The main event spot at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door wasn't supposed to belong to Jon Moxley, but now that he's there, it really does feel like fate, as Tony Khan recently (and boldly) stated. That might be a touch on the hyperbolic side, but that vibe is befitting of an event that has been more than three years in the making. And this match with Hiroshi Tanahashi is one that the Cincinnati, Ohio native has been chasing ever since leaving WWE.
It's easy to forget now, but when Moxley bolted from the largest sports entertainment company in history, AEW was far from a sure thing. Khan had the money to make some things happen, but it wasn't clear whether or not All Elite would be able to maintain the momentum created by those first few independent-style shows. So when he rolled up on Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega following the main event of the first Double Or Nothing in 2019, the former Dean Ambrose was taking a pretty big risk. This was AEW's inaugural event, after all, and no one knew what to expect in the weeks and months that followed. This paradigm shift also freed Moxley to eventually become this version of himself. AEW's steadfast ace, capable of stepping into any main event at any time.
Tanahashi was supposed to wrestle CM Punk at Forbidden Door, but an injury sidelined him for the event. It immediately became a foregone conclusion that Moxley would be elevated into Punk's spot. Sure, there was a tournament to determine who would go on to fight for the AEW interim World Championship at this pay-per-view, but the winner was a foregone conclusion. Kyle O'Reilly put up one heck of a fight, but no fight and no wrestler was going to stand between Moxley and this moment.
His battles with addiction are well documented, and he recently spoke at length on The Sessions with Renée Paquette about what coming back from his stint in alcohol rehab has been like. “So my first match back, you think it’s gonna be like, ‘Okay, well, now you’re sober so you’re just going to feel like a million dollars.’ It doesn’t really work like that," he told Paquette. He continued, stating that he began to feel better with every match, culminating with his bout against Bryan Danielson at Revolution. That's when things finally felt right for him in the ring.
The Blackpool Combat Club was born that night. In a way, Moxley was reborn, too. Finally sober, healthy, and away from a miserable experience with WWE, he was set to claim his spot as AEW's go-to, reliable and bankable star. The likes of Danielson and Punk were important signings for All Elite, but they didn't incur the same kind of risk that Moxley did three years ago. He believed in All Elite Wrestling, and AEW has repaid him in kind, by placing him in the main event of the Forbidden Door pay-per-view in a match that's simultaneously a dream fight for fans and for Moxley himself.
Source: The Sessions with Renée Paquette