It’s quite possibly the most cursed PPV in modern wrestling history, but we’ve still made it! We are opening the Forbidden Door tonight as NJPW invades AEW at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois!
Let’s take a look at the card:
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. ???
- AEW Women’s Title: Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Toni Storm
- IWGP United States Heavyweight Title: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Orange Cassidy
- Trios Match: Young Bucks & El Phantasmo vs. Sting, Darby Allin, & Shingo
- Trios Match: Shota Umino, Eddie Kingston, and Wheeler Yuta vs. Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki, and & Sammy Guevara
- ROH & IWGP World Tag Team Titles: FTR (c) vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan (c)vs. Roppongi Vice
- All Atlantic Title Fatal Fourway: Malakai Black vs. Pac vs. Miro vs. Clark Connors
- IWGP World Heavyweight Title Fatal Fourway: Jay White (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. Adam Page
- AEW Interim World Heavyweight Title: Jon Moxley vs. Hiroshi Tanahasi
Make sure to keep refreshing the page as the most recent results are below!
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door
Live from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois! Taz, Kevin Kelly, and Excalibur are on commentary and we’re not wasting any time getting right to the action!
Match #1. Trios Match: Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki vs. Eddie Kingston, Shota Umino, and Wheeler Yuta
Crowd is on FIRE and that’s a great sign for the whole night. We get footage of Chris Jericho putting Shota Umino in the Walls of Jericho as a young boy, nice continuation there. Eddie Kingston might have gotten a louder reaction than Chris Jericho and Suzuki combined. The winning team here gets the man advantage at this week’s Blood & Guts. Yuta and Jericho start as Yuta hits a German right out of the gate. Another one. Make that three. Four. Is this a Brock Lesnar match? Five. Six. Seveennnnnn no, Jericho counters but Yuta hits an arm trapped Angle Slam. Crowd is going bonkers. Yuta gets a two count as all hell as broken loose early. Guevara and Yuta are legal now as Guevara works on the mid-section of Yuta. Guevara taunts Eddie which caused him to hit the ring illegally but the crowd loves it. Dropkick by Guevara. Body slam and senton by Yuta. Tag to Shooter! Dropkick and some stomps. Kingston and Suzuki get the tag and the fans have erupted. Eddie drops the straps and we exchange chops. Seven, eight, nine, ten. Machine gun chops by Eddie but Suzuki isn’t buying it! Suzuki walks through them! Forearm by Suzuki drops Eddie! Tag to Jericho but Eddie responds with some machine gun chops that rock Jericho. Suzuki grabs a hold of Eddie and locks in the armbar over the top rope but breaks at the five count. Single arm DDT by Jericho and Eddie’s in trouble. Suzuki gets the tag and soccer kicks Eddie in the chest. Octopus by Suzuki! Cross face by Sammy and abdominal stretch by Jericho as all six men are in the ring. Sammy gets the tag but gets caught coming off the top and Eddie hits the exploder! Shooter gets the tag and clears house. European uppercuts to Sammy and a release body slam into a running diving European uppercut. Suzuki comes in the ring but Shooter catches him with a dropkick. Perfect Plex by Shooter to Sammy gets a long two count. Dropkick to Jericho as Shooter follows up with a somersault cannbonball off the apron to the outside. Shooting Star Crossbody by Sammy to Shooter! Tope by Yuta! Suicide dive by Kingston! Suzuki teases but thinks better of it. Shooter gets the tag to Yuta who hits a crossbody for a two on Sammy. Roll up by Yuta get a two count. Spanish Fly by Sammy but Eddie got the tag and hit a HUGE backdrop driver on Sammy! Stretch Plym locked in on Sammy but Suzuki is here and we have Suzuki vs. Eddie part 2! Backfist by Eddie! Cutter off the top by Sammy! Diving splash by Yuta! Eddie gets the tag to Shooter as Sammy hits a big rising knee. Quick tag to Jericho who hits Shooter with the Code Breaker out of nowhere! One, two, no! Shooter goes up top but Jericho meets him. Shooter reverses into an avalanche power slam for a two count! Tay Conti grabs the bat but Sammy is there! GTH by Sammy to Yuta on the outside! Jericho looks for lion sault on Shooter but Eddie cracks him in the face. Shooter gets a two count. Sammy hits Shooter in the back with a bat but Shooter still ducks the Judas Effect! Spinning DDT by Shooter and a brainbuster! One, two, no! This is madness! Boston Crab by Shooter to Jericho! Suzuki looks furious. Pump kick to Sammy to Shooter but he doesn’t move. Superkick and he finally drops the hold. Eddie comes in to help but gets hit with the Gotch style piledriver! Shooter fights all three bad guys off and celebrates… but Jericho comes out of nowhere with the Judas Effect!
