That was a fucking masterpiece

RUN IT BACK ONE MORE TIME!!!

AT WEMBLEY!!!

Kenny again showing why he is one of the best. And Willy is likely the best in the world.

Jun 26, 2023 2:56:19 GMT CM Punk'd said:

RUN IT BACK ONE MORE TIME!!!

AT WEMBLEY!!!

This was the main event I expected there.   

But they could do two out of three falls.

Oh shit, keep forgetting Omega was champ. They def could have the rematch at Wembley.

Naito time!!! Wonder if we get painmaker.

Second time Omega VS Ospreay has made my MOTY candidate list and it’s only June!

Wonder if they pair up for WK. I assume that is part of the Forbidden Door deal, NJPW can take who they want for WK.

Jesus, Sting still taking the big bumps.

That match was a mess. Sting didn’t know what the fuck he was doing that entire second half.

Dragon vs. Rainmaker.

It's time!

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!!

Whoo!!! LETS FUCKING GO!!!

DB gets to cross another name off his list.

LMAO Handshake and a ham sandwich.

Final Countdown got me right in the feels.

Okada is legendary. Toronto loves him.

See you guys when it’s over.

Leave it to Toronto to finally do the “fucking head kicked in” chants.

God I love my hometown.

OKADA TAPS!!!

One hell of a show.

Better than last year's.

Man that was unexpected. And yeah far, far better this year.

No way that is the finish. What the hell?

Something tells me this isn’t over.

Rematch at WK? Bryan def wants on that show.

Tornado tag Darby and Sting vs JAS Weds as Jericho came out and called out Sting during the scrum.

Still waiting for Punk <.<

I wasn’t able to watch the show unfortunately but read the results and one question

WHY YOU DIDN’T TAG ME THAT JUNGLR BOY FINALLY TURM HEEL HUH RT?!?!?

Fun fact: the last person to make Okada tap out was Shinsuke Nakamura.

They have to be having a rematch. That was fucked.

Comments from people at the show saying the seizure spot was awful and everyone thought it was real so it took them out of the match. Watching it on TV you can definitely see that. Crowd was dead quiet.

The match was ok but very poorly booked. They have to run it back. God I wish Danielson was in the G1 this year. Fucking weird that he isn’t now.

Jun 26, 2023 4:48:39 GMT pduh said:

I wasn’t able to watch the show unfortunately but read the results and one question

WHY YOU DIDN’T TAG ME THAT JUNGLR BOY FINALLY TURM HEEL HUH RT?!?!?

I wanted it to be a surprise

I really think NJPW will give Okada DB at WK. He can get his win back there. And I suspect this was the deal to have him tap out.

Jun 26, 2023 4:48:39 GMT pduh said:

I wasn’t able to watch the show unfortunately but read the results and one question

WHY YOU DIDN’T TAG ME THAT JUNGLR BOY FINALLY TURM HEEL HUH RT ?!?!?

Make sure to check out Willy vs Omega.  It was really, really good.

DB out 6 to 8 weeks with a fractured forearm.  Which would also likely mean no Wembley for him. 

The opening two matches of the main card were very revealing.

MJF vs Tanahashi was a pretty dull, generic whitemeat babyface vs generic cheating heel affair. MJF wins with the same heel finish he uses every time. Not much to write home about. I said my piece about how Tanahashi isn't very good anymore. I'm starting to feel the same about MJF.

Which brings me to CM Punk vs Satoshi Kojima. In a way a similar match. An AEW heel (at least he was playing the heel role in this match) facing a legendary Japanese wrestler. A much better match, mainly thanks to CM Punk. His heel antics were far more entertaining and heat-getting than MJF, and specifically targeted at his opponent, copying his moves and so on. The nuts and bolts of the match weren't great - that's what happens when two men past their athletic prime (and who were never athletically gifted to begin with) step in the ring - but it was still far more entertaing than the previous match.

Put CM Punk vs Tanahashi and MJF vs Kojima and I guarantee I would enjoy the CM Punk match more. That shows the huge gap in ability between Punk and MJF, and that's just down to experience. I'm really starting to sour on MJF. Around the time of his feud with CM Punk I started to think he was genuinely great, but since then, it's a pretty big nosedive. He's a very superficial wrestler and character. I suppose what he does works for the American style, but his flaws really show on Forbidden Door with the workrate-heavy Japanese wrestlers in the fold.

Credit to Kojima as well, he was great and did a better job showcasing himself than Tanahashi did. I've been reading some NJPW history recently and I didn't realise that he was an absolute top guy for quite a while, winning world championships from all the major Japanese promotions. The problem is - he did all that in NJPW's darkest days, where they were drawing hundreds of fans. Tanahashi was also champion during this period, but he was responsible for bringing those numbers up to the thousands. So I get why Tanahashi is more revered than Kojima. But these days I would rather watch Kojima.

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SANADA vs Jack Perry. I don't have too much to say about this. It was a good match. Decent outing for both men.

What happened post-match was a lot more interesting and could lead to some interesting character development for Jack. Is he just frustrated he lost two championship matches in quick succession? Has he become desperate to get gold, any championship gold, so he got the gollum-eyes and struck the first champion he saw who was standing next to him? Perhaps so. Both Jack and Hook have to step up now...this will be Hook's first major program. I also love how Taz sold that moment on commentary.

As an aside, the commentary team is great. I bet Excalibur loved calling the show with the NJPW crew Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton, possibly the only two people on the planet more knowledgeable about modern Japanese wrestling than Excalibur.

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I enjoyed the All Atlantic Four Way. Just a fun match that showcased everyone. I loved the emphasis on ZSJ vs Shibata and I am not surprised at who won. These four guys aren't done with each other.

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The Elite vs BCC was also a lot of fun. Takeshita especially looked like an absolute killer. Ishii is god-tier at getting people over. His track record is endless. Nice character work between Mox/Kingston and Claudio/Kingston. Everyone got a chance to shine but the spotlight was placed on the right guys.