"Why can't you inform me?" - WCW legend Konnan highlights one major flaw with AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
Former WCW United States Champion Konnan shared his thoughts on the recent AEW x NJPW pay-per-view, Forbidden Door, and has pointed out one major problem with the event.
The show was the first-ever cross-promotional event held between the two companies, and the first time NJPW had worked with an American company since 2019 when they worked with Ring of Honor.
In preparation for the event, several top NJPW stars appeared on AEW programming, with the likes of Hiroshi Tanahashi, Will Ospreay and Jeff Cobb all wrestling matches, while Kazuchika Okada, Jay White and Zack Sabre Jr. all made sporadic appearances.
Forbidden Door was one of the greatest pro wrestling shows of modern era. A show full of incredible matches and memorable moments.
Literally the perfect way to kick off this dream AEWxNJPW crossover series. Next year will be even better. https://t.co/Jm9F3fzqZp
Speaking on the "Keepin It 100" podcast with Disco Inferno, Konnan commented on the event and thought that the biggest problem the show had was that AEW didn't do a good job at introducing the stars of New Japan.
"Their TV hasn’t been as good, maybe because they don’t have as much time to prepare for it, but I’m in the same boat as [Disco Inferno], there’s a lot of Japanese guys I don’t know, why can’t you inform me? Why do I have to go out of my way and look for it? That’s like if somebody came into the UFC and Joe Rogan didn’t tell you who they were and they didn’t have a video package on them, that’s what you do.” [3:19-3:42].
However, the WCW legend did enjoy the event overall, stating that AEW in particular has done very good business in the pay-per-view market.
“I watched that whole Forbidden Door, it was too long for me I was tired. The crowd was energised from top to bottom, from beginning to end bro, they never stopped screaming. I mean they made $5 Million off of this, it was a huge success, their pay-per-views are usually very good including this one, so they’ve done really good pay-per-view business." [2:58-3:18]
Konnan is no stranger to collaborative shows with NJPW
With a career that has spanned many companies and continents, it's no surprise that Konnan has dipped his toe in the New Japan pool at some point. It may have been brief, but the WCW legend did in fact tour with NJPW in 1994.
The tour was a cross-promotional event between NJPW and Mexican promotion AAA, who Konnan was wrestling with at the time. The tour was a five-day affair that featured huge names that modern fans will recognize too.
Konnan hits El Mexicano with a HIGH angle Splash Mountain during the AAA/NJPW Lucha World Tour of Japan in November of 1994. #njpw #aaa #luchalibre @Konnan5150 #コナン https://t.co/trsSiGIevm
Joining Japanese legends such as Yuji Nagata and Satoshi Kojima (who have both wrestled Jon Moxley in AEW) for the event were the likes of former WCW Crusierweight Champion Psicosis, spooky chair enthusiast La Parka, and WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero.
NJPW and AAA are two promotions that AEW has strong connections with, who will they partner up with next? Stay tuned to AEW TV to see which Forbidden Door they will open next!
While using the quotes from this article, please credit Keepin' It 100 and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling