"I would never allow it to happen" - Tony Khan admits to stopping dream match between Jon Moxley and NJPW legend on multiple occasions
AEW President Tony Khan has admitted that he has prevented Jon Moxley from facing Hiroshi Tanahashi on multiple occasions.
Moxley and Tanahashi will meet at the first-ever Forbidden Door event on June 26th for the Interim AEW World Championship. The bout is being billed as a cross-promotional dream match.
The only other time the two men have met each other in the ring was at the NJPW "Capital Collision" event on May 14th 2022. The men were both involved in a four-way match that also included Will Ospreay and Juice Robinson.
Speaking on the latest edition of Busted Open Radio, Tony Khan spoke about the upcoming interim title match between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi and admitted that the match has been pushed for a long time.
"That's a match that has been talked about in New Japan for a long time, well over a year. There's some backstory as to why it never happened. I would never allow it to happen. I'll make an old WWF reference, Armageddon, Vince [McMahon came out with the truck to stop the six-way cage match [Hell in a Cell], that's like me with this match. They tried to do it so many times, [Jon] Moxley vs. [Hiroshi] Tanahashi, and I've always been there to stop it from happening because it's such a huge match and we had to be involved if it was going to happen." (H/T - Fightful)
An unfortunate injury sustained by CM Punk put a match between Punk and Tanahashi on the backburner. Khan admitted that now was the time to pull the trigger on Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi.
"Lo and behold, at a time when everything changed, CM Punk won the world title, he gets injured, we have to set up a huge match to crown an Interim World Champion. Going back to the relationship between AEW and New Japan, it's been building towards this and it's fate. [Jon] Moxley vs. [Hiroshi] Tanahashi was a match that was supposed to happen many times and it never happened. Now, it's the right time and right place. It could have happened a lot of times and heaven knows I stepped in and tried to stop it and now it's finally happening at the perfect time for AEW and New Japan and all the fans." (H/T Fightful).
Time for NJPW Capital Collision! Let’s go! #capitalcollision https://t.co/uzfKq2A5vN
Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi will go face-to-face on AEW Dynamite
Tony Khan went from zero to one hundred when it came to announcements regarding the "Road Rager" edition of Dynamite that will take place on June 15th. A face-to-face showdown between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi was confirmed to be happening on the show.
#AEWDynamite tonight!
After the Interim AEW World Championship match between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jon Moxley was made official at #njdominion, more moves are sure to be made tonight as the countdown to #ForbiddenDoor is on!
Watch Dynamite tonight on TBS at 8/7c! https://t.co/oagFdOx7Fp
It's unclear at the time of writing whether or not the segment will be a contract signing, a weigh-in or an interview. But rest assured, it is sure to be a historic moment as two of the greatest wrestlers in the world come face-to-face for the very first time.
What is going to happen on AEW Dynamite? Tune in tonight to find out!