It’s that time of year again for the Forbidden Door pay-per-view event, where All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling combine for a night to create dream matches. The event is historic, considering no other wrestling companies currently do entirely combined or cross-over events.
As we approach the third Forbidden Door event, let’s examine the relationship between AEW and NJPW.
Relationship Between AEW and NJPW
Since AEW was created in 2019, there have been rumors regarding any collaboration with NJPW. This is due to the strong relationship that many of the wrestlers have with New Japan, a few specifically being Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes, and Adam Page.
They were the first wrestlers under contract with AEW with executive positions, all of whom have a rich history with NJPW. There had been some crossover with wrestlers before the announcement of collaborating on a pay-per-view event.
For example, Jon Moxley became the IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in 2019 and again in 2020. Jay White debuted during a February 2022 edition of Dynamite, helping fellow Bullet Club members Adam Cole and The Young Bucks.
Chris Jericho had a match at Wrestle Kingdom 14 and Dominion 6.9.
It wasn’t until the April 20, 2022 episode of Dynamite that the first Forbidden Door pay-per-view event was announced in a segment between the President of AEW, Tony Khan, and the (now former) President of NJPW, Takami Ohbari, Adam Cole, and Jay White.
Forbidden Door Over the Years
AEW and NJPW started the event strong in Chicago for Forbidden Door 2022. They had an attendance of over 16,000 people and about 130,000 pay-per-view purchases.
This generated a net revenue of roughly $4.4 million. During this first collaboration event, AEW brought dream matches to life.
Matches like Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Will Ospreay vs. Orange Cassidy, Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, and more. The event was still successful despite many prominent names being unable to compete due to injury, such as CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and more.
Forbidden Door 2023 took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with an attendance of approximately 14,000 people and collecting a live gate of $1.2 million, making an AEW record. Between pay-per-view, merchandise, and ticket sales, it is estimated that Forbidden Door 2023 made approximately 7.4 million.
After the pay-per-view carriers took their cut, AEW and NJPW were left with about $4.9 million.
Tonight #ForbiddenDoor in Toronto is officially the biggest live gate in @AEW history at about
$1.2 million (USD), and it's one of the top 3 biggest live gates in the history of pro wrestling in Canada!You can watch the show right now live!
PPV stream: https://t.co/tVqnhL7mdR
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) June 26, 2023
This event contained another strong card, consisting of matches that fans could only dream of seeing, such as Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay, Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada, Sanada vs. Jack Perry, and many more.
What’s in Store for this year?
This year, the event will take place in Long Island, New York. As tickets keep selling, they plan to keep the event large.
This year, the event will feature AEW, NJPW, CMLL, and Stardom wrestlers. This gives all the companies a larger audience and provides fans with never-before-seen matches.
Some of the most anticipated matches seem to be Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa, Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito, and Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay.
Will Forbidden Door 2024 be larger than the previous events? Will Tony Khan be able to make this event as memorable as previous ones?
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. As well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
