8 Ups & 1 Down From AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 (Review)
Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada fought to find out who the very best is. Someone else won...
On the eve of the show, it was quite incredible to think that what many consider to the the greatest talent roster ever assembled - times two! - were motivated to exceed, not even meet, the wildest of expectations.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 held the potential to be the single greatest pro wrestling pay-per-view of all-time.
The prospect was almost too good. Was there enough time for Kenny Omega Vs. Will Ospreay II and Bryan Danielson Vs. Kazuchika Okada to meet a ceiling as high and artful as the Sistine Chapel? Or was that undercard too loaded?
Did a match like Jungle Boy Jack Perry Vs. SANADA, a very good prospect if it were headlining a Dynamite, suffer because it was dwarfed as a potential show-stealer by several other matches? Would the Le Suzuki Gods Trios match take the piss and exceed its fun vibes party remit? Conversely, would something like that incredibly layered 10-man tag get enough time to extract every available emotional beat?
All AEW and NJPW had to do, to guarantee greatness, was to stay out of their own way.
Was Forbidden Door '23 as good as people thought, or was the expectation simply impossible?