AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is set to take place on June 26, but founder and co-owner Tony Khan is already thinking about the future. The upcoming card is still somewhat unsettled, given the injury to CM Punk and a handful of other unforeseen issues that have unfolded over the last several weeks. It's sent AEW and NJPW into a bit of a scramble mode to piece together the main event, but fans will be treated to Jon Moxley versus Hiroshi Tanahashi for the interim AEW World Championship.
Audiences will also witness the crowning of the first-ever All-Atlantic Champion, and while the response to the new belt hasn't been great online, the four-way match itself has show-stealing potential. Tack on likely appearances from Hangman Adam Page, Okada, Will Ospreay and Jay White, and Forbidden Door is still shaping up to be an outstanding pay-per-view despite how hectic things have been for AEW since Double Or Nothing.
AEW has a solid "big four" pay-per-view structure, with Double Or Nothing, Full Gear, All Out, and Revolution comprising their biggest shows of the year. It sounds like Tony Khan would be open to making Forbidden Door happen more frequently as well, telling Connor Casey of ComicBook.com the following when asked if the plan was for it to be a yearly event: "Yeah. I think we are hoping that's what it'll become."
It will be interesting to see how Forbidden Door actually ends up shaking out. While there are plenty of dream matches to be had—such as Zach Sabre Jr. versus Bryan Danielson—AEW and NJPW are still two companies that tend to focus on more long-term storytelling. This is a one-off show being put on by two federations that will have to immediately return to their own "territories" the week after and continue to build towards their own next pay-per-views.
The intermingling of AEW and NJPW talent for the interim AEW World Championship and All-Atlantic Championship is particularly intriguing. Fans have to be wondering if there's any real way that a New Japan wrestler is able to walk out of Forbidden Door with one (or possibly two) of AEW's titles. It would make for mesmerizing television on the night of June 27, but booking thereafter could get tricky. Especially if Punk takes longer to heal than anticipated. Regardless, it's good to hear that Khan is open to keeping the door open on another Forbidden Door. It is shaping up to be an entertaining card and could be a fun way to kick off the summer for both NJPW and AEW in the years to come. There would be even more opportunities to build stories in 2023, with Double Or Nothing and Dominion taking place in such close proximity to Double Or Nothing too.
Source: ComicBook.com