Who is Hiroshi Tanahashi? 8-time world champion set to face Jon Moxley for the Interim AEW title
Hiroshi Tanahashi will go up against Jon Moxley for the Interim AEW title at Forbidden Door.
The Ace of New Japan Pro Wrestling has captured the promotion's former top prize, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, eight times thus far. Along with that, he has also captured the United States, Intercontinental, Tag Team, NEVER Openweight, and NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag titles. In NJPW alone, he is a 22-time champion.
However, his exploits with the Japanese promotion also stretch further than championship gold, having lifted the grueling G1 Climax tournament three times and the New Japan Cup twice. He has also made use of NJPW's working relationships to capture the CMLL Universal and RevPro British Heavyweight Championships. In total, he has had 27 title reigns in his career so far.
Tanahashi originally walked through the Forbidden Door when new AEW World Champion CM Punk laid out a challenge for the event. However, as injury struck the Cult of Personality, plans changed and the Interim World Title Series became the format to crown a world champion at the event.
"When the dust settles at #ForbiddenDoor... YOU are going to call me ACE." Strong words from @JonMoxley to @tanahashi1_100 ahead of their #AEW Interim World Championship match LIVE on PPV Sunday 6/26 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT! Available on major providers, @BleacherReport, @FiteTV (intl) https://t.co/YC7mdyHCoz
Moxley's rival Minoru Suzuki will also fight at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door
Chris Jericho declared during last week's Dynamite that he would be bringing Minoru Suzuki back to All Elite Wrestling for Forbidden Door.
The Jericho Appreciation Society and Suzuki-Gun members Lance Archer and El Desperado laid a beating on Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi during this week's face-to-face. The Wizard also announced that he and the JAS would be working with Minoru and Suzuki-Gun at the upcoming event.
Jericho, Suzuki, and new JAS member Sammy Guevara will partner to take on Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino, and Moxley's fellow Blackpool Combat Club member Wheeler Yuta at Forbidden Door.
The wizard @IAmJericho has some new friends #AEWDynamite #RoadRager https://t.co/OJcitgIeQ8
Suzuki and Moxley share an intense history, stemming from clashes in NJPW. They renewed their rivalry last year, one that also involved Lance Archer and Eddie Kingston. The latter will stand on the team against Suzuki at Forbidden Door.