10 HUGE AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Predictions You Need To Know
5. Sanada (c) Vs. "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry (with Hook)
This might sound a bit like an attempt to polish a turd when really it's anything but, but did anybody really pitch a "dream" match for IWGP Champion SANADA. And/or, for that matter, Jungle Boy Jack Perry?
The former LIJ man is still finding his feet as NJPW's top guy after an aggressive image overhaul and stable shift, but the Just 5 Guys leader will get the win here to help the Challenger's cause as much as his own. Stature-enhancing on one of the bigger co-promotional stages of the year, it also positions him as the guy that survived an open challenge to anybody on the AEW roster right before he readied himself for yet another gruelling G1.
Perry, meanwhile, is going to turn heel. Maybe not right here (though a defeat won't exactly lift his mood), but he's already insincerely promised the world to Hook for the summer ahead then gone back on it, and every nagging defeat seems to be the last one his fraying psyche can't tolerate. A switch on the actual show would be a shock, but there have been bigger surprises on supercards than a Jungle Boy heel turn. Jungle Hook is on borrowed time.
Winner - SANADA