Major Update On Bryan Danielson's AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door Status

The American Dragon has been out of action since Double or Nothing last month.

by Andrew Pollard
Bryan Danielson Zack Sabre Jr
AEW/NJPW

Having been absent from AEW programming since Double or Nothing last month, many fans are intrigued to see if and how Bryan Danielson will feature at AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door next weekend.

All indicators suggest that Danielson is being lined up to face Zack Sabre Jr. at this huge crossover PPV, with that match-up further teased by ZSJ outright challenging the American Dragon during last weekend's NJPW Dominion. The big question right now, though, is what the status is of the undisclosed injury that's kept Danielson out of action since the DON Anarchy in the Arena war.

In an update on this matter, the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio saw Dave Meltzer claim the Blackpool Combat Club man has yet to be medically cleared as of last week's AEW Dynamite. Meltzer then speculated that, should we not see Bryan on Dynamite this Wednesday, it's unlikely he'll be at Forbidden Door.

Advertisement

Initially, the belief was that Danielson would be out of action for a week or two, although we're now entering the fourth week since Double or Nothing took place. The plan was reportedly always to do Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door, but that match now has to be in question as the five-time WWE World Champion faces a race against the clock to be cleared in time for this supershow.

Emanating from Chicago's United Center, AEW X Forbidden Door takes place on 26 June.

Advertisement

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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 dayjob, 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.