It's Official: Bryan Danielson Vs. Kazuchika Okada Set For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

This long-standing dream match has now been made official for Forbidden Door.

by Andrew Pollard
Bryan Danielson Kazuchika Okada AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
AEW/NJPW

With last weekend's NJPW Dominion seeing Bryan Danielson throw out a challenge to Kazuchika Okada, that bout has now been made official for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door later this month.

In a video put out on AEW's YouTube channel, NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi confirmed that Danielson vs. Okada will indeed take place at the upcoming crossover PPV.

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As established by Will Ospreay defeating Lance Archer at Dominion on Sunday, this video also announced that Ospreay will face IWGP United States Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door in a rematch from the pair's exceptional Wrestle Kingdom 17 war.

Not just did this footage feature comments from Sugabayashi, but both Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada gave their thoughts on their respective matches.

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In the case of the Commonwealth Kingpin, Ospreay noted how this Omega rematch is personal to him, and that he's after redemption and revenge for the Best Bout Machine embarrassing him in their previous meeting.

For Okada, the Rainmaker - like so many wrestling fans - declared a contest against Bryan Danielson as being a dream match. Despite that, the seven-time IWGP World Champion noted how he is not familiar with the American Dragon's work in either AEW or WWE.

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Emanating from Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Scotiabank Arena, this year's AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door takes place on Sunday 25 June.

For the full announcement of Okada vs. Danielson and Ospreay vs. Omega, be sure to check out the below video:

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.