13 Match Star Ratings For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

4. Will Ospreay Vs. Orange Cassidy

Will Ospreay Orange Cassidy
AEW

The most perfect match these two men could have had.

Orange Cassidy is divisive. Nothing will ever change there. But he's so bloody intelligent that he created a live action version of the two buttons meme. Credit to Will Ospreay for allowing himself to be parodied; early in the match, Cassidy ripped the absolute piss out of Ospreay's signature "I've just done a series of rapid, cool counters, here's me doing a martial arts pose as a cue to make the crowd clap" bit.

Cassidy took the piss out of a spot that his detractors loudly despise. There's a certain undeniable genius to that.

Ospreay worked the comedic layers to terrific effect, and Cassidy as ever revealed his mischief to be effective, roof-raising strategy. When he feigned to do a lackadaisical Kawada kicks sequence, the ultimate sacrilege, Ospreay rolled his eyes. He wasn't getting worked up by it or caught out by it. Then, in a flash, Cassidy kicked f*ck out of Ospreay's forehead. He was at his witty underdog best here.

In an electrifying sequence, Cassidy lulled Ospreay into a risky aerial move. Ospreay was actually wise to it, but Cassidy's trap was even more sly than he had anticipated; after a warp-speed game of chess, Cassidy rocked Ospreay with the Beach Break for an agonising near-fall.

An impeccably built match, it was also a PSA for the complete blanket ban on DQs, count-outs and distraction finishes. Cassidy was so spirited and his kick-out of the Hidden Blade was so acute in its timing that he got even more over in clean defeat.

Katsuyori Shibata saved him and wore aviators, in case there was any doubt that Forbidden Door wasn't a top five U.S. PPV of all time.

Star Rating: ★★★★¾

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!