8 Ups & 1 Down From AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 (Review)

2. One Of The Greatest Wrestling Matches Of All-Time

Kenny Omega Vs. Will Ospreay II was a masterpiece, phenomenal in a way that was scarcely believable.

The story was a subversion of their Wrestle Kingdom classic. Ospreay learned the lesson imparted to him by the superior wrestler on the night, and was the aggressor in Canada. Certain spots were mirrored. It was Ospreay's turn to bludgeon Omega's head through a table, and while it didn't look as good - the Japanese table is mythic - Omega sold it brilliantly.

This, for a long, methodical while was a gruesome, attritional war. It bordered on and then accelerated beyond the disturbing. After Omega sold heavily in the first third, he harkened back to January and executed a DDT on Ospreay, this time on the steel steps. This was a top-tier blade job on the part of Ospreay. In a fitting visual of what was a gory horror movie in tone, Omega's torso resembled the floor of a butcher's shop - and he wasn't even the man who was bleeding profusely at the time.

Everything Ospreay did look spectacular without detracting from its über-brutal edge. It was when he desecrated the Canadian flag that Omega sparked into life, killing Ospreay over and over again with his signature arsenal, the physical timing of which remains unparalleled. How he doesn't injure anybody, how he makes it all look like full-impact devastation, is nothing short of unprecedented pro wrestling magic immune to scrutiny.

This was flawed, since Don Callis should not have returned to the ringside area, having been ejected already, without penalty - but if there's ever a way of executing an interference finish, this was it. Before the logic gap, something beautiful happened (if you're an incurable Elite lore nerd): Omega finally used a move from Hangman Page's arsenal, accepting that his former partner truly is Elite.

Callis distracted the ref and handed Ospreay the screwdriver built throughout the Elite Vs. Blackpool Combat Club feud as a death blow. Using it to blast Omega in the face and evade the One Winged Angel, Ospreay then executed the Stormbreaker. In a phenomenal moment, destroying the suspicion of a cheap carny finish, Omega's foot just touched the bottom rope. This was genius.

Ospreay could not execute his finish in Tokyo - the match was lost as a result - so when he did it here, it felt like the end. The drama created here was indescribable, and the move was still protected. Omega did not have the strength to actually kick out, and if he landed in the middle of the ring, the implication is that the match would have been over. Then, Ospreay attempted to use the One-Winged Angel. In an immortal moment that elevated the match, somehow, to something that transcended a classic, Omega kicked out at one. The crowd was delirious. They were witnessing one of the best matches ever.

And then, Ospreay drilled Omega with the Tiger Driver '91, the ultimate transgression of the working art. A controversy naturally spawned online, in good faith for once, but consider this: Omega's schedule is lighter than virtually any mainstream top name ever. Maybe he thought that one brutal bump is worth 10 protected moves, and did the math. Moreover, he kicked out. Ospreay did him in with the Stormbreaker. Ahead of a third match, this was a superb shortcut with which to put the Stormbreaker on par with the One-Winged Angel.

Three of the closest false finishes you'll ever see, if not the closest, all three happened in the same match, and all served a grander narrative purpose.

The main event was pitched as a battle to determine who is the best in the world, but that distinction was made in the match third from top.

The headliner was still phenomenal, though...