Winners: Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Minoru Suzuki
Rating: ****. Fantastic choice for the opener, the crowd was just insane the entire way through. Despite taking the pin, Shooter felt like a star in the making and if this crowd is able to maintain this level of enthusiasm, we’re in for a heck of a night.
Match #2. Winner Take All for ROH & IWGP World Tag Team Titles: Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan (c) vs. FTR (c) vs. Roppongi Vice
Caprice Coleman is here on commentary and Bobby Cruise is ring announcing. So cool. Dax and Trent start as both men trade shoulder blocks and head lock take overs. Cobb tags himself in and overpowers Dax but Dax answers with chops. Romero in and Dax lays him out with a back elbow. Cash in with a drop toe hold and leg drop combo. Dax looks to be hurt as he meets with doctors on the outside and gets walked to the back. GOK is in and it’s effectively a handicap match. GOK sits on Cash’s head on the top rope. Cobb is now surfing on Cash. Spinning back suplex by Cobb. Trent tags himself in. Half and half suplex by GOK! Cobb gets the tag and stuffs Trent’s swinging DDT attempt with pure strength and tosses him. Rocky dives off the top with a hurricanrana. GOK hits an iron claw slam on the apron to Rocky. Spear by Trent to GOK on the outside. Trent sets GOK on the top rope and Rocky comes off with a diving dropkick. Two count. Cash tags himself back in and clears the ring of the United Empire momentarily. Here comes Dax! Crowd erupts. Cash gets the hot tag to Dax but he’s only got the use of his right hand as his left shoulder is taped up. Short arm clotheslines to GOK! German suplex to Cobb! Make that two. Make that three. I’m noticing a pattern tonight. Cobb goes up top but Dax catches him. Superplex attempt but he can’t get him. Here comes Trent. Teamwork gets it done! Cash comes flying from across the ring with a splash. Power plex! GOK is in and he’s clearing the ring. Hip toss to Trent. Rocky tags himself in. Spike piledriver by Rocky and Cash to GOK! Sliced bread number 2 to GOK! Stereo rising knee strikes to Cobb by Roppongi Vice! Cobb with a HUGE powerbomb to Trent! Lariat to Rocky followed by a moonsault! GOK with a facebuster to Trent. Double team assisted German suplex by Trent. One, two, no! Fireman’s carry by Cobb but Rocky clips his leg. Strong Zero to Cobb! One, two, no! Dax tags himself in and trades about five pinning combinations with Rocky. Cash in out of nowhere…. BIG RIG! ONE, TWO, THREE!
Winners and NEW IWGP and Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions: FTR
Rating: ****. Talk about a clash of styles and in the best way. FTR winning was expected but damn it all if it wasn’t entertaining. FTR will go down as one of the best tag teams of all time, and can we start putting some more respect on Roppongi Vice? Just a blast here.
