Multiple AEW stars are sidelined from stepping through the Forbidden Door as they’re dealing with injuries.
The card for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is shaping up after the events of Dynamite, but unfortunately some of the company’s top stars won’t be able to compete at the blockbuster cross-promotional event.
Plans for the show first took a turn when new AEW World Champion CM Punk announced on the June 3rd episode of Rampage that he was injured and had to step away from competition for a while, meaning that an interim champion would be named in his absence.
Former AEW and IWGP Champion Kenny Omega has been on the injured list for quite some time and is reportedly not ready to return any time soon, and despite remaining on weekly television, Adam Cole is also said to be dealing with an injury that saw him replaced by Hikuleo on the June 1st Dynamite, though his status for the pay per view is unknown at this point.
To make matters worse, Bryan Danielson announced on the June 22nd Dynamite that he is also suffering from an undisclosed injury that will keep him away from both Forbidden Door and AEW Dynamite. He has chosen a mystery opponent for Zack Sabre, Jr. at the event, but he said that he won’t be telling who it is until the night of the pay per view.
A report from Fightful Select notes that the AEW injury bug seems to have bitten hard as three more stars are also on the injured list.
According to the report, Matt Hardy was said to be banged up after his match at AAA’s Triplemania where he teamed with Johnny Hardy (the former John Morrison) who stepped in after his brother Jeff was arrested earlier in the week. While Fightful was told that Matt had swelling to his knee, the severity of the injury was unknown.
Meanwhile, Nightmare Family member Lee Johnson is also said to be dealing with a knee injury and isn’t likely to wrestle for the remainder of the summer.
Finally, the report notes that Top Flight member Darius Martin, who suffered a leg injury in April, is “hopefully” going to return by the end of 2022, but that’s definitely not guaranteed. This leg injury came just after the star returned to action in March after being out for over a year with another knee injury.