IWGP World Heavyweight Title Match Confirmed For AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door

Recent widespread confusion surrounding AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door clarified...to a point.

by Michael Sidgwick
Jay White AEW
AEW

In news that was probably easily inferred by the events of AEW television, Jay White is set to defend his IWGP World Heavyweight Title at NJPW x AEW Forbidden Door.

This isn't necessarily a redundant piece, owing to the confusion stemming from the last few weeks of Dynamite, on which a rather convoluted picture has been painted. Hangman Page challenged then IWGP World Heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door. Adam Cole - rumoured to be injured, compounding the perplexing nature of the storyline - reminded Page that Okada might not even be champion by the time of the event. He wasn't; White defeated him at Dominion. After that, White appeared on Dynamite and told both Page and Cole that he wasn't interested in defending the title against either man.

Isn't it up to Gedo?

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And is Okada even scheduled for the show?!

Regardless, despite widespread confusion - the amount of match permutations resulting from this strange four-way dynamic made for a longer card than Double Or Nothing - it was confirmed by AEW when distributing a press release confirming that the event is to be screened in select theatres that White will be defending the title on it.

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Against somebody; only '?' is listed as his opponent, but this at least rules out the quietly rumoured tag team matches some dreamed up to make sense of the various angles.

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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 surefire Undisputed WWE Universal 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!