Match #3. Fatal Four Way for the AEW All Atlantic Title: Malakai Black vs. Clark Connors vs. Pac vs. Miro
Connors pairs off with Miro which in theory seems to be not a good idea. Black and Pac trade roundhouse kicks on the outside. Overhand rights by Miro to Connors but Connors doesn’t back down and answers withs some chops. Big body slam by Miro. Connors shoves Miro to the outside and hits a plancha, but Miro catches him and slams him hard on the outside. Sliding knee strike by Black to Pac back in the ring but here’s Miro to beat Black to the ground. Springboard moonsault by Black takes Miro out. Connors comes in but Black locks him in a rolling kneebar. Miro sees it and drags Connors by his hair to the outside. Pac with a double jump cross body but Miro catches him too. Fall away slam! Connors wants more of Miro and Miro begs him to hit him. Side effect by Miro to Connors and a hammer throw. Brutal short arm clothesline by Miro. That’s two. Gut wrench by Miro gets two. Miro and Black both stomp on Pac. That didn’t last long as both men start firing on each other in the center of the ring. European by Miro drops Black. Pac charges Miro but gets caught with a big Samoan drop. Two count on Pac. Miro hulks up and charges Pac but Pac catches him with a super kick. Twisting plancha to Malakai on the outside by Pac. Pump kick to Connors on the other side. Shotgun dropkick by Pac to Miro off the top! Rebound German suplex by Pac to Black! Rising knee by Black! German suplex by Connors to Black! Two count. All four men are down but Black rolls to the outside and looks under the ring. We’ve got tables. Black sets up a table on the outside (almost on top of a child in the front row) and tries to put Miro through it, but Miro reverses. Pac with a plancha but Miro catches him, however Pac slithers out the pac and posts Miro! Connors with a spear to Miro through the table out of nowhere! Connors on the inside now clotheslines Black and hits a picture perfect powerslam. Combo kicks by Pac but Connors rebounds with a spear! Trophy Kill (I think that’s what they said!) to Pac. One, two, th-no! The entire crowd is chanting “Let’s Go Clark!” Super kick to Connors by Pac. Pac goes up top… Black Arrow? No! Black crotches him. Tower of Doom in the corner by Miro! Jumping kick by Miro to Pac! Game Over! Pac won’t tap! Pac is trying to reach the rope but Miro pulls him back in to the center. stomp to the back. Black is in! MIST! Black Mass to Miro! Black dives for a flying cross arm breaker on Connors but he’s struggling. Pac goes up top, 450 on both Connors and Black! Brutalizer on Connors. He taps!
Winner and NEW AEW All Atlantic Champion: Pac
Rating: ****. These matches aren’t letting up. Pac is a day 1 AEW guy and man he deserves this. Everyone came across as aces and the crowd getting behind Clark Connors was an unexpected but authentic moment. Black and Miro were the favorites here but looked strong the entire time.
Tony Schiavone gets a massive pop as he joins the commentary team.
Match #4. Sting, Darby Allin, & Shingo Takagi vs. The Young Bucks & El Phantasmo w/ Hikuleo
Darby and Shingo are in the ring as Sting’s music hits… but he’s nowhere to be found? Bucks and ELP are out next. Lights go out. Sting is here in the rafters! Lights go back out! Sting’s on top of the bad guy’s walkout! STING DIVE! This is insane. Shingo and ELP to start. Shoulder block and vertical suplex (the best in the business, btw) by Shingo. Sting is in and he and Shingo trade elbow drops and sentons to ELP. This is going fast… wish me luck. Double stomp assisted domiantor by the Bucks to Darby. Corkscrew plancha by Nick takes out the Dudes with Attitudes. Chest breaker/neck breaker combo by the Bucks. ELP is legal now and hits the quadruple jump rolling back rake that pops the arena. “The Dermis Destroyer” as Tony says. Hand spring cart wheel double jump triple jump assisted crotch chop SUCK IT back rake by Matt Jackson. Spider German suplex by Darby to Matt Jackson! Hikuleo rips Sting from the apron so Darby can’t get the tag. Sunset flip into a pop up Code Red by Darby to ELP! Both men are down. Shingo is in and he clears the ring of the Bucks! Corner clotheslines to both Bucks. Back elbow by Shingo and a huge lariat to Nick. Twisting swinging neck breaker by Shingo gets a two count. Pop up Death Valley Driver by Shingo! Tag to Sting! Sting takes out both Bucks but ELP attacks from behind. Uh oh. ELP with the nipple pincher but Sting no sells it! Stinger Splash to ELP! Matt Jackson! Nick Jackson! Both Jacksons! Scorpion Death Lock to Matt Jackson but Hikuleo steps in. Low blow by ELP to Sting! Over the shoulder stunner by Darby to ELP! Super kick to Darby! Double super kick to Sting! No sell! Double clothesline by Sting! Tag and Coffin Drop by Darby but Matt gets his knees up! More Bang for Your Buck to Darby! Thunder Kiss 86 to Darby but Shingo breaks up the pin. ELP goes up top and walks the ropes… moonsault to the outside! Triple super kick to Sting! BTE Trigger to Sting but Sting moves. Double Scorpion Death Drop to the Bucks! Titty twister to ELP! Coffin Drop to Hikuleo! Shingo is legal and destroys ELP with elbows. Pumping Bomber to ELP! One, two, no! Last of the Dragon by Shingo! One, two, three!
Winners: The Dudes with Attitudes (Sting, Darby Allin, & Shingo Takagi)
Rating: ***3/4. Sting is north of 60. Let’s just all remember that. Shingo Takagi on TV in North America is just great stuff and tagging with Sting? So much fun. Bucks played the hits here and ELP added a lot of fun to this match.
In the back, Jericho and the JAS threw a fireball in the face of Shooter. HE’S A WIZARD.
Match #5. AEW Women’s Championship: Thunder Rosa (c) vs. Toni Storm
Nice to have a singles match here… I feel like I can breathe momentarily. Knuckle lock to start but it’s a stalemate. Both women trade wrist locks and now pinning combinations. Snap suplex by Storm gets a two count. Modified surfboard by Storm but Rosa fights up. Rosa reverses a suplex into a cradle for two. Chop city now. Diving stunner by Rosa followed by a clothesline in the corner. Double knees in the chest by Rosa and a dropkick to the back. Running double dropkick to Storm on the bottom rope followed by a Northern Light’s suplex get two. Double stomp by Rosa gets another two count. Storm dumps Rosa to the outside and looks for the spinning DDT but Rosa counters in a Northern Light’s suplex on the outside! Storm hits a German suplex on the apron followed by a spinning DDT. Running hip attack in the corner by Storm! Swinging DDT on the inside now gets a long two count. Arm breaker by Rosa followed by a Death Valley Driver gets two. Fire Thunder Driver by Rosa! One, two, no! Is Toni Storm the first person to kick out of that? Kawada kicks by Rosa. Storm catches a kick and hits a big German suplex. Storm Zero attempt but Rosa grabs the arm and drops it hard on the floor. Final Reckoning by Rosa! That’s it.
Winner and STILL AEW Women’s Champ: Thunder Rosa
Rating: ***1/4. Strong match here and I think Thunder Rosa needed to have that. I don’t love Toni Storm getting pinned as I feel like AEW did a very good job making her feel special. That said, it’s probably too early to take the title off Rosa and hopefully we get more matches from her like this.
