where the IMPACT Knockouts Champion competed in the Royal Rumble.
For many years, 'fantasy booking' was a regular hobby for die-hard wrestling fans. But now? Fantasy has become a reality as we are witnessing things that have never happened before - seemingly on a weekly basis.
Will Tanahashi exit the Forbidden Door with AEW's interim championship? Likely not. However, these days anything seems to be possible. So it's not as big a fever dream as it may seem.
If Tony Khan really wants to shock the world with this working relationship, then put the belt on Tanahashi for a little while... and set us up for more dream matches to come.