13 Match Star Ratings For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door
Dynamite and Rampage didn't prepare us for how magical Forbidden Door would be...
The word "cursed" was used in many circles to describe the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door build.
Is that fair?
It suggests that AEW was blameless, that cruel fate conspired against it. In certain respects, this was true. Looking at the final card, with the exception of a rearranged main event years in the making, there was no special sense of "I can't believe this match is actually, finally happening".
This would have been the case, had Bryan Danielson wrestled Zack Sabre, Jr., and while CM Punk's injury totally derailed the main direction, the show wasn't quite built as the ultimate, surreal blast of fan service. The IWGP World Heavyweight Title match, illustrative of the show's overall booking, was a diluted compromise. Stars weren't so much promoted as accommodated.
Mapped out by the convoluted trappings of weekly episodic TV - the FTR/Best Friends/United Empire stuff was woefully contrived in particular - the road to Forbidden Door was fussy and unfocused when the beautiful, simple idea of earnest promotional pride should have been its unique USP. We see multi-person post-match beat-downs every week. Really, the show felt like the opposite to special.
Until it started...
13. BUY-IN: Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI Vs. The Factory
After a pedestrian exchange between YOSHI-HASHI and Aaron Solow, Hirooki Goto and QT Marshall worked a fun sequence.
QT remains vastly underrated. He's such an impressive physical specimen and selfless talent that he wrong-foots the audience constantly. He sprinted towards Goto on a rope-run, came a foot away from him, and still performed a massive bump when Goto had minimal space into which to generate momentum for his shoulder tackle. This spot put over Goto's immense power. QT flailed wildly to add a comedic slant to it. He's the ideal pre-show wrestler.
Deeper into the sequence, Goto stopped by the ropes, made QT do a jumping jack instead of a leapfrog, and when Goto blasted him with an open palm strike to the chest, he performed a slapstick bump right on his fookin' arse.
Deep into the heat sequence, QT did half-botch a space flying tiger drop, but it was practically endearing, and it made the babyface win feel that bit more cathartic.
Inoffensive fun.
Star Rating: ★★¾