Match #6. IWGP United State Heavyweight Title: Will Ospreay w/ Aussie Open vs. Orange Cassidy
Jim Ross joins us on commentary here. Ospreay vs. Richochet start but with OC and his hands in his pockets. Tremendous. Aussie Open get involved early and that allows Ospreay to toss him into the guard rail. Big chops by Ospreay. Hammer throw by Ospreay into the turnbuckle. Spinning back breaker by Ospreay gets a two count. Another hammer throw by Ospreay. Abdominal stretch by Ospreay as he puts his hand in OC’s pockets… and pulls out the middle finger. That got a LOL out of me. Hip toss out by OC as he throws Ospreay into the turnbuckle head-first. Cross body block by OC off the top. OC looks for the tila-a-whirl DDT but Ospreay drops him instead. Diving elbow to the back of the head from the top rope by Ospreay. Ospreay looks for the Hidden Blade but OC just falls face first. Ospreay then delivers some Kawada kicks and stands on the back of OC’s neck. OC now hulks up and hits a shotgun dropkick WITH HIS HANDS IN HIS POCKETS, BABY. Kip up by OC. Kawada kicks by OC… kind of. Superkick by OC for real! Now REAL Kawada kicks! Right hand in his pocket the whole time, btw. Ospreay looks for the OsCutter but OC takes a step back. Cradle for one, two, no! Stun Dog Millionaire by Ospreay gets two! Michinoku Driver by OC gets two! OC charges and Ospreay catches him, Cheecky Nandos! No, OC kicks him off and hits a moonsault into a tornado DDT! OC takes out Aussie Open with a twisting asai moonsault and then back on the inside… diving DDT to Ospreay! One, two, no! OC looks for the Orange Punch but Ospreay counters into a Spanish Fly. Cheeky Nandos! Ospreay heads up top and OC follows… OC bounces Ospreay’s head off the camera! OC counters a Dr. Bomb into Beach Break! One, two, no! OC drops the elbow pad… Orange Punch… but Ospreay counters into a cutter! OsCutter! One, two, no! Hidden Blade attempt misses, Storm Breaker is countered into a hurricanrana! One, two, no! Hidden Blade will do it… no! OC KICKS OUT OF THE HIDDEN BLADE! Storm Breaker! FINALLY.
Winner and STILL IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion: Will Ospreay
Rating: ****. Holy cow. This match started slow, and that’s exactly what made the second half so great. Will Ospreay brought the beast out of Orange Cassidy and that doesn’t happen often.
Post-match, the United Empire are destroying the man’s jeans! Ospreay wants Aussie Open to hit the Fidget Spinner. Here come Roppongi Vice! This should set up a darn good tag team match at some point. OH MY GOD IT’S SHIBATA!! HOLY SHIT! PUMP KICK BY SHIBATA! SHIBATA BEATS OSPREAY DOWN IN THE CORNER! RUNNING BOOT TO DAVIS! DROPKICK IN THE CORNER BY SHIBATA! REAR NAKED CHOKE! AUSSIE OPEN MAKE THE SAVE!
HOLY SHIT IT’S SHIBATA!!!!!!!
Ahem, sorry for the outburst. Back to business here.
Match #7. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. ???
IT’S CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI FKA CESARO! Also, the newest member of the Blackpool Combat Club? Wow. Running European uppercut! Neutralizer! One, two, no! ZSJ retreats to the outside and Claudio follows with an Irish whip and a running European uppercut. Back in the ring and Claudio drops ZSJ with a chop. ZSJ with an arm ringer over the top rope. Big boot by Claudio and a stalling delayed vertical suplex! Big boot attempt by Claudio but ZSJ catches the leg and drapes off the apron with a knee slicer. Wrist lock by ZSJ and then a finger breaker! Tilt-a-whirl face buster by ZSJ. Double arm bar by ZSJ into a wrestler’s guillotine. European uppercut by ZSJ. Another one. Claudio catches another uppercut into a uranage back breaker. And another. Ricola Bomb but ZSJ rolls through into a straight arm bar. Claudio with a perfect defenes that stacks up ZSJ but ZSJ transitions into a triangle choke. Claudio powers him up and they fall to the outside over the rope. Claudio holds on and picks ZSJ up with one arm as he CARRIES HIM UP THE STEPS AND POWERBOMBS HIM INTO THE RING! Claudio looks for the swing but ZSJ counters into a guillotine. Claudio then drops ZSJ on the top rope. Both men are on the top and ZSJ locks in an octopus hold on the top rope! ZSJ then shoves Claudio off but Claudio answers with a running European uppercut. Gut wrench fall away slam off the middle rope by Claudio! Two count. Both guys trade European uppercuts but Claudio gets the best of it. IT’S SWING TIME. Five rotations is all since ZSJ has done damage to the bicep. Nice. Sharpshooter by Claudio! ZSJ trips Claudio and locks in a heel hook! Claudio fights out with boots but ZSJ holds on. Claudio muscles up and sits through into a Sharpshooter! Double stomp by Claudio gets two. More European uppercuts by Claudio and these shots are BIG. ZSJ counters the last one into a Pele kick on the arm. ZSJ hops on Claudio’s back and locks in a rear naked choke before transitioning into a version of a neck crank. Rope break. ZSJ with a penalthy kick to the chest. Claudio asks for more! ZSJ is relentless with these kicks. European clutch by ZSJ gets two! ZSJ charges in and Claudio hits a pop-up European uppercut. Lariat. Ricola Bomb seals it!
