"It wouldn't make sense" - Tony Khan shoots down the idea of potential future event between AEW and NJPW
AEW President Tony Khan has given an update on the future of his company's relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He also disclosed whether or not a Forbidden Door sequel will ever occur.
The inaugural Forbidden Door event that took place on June 26 was the first cross-promotional pay-per-view for All Elite Wrestling. The show was headlined by an Interim AEW World Championship match between Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Speaking to The New York Post, Tony Khan revealed that he is open to organizing an AEW/NJPW show in Japan. However, the event won't be branded as "Forbidden Door." Here's what he had to say:
“The idea of doing an event over there with AEW stars and New Japan stars is very potentially interesting, but if it happens it won’t be Forbidden Door. “Forbidden Door” is gonna stay in North America. It wouldn’t make sense with the time zones, the revenue,” said Tony Khan. (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
I asked TK about #ForbiddenDoor 2, says they're already talking about a sequel event given the financial success it has already generated
AEW's working relationship with NJPW will continue moving forward, with the likes of Lance Archer representing the Jacksonville-based promotion in the upcoming G1 Climax tournament on July 16.
Tony Khan was without several top stars at the recent Forbidden Door event
Both AEW and NJPW were plagued with injuries building up to the much-awaited supershow on June 26.
Tony Khan had to do a lot of last-minute shuffling on the card due to some high-profile names from both companies being unable to compete. Former champions like Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi were already on the shelf, but many more joined them after initially being scheduled to compete at the show.
This show was riddled with bad luck, politics, and injuries. It's even a miracle it even happened.
But against all odds...
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door ended up being one of the greatest shows I've ever watched.
Classic PPV from top to bottom.
Take a bow everyone. https://t.co/ofPNsGtHva
For AEW, both CM Punk and Bryan Danielson were forced off the card due to injuries. Punk was pulled from his scheduled clash with Hiroshi Tanahashi, while Bryan was replaced by Claudio Castagnoli in his match with Zack Sabre Jr.
As for NJPW, Tomohiro Ishii was meant to be the company's representative in the four-way match to determine the first AEW All-Atlantic Champion. However, he was eventually replaced by Clark Connors.
On top of this, Hiromu Takahashi was meant to team with Sting, Darby Allin, and Shingo Takagi to take on the Bullet Club. However, in the days leading up to the show, Hiromu fell ill and wasn't medically cleared to fly.
It will be interesting to see if and when these stars lock horns again after the success of Forbidden Door.