It has been confirmed that AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling will be joining forces for Forbidden Door in June!
After being introduced by Tony Schiavone, AEW President Tony Khan brought out New Japan Pro Wrestling’s President, Takami Ohbari.
However, the pair were interrupted by Adam Cole who said there would be no announcement without him. Cole proceeded to announce Forbidden Door on Sunday June 26th at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Not that Cole was done there. The former NXT star then proceeded to announce that he will be taking on New Japan’s own Tomohiro Ishii on Rampage in an Owen Hart tournament qualifying match. After dropping that bombshell, Cole proceeded to signal the arrival of Jay White.
The New Japan star bragged that the last time Japanese promotion co-hosted an event in the United States, he single handedly sold-out Madison Square Garden. He added that it’s still the era of the Bullet Club and the Undisputed Elite.
.@AEW & @njpwglobal Announce First-Ever Joint PPV Event, #AEWxNJPW: #FORBIDDENDOOR live from the @UnitedCenter in Chicago on Sunday, June 26! Tickets go on sale Friday, May 6 at 10am CT / 11am ET at https://t.co/UN1cNiJJrQ & @Ticketmaster
Full release – https://t.co/GYpShNYRjTpic.twitter.com/cKh4vC37w0— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 21, 2022
Following the launch of AEW in 2019, a co-promoted event between the Tony Khan-helmed promotion and New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been long-awaited by fans of both companies. A working relationship between the two promotions was established in February 2021, as KENTA made his surprise AEW debut during their Beach Break Dynamite special.
Since then, a multitude of New Japan-signed talent has made their way to All Elite Wrestling, including Tomohiro Ishii, Minoru Suzuki, and Yuji Nagata. In addition, the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship has been defended – and changed hands – on AEW programming, with Lance Archer dethroning Jon Moxley of the title in July 2021.
It was recently revealed that AEW’s primary weekly content – Dynamite and Rampage – will soon be coming to NJPW World in Japan, a deal that New Japan commentator Chris Charlton has confirmed will be exclusive to Japanese users. This will come at no extra cost to current NJPW World subscribers.