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Rating: ***3/4. Man oh man, the rumors were out there whether it was Claudio, Johnny Wrestling, the Fiend, etc. and we were not disappointed. AEW has an IMMEDIATE legitimate title contender and a new member of the Blackpool Combat Club. ZSJ looked awesome in defeat and going hold for hold with Castagnoli is not easy to do.
Match #8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Jay White (c) vs. Okada vs. Adam Cole vs. Adam Page
BIG. FIGHT. FEEL. Crowd is on their feet. White and Cole roll to the outside early then attack Okada and Page from behind. Gord buster by White to Okada on the apron. Double team vertical suplex by White and Cole to Page on the ramp way… rough landing there. Cole and White take turns beating on Okada and calling the plays here. Page comes back in the ring and delivers a boot to Cole and a double jump lariat to White. Fall away slam to Cole and a plancha to White! Back up top with a diving lariat to Cole! Two count. Page tries a moonsault off the top rope but Cole with a perfect anti-air superkick to the face in mid-air! Okada is back in the ring now and he’s calling everyone on! Back elbow to Cole and flapjack to White! Okada puts Cole on the top turnbuckle just to dropkick him to the outside. All four men outside now as Okada boots White over the guard rail into the front row before tossing Cole over for good measure. Crossbody block over the guard rail as Okada takes out both men! Okada looks for the Money Clip on Cole but White sneaks in the ring and drops Okada with a Saito suplex. Page is back in and singles out White but White hits the Complete Shot out of nowhere. White looks for the deadlift German suplex but Page rolls through only to get super kicked by Cole before he could get the pin. Cole and White “too sweet” but White turns around and Cole hits the backstabber! Brainbuster to the knee! One, two, nope! Cole tries to Lower the Boom on White but White counters with high angle uranage. Sleeper suplex by White to Cole! One for Okada! One for Page! Boom lowered by Cole! Dropkick by Okada to Cole! Discus lariat by Page to Okada! All four men are down! Big boot by Page to Okada and a spirit bomb to White! Two count! Side note, shouldn’t there be a NJPW referee? Anyway. Orihara moonsault by Page to Okada and Cole. Buckshot attempt by Page but White ducks it. Deadeye! Okada breaks up then pin and we’ve got Okada vs. Page standing eye-to-eye in the center. Trading elbows here. Dropkick attempt by Okada but Hangman ducks. German suplex by Page and a discus lariat. Hangman wants the Buckshot but Cole pulls him off the apron and posts him. Superkick to the knee by Cole. Panama Sunrise attempt but Okada holds on… Air Raid Crash on the knee! Two count. Okada is going up top… elbow drop! RAIN MAKERRRRR! Cole ducks! Buckshot by Page but he ducks! Cole superkicks both men. Another one for Okada. Dropkick by Okada to Cole! Rainmaker by Okada is ducked but Cole hits an enziguiri! Page looks for the Buckshot again but Cole is there with a superkick. Okada looks for the Rainmaker but Cole ducks and Jay White is in… Blade Runner to Okada. White covers Cole for the one, two, three.
Winner and STILL IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Jay White
Rating: ***1/2. So, something happened with the finish here. I missed the move that Okada did before the last Rainmaker attempt, but it seems like Cole may have been injured on that move? It looks like Cole tried to get his shoulder up but couldn’t, which is why the finish looked so weird. The match was a heck of a lot of fun until the end here, and I hope Cole is alright as he was getting attended to by the doctors in the ring.
