12 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

3. A Technical Wrestling Masterclass

Continuing to emphasise Zack Sabre Jr.'s Forbidden Door match as a quest to find the best technical wrestler in the world after Bryan Danielson's pull-out telegraphed Claudio Castagnoli's insertion into the pay-per-view. Nonetheless, this did nothing to hamper the moment. Sometimes in wrestling, the predictable option is the best option, and the response Claudio received in Chicago shows this was the case in his AEW debut.

The match was as great as you'd expect. Castagnoli kicked it off by posing with AEW's mystery masked cameraman, addressing rumours that he was behind the veil, then ignited the crowd by smashing ZSJ with a forearm and the Neutralizer as soon as the bell rang. From there, an A-grade technical wrestling bout unfolded between the ropes, with Claudio's early dominance prompting Sabre Jr. to target his arm, theoretically taking some of the powerhouse's biggest weapons away from him.

This appeared to be working when Castagnoli was forced to abandon an attempted giant swing later on. Chicago was baying for the move at points, but Claudio stayed true to the story, not employing its full power until much later in the night, when he'd had reasonable time to recover.

A Swiss Death uppercut and powerbomb ended Sabre's night. Ultimately, Castagnoli's power game proved too much, even with one of his limbs in pieces, which made the Swiss star look like a million dollars.

More on him later.