Kazuchika Okada's AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door Opponent Revealed

The Rainmaker will reportedly be defending his IWGP Heavyweight Title against THIS major AEW name.

by Andrew Pollard
Kazuchika Okada
NJPW

With last night's AEW Dynamite seeing Hiroshi Tanahashi confront AEW World Champion CM Punk - seemingly setting up the two to do battle at this month's Forbidden Door - there's now an update on who IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada will be facing at this huge crossover PPV.

As per Dave Meltzer on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, the tentative plan is for Okada to defend New Japan Pro Wrestling's top prize against 'Hangman' Adam Page at Forbidden Door.

While Page wasn't featured on Dynamite this week, it was announced that Hangman will be going up against NJPW's David Finlay on next week's outing for AEW's Wednesday night flagship. Of course, the Cowboy is coming off the back of losing the AEW World Title to CM Punk at Double or Nothing.

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In terms of Okada vs. Page, the pair have only ever wrestled once before, with the Rainmaker picking up a win over Hangman during the 2018 G1 Climax. Obviously plans can change across the next few weeks, but right now the plan is for the former AEW World Champion to step up and challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Title.

Emanating from Chicago's United Center, AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door will take place on Sunday 26 June.

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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.