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Getting real about Forbidden Door: You’d think there would be some show-to-show stories to tell, since you have these people show up out of the blue and derail the usual serialized content. There should be one guy who has been really successful from the New Japan side looking for a real challenger, for example. Fans need something familiar to hook onto it. But it seems random every year.
You also have these built in stories that Tony just misses. It’s one of the more frustrating parts of his booking, because I think your average viewer picks up on what’s being missed.
Will Ospreay and Okada just signed with AEW. Wouldn’t it be logical for their betrayal of NJPW to factor into their Forbidden Door program? Shouldn’t someone from New Japan be like “Hey Okada — you were the ace and now you’ve turned your back on your home for dirty American money.”
Jack Perry was the Scapegoat in New Japan a few months ago. Instead of bringing him back ahead of the PPV, which wasn’t urgent at all, wouldn’t it make more sense to have had him challenge someone from AEW for his status back? I’m not a fan of the guy, but at least he’s a familiar face with a storyline reason to use the Forbidden Door.
All these low hanging fruits are going to be missed. Ospreay is challenging for the World Title the PPV before Wembley — so he’s either going to lose en route or cut off Swerve’s nuts. Jack Perry is going towards a random Ladder Match advertised to feature two losers. Okada isn’t booked yet, but you can basically place a bet that it’s going to be a random match that doesn’t mean anywhere near what Okada being on an AEW/NJPW crossover show should.
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