12 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

8. Dudes With Attitudes Prevail In Different Kind Of Banger

The irritating thing about Dudes With Attitudes' win over Bullet Club is that the match would have been even more fun if not for Hiromu Takahashi's pull-out, which prompted AEW and NJPW to pull Hikuleo from the bout and make it a trios clash. One of the most arresting, dynamic wrestlers on the planet, Hiromu would have added insanity to an insanely fun, expertly laid-out clash that effectively served as a great palate cleanser ahead of the meatier action to come at Forbidden Door.

This was a riot. A hoot. A blast. Pick your favourite word for "a really good time" and apply it here, because it was almost certainly that.

Sting began the bout by DIVING OFF THE ENTRANCE TUNNEL and onto the Bullet Club team, who were total pricks throughout. The Young Bucks and El Phantasmo were in full-on troll mode for delayed, over-acted back-rake spots on Darby Allin in the corner, bringing the pantomime. Shingo Takagi kept things stiff and straight-faced, ensuring the bout stayed grounded in competitiveness, and what else can be said about Sting in AEW that hasn't already been covered a thousand times before? The man is a marvel. His signature no-sell spots are given extra weight now that we know how banged up he has been over the past few years - and saying "nope!" to the Jackson brothers' tandem superkicks drew one of his loudest AEW pops yet.

Takagi's Made in Japan finished El Phantasmo off not long after Allin had downed Hikuleo with a Coffin Drop to the outside.