13 Match Star Ratings For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

1. Jon Moxley Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - AEW Interim World Title Match

Will Ospreay Orange Cassidy
AEW

Jon Moxley is the coolest, most badass, and most inspirational wrestler on the planet.

It was a joy to hear him laugh and generally be well on the Sessions this week. He is in incredible Wrestler of the Year form. He is a talent so beloved and a star so major that the injury suffered by CM Punk, around whom AEW was built in 2022, didn't feel anywhere near as heartbreaking nor detrimental as it could have.

And still, deep into a blood-soaked war of a main event, he drew jeers for throwing those hammer and anvil elbows into Hiroshi Tanahashi's jaw because Tanahashi is quite possibly the greatest babyface of all time. A fight broke out in the audience, which detracted from the early building phase, but this was positively awesome when it got going. The storytelling here was terrific.

At one point, Mox screamed "I'm the f*cking ace" before proving it by countering Tana's oldest trick, the dragon screw, into an arm-bar. Tana proved his psychological genius in the blistering closing salvo, which doubled as a changing of the guard; he kicked out of the King Kong lariat at one and teased, beautifully, passing out from the bulldog choke. Everybody bought it, and in a testament to the drama of the match, everybody wanted to see him withstand the pain.

A match that blended Tana's ability to extract drama from the smallest moments and Mox's could-end-at-any-time combat sports-inspired structural approach, this was epic without a single clichéd trapping of that form.

Star Rating: ★★★★¼

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!