Tonight at one of NJPW's Dominion, one of the biggest annual shows for the company, Hirooki Goto faced Hiroshi Tanahashi. The match had a unique, rather last-minute stipulation; the winner would go on to face Jon Moxley at the Forbidden Door PPV on June 26 for the interim AEW World Championship.
RELATED: NJPW Announces Strong Openweight Tag Team ChampionshipsThe original plan for Hiroshi Tanahashi was to face CM Punk for the AEW World Championship at Forbidden Door, coincidentally in Punk's hometown of Chicago. Due to CM Punk's injury, however, the champ had to step away from in-ring action just days after winning the title from Hangman Adam Page at AEW Double or Nothing.
The Ace Rises To The Occasion
Even though he was originally booked to challenge for the AEW World Championship, Hiroshi Tanahashi had to earn his new match for the interim title. Standing in his way was Hirooki Goto, former NEVER Openweight Champion, NEVER Trios Champion, and IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
Tanahashi was undoubtedly the favorite to beat Goto before the bell even rang. Going into their match tonight, Tanahashi had defeated Goto 11 times, while Goto has only defeated the Ace twice. Still, given all his accolades and incredible mental and physical strength, Goto is never one to underestimate.
Second Time's The Charm?
His match against Jon Moxley will be Tanahashi's second time challenging for an AEW world title. The first was against Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 14. Another interesting note about this match is that the build-up to it is where the term "forbidden door" was first coined, by Tanahashi himself. Given this history, perhaps it's only fitting that Tanahashi fight in the main event of the upcoming Forbidden Door PPV.
The Ace has an incredible challenge in front of him. Jon Moxley was effectively robbed of the AEW World Championship at 2020's Winter is Coming, when Kenny Omega turned heel and cheated to defeat him for the title. It's hard to imagine anyone in the world will be hungrier than Moxley will be come June 26.
