Editorial Note: This column was written prior to Saturday night’s AEW Collision.
Written By: Mike Mueller & Kimmy Sokol
For the second time in AEW history, fans and wrestlers will walk through the Forbidden Door as New Japan and AEW come together to put on another star-studded event. This card has dream matches, title opportunities, and Owen Hart Tournament implications. Now, time to finally get out of this rut of constantly tying and beating Mike once and for all.
First Round Match for the Owen Hart Tournament: ROH Women’s Champion Athena vs Billie Starkz
Kimmy: If you have followed along with my weekly ROH reviews, you know how much I love Athena’s title reign, and how she is the most dominant ROH Women’s Champion in ROH history. However, Starkz is the 18-year-old new kid who will benefit hugely from a win here. With Athena slowly approaching 30-0 I don’t see her winning this one, ROH for the win!
Winner: Athena
Mike: AEW is not afraid to give young talent a push, and while they may have big plans for Billie Starkz in the future, they clearly have big plans for Athena now. The current ROH champion is my pick to win the whole tournament, so I REALLY hope she doesn’t get bounced in the first round.
Winner: Athena
Adam Cole vs Tom Lawlor
Kimmy: We love a last-minute match announcement on Rampage. There is no scenario where I see Cole losing. All signs point towards him continuing to go after MJF and the world title and a loss here would not benefit him. Besides, he and his newfound tag team partner both have to win this weekend right?
Winner: Adam Cole
Mike: Who TF is Tom Lawlor?
Winner: Adam Cole
IWGP United States Championship: Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay
Kimmy: I HATE WILL OSPREAY! There I said it, and frankly, I will stand by my statement for the rest of time. This match was good in January, but unlike then this match is happening in Canada, a place that apparently like me also hates Ospreay. Since Callis seems to have Ospreay’s back in this match he will help him reclaim his title. Introducing the pure downfall in Kenny Omega, if only there was a golden lover to fix all of this?
Winner: “And New” Will Ospreay
Mike: Will Ospreay is amazing and your hate is unwarranted. The match in January was more than “good,” it was incredible, and this one will be no different. Omega has been taking far more losses than we’re used to seeing. In fact, he’s lost 4 of his past 7 matches, and it’s going to be 5 of his last 8. Ospreay doesn’t NEED to win this match, but he should.
Winner: “And New” Will Ospreay
Bryan Danielson vs Kazuchika Okada
Kimmy: The dream match, here is your match of the year folks. For those wondering why you have not seen Danielson wrestle as much in recent weeks, it was to stay healthy for this match. No matter who wins, we all win just because of the fact this match is happening. However, for the pure reason he was able to stay healthy and he has had an incredible year so far, let’s give the win to Danielson.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Mike: Three things we know about Bryan Danielson: He’s vegan, he married a Bella twin, and he loves putting people over. Danielson is perhaps the most selfless main event-level talent we’ve ever seen. That being said, Danielson has only one loss in the past seven months, to MJF in March. He seems overdue for another incredible match where he ends up on the losing end. Okada, the back-to-back G1 Climax winner, has lost his only match in AEW, at last year’s Forbidden Door PPV. To the casual American wrestling fan (read: me), it would be good to see what the big fuss is with this guy, and a win over Danielson would certainly do the trick.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Sanada vs “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
Kimmy: Poor Jungle Boy. His former tag team partner was able to win a singles title before he did. Here comes the heel turn. JungleBoy will be so upset that he was not able to capture gold again, that he will turn heel on his new friend and challenge him for the FTW Championship, and even beat him for it. Sorry Mike, wait no I’m not.
Winner: “And Still” Sanada
Mike: Jack Perry turning heel would absolutely break my heart. The dude is Ricky Steamboat-level white meat babyface. I don’t want to see a heel Jungle Boy in this, or any other life. Ignoring the insane post-match prediction Kimmy gave, she’s right on the results. It doesn’t make sense to have someone with absolutely no ties to Japanese wrestling be the IWGP champion. This is the lock of the night.
AEW World Heavyweight Championship: MJF vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Kimmy: Nope, I did not expect this one either. If there is anything that MJF has proven this year is that he is very good in the ring. He has had repeated bangers since winning the AEW World Heavyweight Championship, and I do not think this will be any different. Although Tanahashi will put up a good fight it will not be enough to claim the Triple B.