Match #9. AEW Interim World Heavyweight Champion: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jon Moxley
Wrist locks and a lock up to start. Moxley gives Tana a clean break. Springboard cross body by Tana followed by some air guitar. Mox isn’t happy and lays into Tana with elbows and knees. Dropkick to the knee of Moxley by Tanahashi. Another. Dragon screw leg whip by Tanahashi. Tanahashi with an inverted knee bar that forces Moxley to get to the ropes. Tanahashi argues with the ref as Moxley comes out of nowhere with an Ace Crusher. Moxley now lays into Tanahashi with some chops and both men are trading int he center. Corner clothesline by Moxley as he puts Tanahashi on the top rope. Avalanch butterfly suplex by Moxley. Piledriver by Moxley! Two count. Knee on belly by Moxley with a can opener. Moxley with wrist control as he stomps on Tanahashs face. Cloverleaf by Moxley but Tanahashi gets to the ropes. Tanahashi answers with several elbow and some body shots. Somersault senton off the middle rope by Tanahashi gets a two count. Moxley dumps Tanahashi to the outside and whips him into the guard rail. Moxley now clears the time keeper’s table and uranages Tanahashi through it. Moxley runs back to the ring and tries to get the count out but Tana makes it back in. Roundhouse kick to Tanahashi by Moxley but Tana counters… dragon screw leg whip! Moxley moves to a cross arm breaker. Tanahashi rolls out and maintains wrist control. Tanahashi now stomps on Moxley’s face! Slingblade by Tanahashi! Moxley rolls to the outside but Tanhashi follows him outside with a High Fly Flow! Moxley is busted open. Twist and Shout by Tanahashi back inside the ring! Make that two. Paradigm Shift by Moxley out of nowhere! LONG two! Kamagoye by Tanahashi! Tana goes up top… High Fly Flow to a standing Moxley! One more time… High Fly Flow to Moxley! Two count! Moxley rolls through into a Bulldog Choke! Tanahashi is fighting up but Moxley headbutts him. Jackknife roll through by Tanahashi gets two! Rear naked choke by Moxley but Tana counters into a roll up for two. STIFF clothesline by Moxley. Palm strike by Tana. Larait by Moxley gets a ONE count! Hammer and Anvil elbows by Moxley and Tana is fading! Rear naked choke by Moxley! Tanahashii is going out! Tana sits up! Transition to a bulldog choke! Tana somehow gets to his feet but Moxley hits the Death Rider! One, two, three!
Winner and NEW Interim AEW World Heavyweight Champion: Jon Moxley
Rating: ***1/2. Tough to follow all of the amazing wrestling we’ve seen tonight, and the crowd was a little flat to start after the finish of the last match, but these guy rebounded. Tanahashi isn’t the fastest worker in the world anymore and that’s fine, because the way he can make you feel when you’re watching him is second to none. This was a hard hitting war between two veterans who knew what got them there and were determined to use that to get them the win.
Post-match, Tanahashi and Moxley exchange a handshake, or were about to, but the Jericho Appreciation Society storm the ring and attack both men. Kingston comes down to the ring and double legs Jericho but the numbers still favor the JAS. Proud & Powerful are here now too and we’ve got our Blood & Guts preview right here. Claudio is the last one out and he clears the entire ring! Angelo Parker gets swung for what seems like an hour to close the show. Kingston is clearly not happy at the inclusion of Castagnoli, so this should be interesting.
Final Thoughts: Well, this was certainly a professional wrestling show. There were a lot of complaints that some of the matches were thrown together last minute, and while that may be true, they all delivered on paper. The first half of the show really overdelivered, and the second half trailed off just a bit. Moxley is a good choice for AEW Interim world champ, Pac desperately needed that All Atlantic title, and Rosa continues her dominance. The BCC getting a new member in Castagnoli was a great moment, and I’m excited to see if they do anything with Claudio end Eddie. 8.75/10.
