13 Match Star Ratings For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

5. Thunder Rosa Vs. Toni Storm - AEW Women's Title Match

Will Ospreay Orange Cassidy
AEW

This Chicago crowd refused to sell for the cool-down match. They weren't white-hot for it, but they provided a warm, encouraging atmosphere to a worthy contest.

Solid to very good, it didn't f*ck around. Sensing that a match that could have taken place on any episode of Dynamite was going to struggle on the night relative to the surreal pairings elsewhere, the layout was astute. It was kept brief at a shade over 10 minutes, and there was no patient build. The tone mutated from brisk technicality to apron death fairly early.

In one particularly inspired spot, Thunder Rosa appeared to have studied her second match with Dr. Britt Baker and scouted Toni Storm's spinning DDT to the outside; a second away from being laid out with it, she blocked Toni Storm in place and blasted her with a nasty northern lights suplex to the floor.

Back in the ring, a focused and stiff exchange of power moves popped the crowd, and the match was enhanced by the very real prospect of a title switch; indeed, when Rosa won, the crowd fell flat.

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!