Winner: “And Still” MJF
Mike: We have at least three major stories to get through with MJF as champion, so dropping the belt to Tanahashi here just ain’t happening. I could see this going to a time limit draw, a la Adam Cole (bay-bay), but most likely ends with MJF cheating to win, per usual.
Winner: “And Still” MJF
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, & Minoru Suzuki vs Darby Allin, Sting, & TBD
Kimmy: So who is the TBD? Well, if you heard any news from the Tony Khan media call, it is not Goldberg that is for sure. There are plenty of people who can be the mystery partner, but to me, Natio makes the most sense, as he has had problems with Jericho in the past. No matter who the mystery partner is, Sting remains undefeated within AEW and this match will not change that.
Winners: Darby Allin, Sting, & TBD
Mike: To paraphrase The Rock: IT DOESNT MATTER WHO YOUR PARTNER IS! Sting is going to remain undefeated until his final AEW match, and this is not his final AEW match. Plus, we need to have more tension between Sammy and Jericho, so look for one to cost the other the match, as they bicker in the ring and Darbles rolls away with another fairly meaningless victory.
Winners: Darby Allin, Sting, & TBD
First Round for the Owen Hart Tournament: CM Punk vs Satoshi Kojima
Kimmy: There is not much to say here, it doesn’t make sense for Punk to lose and he will most likely go to the finals of this tournament. Should be a good match though.
Winner: CM Punk
Mike: Even though they’re booking him as baby-face for now, having Punk win this tournament would be a very bad look. While he won’t win the whole thing, a first round victory seems inevitable.
Winner: CM Punk
AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs Zack Sabre Jr. vs Katsuyori Shibata vs Daniel Garcia
Kimmy: I have a lot of questions about this match. One, what happened to the Samoa Joe vs Zack Sabre Jr. feud we had going on in ROH? Two, if Shibata and Garcia are feuding for the Pure Championship, why are we not capitalizing on that feud on the pay-per-view? Three, as Garcia is the only one without a championship in this match, will he sadly be the one to take the pin? No matter what your answers to my questions are, this match is gonna rock. All four of these men know how to put on a good match and they will show that here. However, Cassidy will retain in a fun match that should open up the show.
Winner: “And Still” Orange Cassidy
Mike: Kimmy’s future ex-husband would stand to gain the most from this match, as whoever dethrones OC should instantly be a made man. While multi-person matches always allow the possibility for a champ to lose his title and remain “protected,” OC just defended his title in a battle royal. If ever there was a time for a protected loss, that was it. Look for OC to keep his belt until we get a true feud going over it.
Winner: “And Still” Orange Cassidy
AEW Women’s Championship: Toni Storm vs Willow Nightingale
Kimmy: Although this was not the original match, Nightingale should be defending her NJPW Strong Women’s Championship. Storm will retain her championship here, but don’t sleep on this one; these two women know how to put on a good show.
Winner: “And Still” Toni Storm
Mike: This is not a popular thing to say, but Willow Nightingale does nothing for me. I just don’t “get it.” Toni Storm, on the other hand, I get completely. While she’s certainly a “vulnerable” champion, I’d be totally floored if Storm dropped the belt here.
Winner: “And Still” Toni Storm
BCC (Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, & Claudio Castagnoli), Konosuke Takeshita, & Shota Umino vs The Elite (Adam Page, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson), Eddie Kingston, & Tomohiro Ishii
Kimmy: In hopes that my crazy theory becomes true and Takeshita turns on Castagnoli and then takes the ROH championship from him next month, the Elite needs to win here. Especially if this match is going to eventually lead to a Blood & Guts match the Elite need to win this one to lead to the rubber match.
Winners: The Elite (Adam Page, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson), Eddie Kingston, & Tomohiro Ishii
Mike: I’ll be polite and ignore Kimmy’s bonkers theory and simply say that if this isn’t leading to a blood and guts match, AEW really dropped the ball. The Elite need this win badly, and a loss doesn’t really hurt anybody on the other side. Given that Wheeler got the pinfall in their last matchup, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him eat the pin this time around.
Winners: The Elite (Adam Page, Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson), Eddie Kingston, & Shiro Ishii
AEW Forbidden Door 2023 airs on BRLive this Sunday.
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