13 Match Star Ratings For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door
5. Thunder Rosa Vs. Toni Storm - AEW Women's Title Match
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