13 Match Star Ratings For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

11. BUY-IN: Swerve In Our Glory Vs. Suzuki-gun

Will Ospreay Orange Cassidy
AEW

Much better than the usual pre-show fare, this was still worked in the same fun, low-stakes spirit; if the idea is to gently get the crowd going without exhausting them, this was a perfect illustration of it.

In a cracking comedy spot, Keith Lee challenged the diminutive Yoshinobu Kanemaru to a test of strength. Kanemaru only accepted when he ascended the top turnbuckle. He then kicked Lee in the face, and while he was successful in lulling Lee into wild, lunging strikes, he was still dropped on his back with a pleasing, gruesome bump.

Swerve Strickland and El Desperado worked a more serious sequence to layer the tone after which Swerve sold his knee very well. The storyline between the babyface team was advanced subtly too; Swerve implored Lee to "tag, damn it" to elevate the usually hokey miscommunication bit. Lee on defence was a joy; even on one leg, he was close to powerbombing dudes onto other dudes, and the handicap disadvantage meant that he could take a wild, crowd-popping DDT in a halfway realistic spot.

Even in a frivolous undercard attraction, the work was to be applauded; when Swerve swept Despy's leg, he got caught in the ropes. This enabled one of the least contrived double foot stomp spots you'll ever see.

Star Rating: ★★★½

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!