Two HUGE Matches Set For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

Bryan Danielson appears at NJPW Dominion to lay down the challenge for Forbidden Door.

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

In some jaw-dropping news, it appears that we'll be getting Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door later this month. In addition to that long-standing dream match, it's also been made official that Will Ospreay will challenge Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Championship; a title which Ospreay lost to Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 17 earlier this year.

After Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Shota Umino came up short against Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles at NJPW Dominion earlier today, a video aired showing Danielson laying down the challenge for Okada.

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For his part, the seven-time IWGP World Champion responded to this challenge by saying that the Forbidden Door would be open - seemingly setting up Danielson vs. Okada for the upcoming AEW and NJPW crossover PPV.

Elsewhere, Dominion saw Will Ospreay defeat Lance Archer to earn himself a shot at Kenny Omega and the IWGP United States Title. Post-match, Ospreay called out Omega and said he'll see him in Canada, alluding to Forbidden Door.

Emanating from Toronto, Ontario, Canada's Scotiabank Arena, this year's AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door takes place on Sunday 25 June. As of this writing, the only match official for the PPV is Ospreay vs. Omega right now - though we should soon get confirmation of Danielson vs. Okada.

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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.