Top 3 moments from AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door 2022

Given all the setbacks All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling faced en route to building this Forbidden Door supershow, one can understand why someone wouldn’t be as excited about this pay-per-view as some of the other offerings on both company’s respective calendars.

Even with the mountain of injuries to wrestlers significantly altering the PPV’s card, AEW and NJPW still put together arguably the best show of 2022. The combination of a hot crowd and nearly every match on the main card reaching the Match of the Year contender threshold pushed this event near all-timer territory.

As you would expect from a PPV of this quality, Forbidden Door provided fans with plenty of memorable moments to look back on.

These are the top three moments from Forbidden Door.

3. The ovation Kazuchika Okada received

If you were still one of these people who believed that Kazuchika Okada’s popularity didn’t extend to the United States, the reaction he received at Forbidden Door should finally put that take to rest (it probably won’t but it should).

The second those fans heard that familiar coin drop, they unleashed an ovation that’s usually reserved in that arena for someone like Michael Jordan. That it dwarfed the great responses to “Switchblade” Jay White, Adam Cole, and “Hangman” Adam Page’s respective entrances tells you how eager these people were to see “The Rainmaker”.

Of course, it didn’t take long for Okada to reward that anticipation, as he, Cole, White, and Page showed why they are four of the best wrestlers in the world. In the end, White pinned Cole to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, but even in defeat (though he didn’t get pinned), fans got to see how big of a star Okada is.

2. Claudio Castagnoli debuts against Zack Sabre Jr.

The news that Bryan Danielson’s injuries suffered during Anarchy in the Arena would keep him from facing fellow technical wizard Zack Sabre Jr. disappointed a lot of fans. However, Danielson announcing a mystery replacement for the Sabre match (and Blood and Guts) created some intrigue for who would fill that vacancy. Would er see Johnny Gargano? Jonathan Gresham? “The Lethal Weapon” Steve Blackman?

Well, we didn’t see any of those names step up to face Sabre, but fans surely weren’t disappointed when they saw Claudio Castagnoli (formerly known as Cesaro in WWE) emerge from the babyface side of the ramp.

Once the adrenaline of the surprise wore off, he and Sabre settled in and whipped up an outstanding match that showcased each other’s strengths (and Castagnoli has many, many strengths in the ring).

In one match, AEW established Castagnoli as a top attraction in the promotion, which couldn’t have happened at a better time given the injuries to other top guys.

1. Sting breaking out the highspots

The six-man tag team encounter between The Young Bucks, El Phantasmo, Darby Allin, Shingo Takagi, and Sting gave fans everything they could’ve asked for from that match. Allin as the babyface-in-peril for an extended period of time? Check. The Bucks and Phantasmo obnoxiously executing flashy offense? Check. Takagi bulldozing through opponents? Check.

Sting diving on heels (safely) and executing sentons? Surprisingly, check!

As has become the custom in these multi-person matches, “The Icon” got to pick his spots against opponents who probably couldn’t wait to bump around for him. The best example of this came when The Bucks superkicked Sting and he did his traditional no-sell before turning them inside out with dual clotheslines.

These sorts of performances from Sting have more than washed away his lackluster WWE run. They also show how you can use legends to enhance the modern product without overexposing them.