AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling will present Forbidden Door on June 26th, from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Since the announcement the PPV has been one of the hottest topics in wrestling, but not everyone is confident in the event succeeding.
Speaking recently on his “Hall of Fame Podcast“, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T spoke out about New-Japan Pro Wrestling, the “Forbidden Door” event NJPW is co-hosting with AEW, and whether or not professional wrestling fans here in North America are actually watching the overseas product.
“What I am saying is, nothing against New Japan Pro Wrestling or anything like that.. I do not think the majority of people here in the United States are clicking to go find Japanese wrestling. I just don’t believe that.”
It appears that Booker T is sure that fans of All Elite Wrestling will enjoy the event, but he’s not so sure if the event really is a “Forbidden Door” type of deal, but rather, more of a cross-promotion as we mentioned above.
“They’re going to love it, I get that. The AEW fanbase, they’re going to love it,” Booker expressed. “But what I am saying is, outside of the AEW fanbase, there aren’t a whole lot of people are going to look at this like it’s a forbidden door because don’t too many people know about it but the AEW fanbase. This is a cross-promotion, it’s not a forbidden door is what I am saying. It’s nothing forbidden about Japanese wrestlers coming over and wrestling AEW wrestlers, there’s nothing forbidden about that.”
Booker T would then finish this segment of the podcast by talking about Will Ospreay, someone he’s excited to see coming up. And furthermore, whom he believed from AEW could possibly match up against the guy many believe to be one of the top professional wrestlers on the planet.
“Man, Will Ospreay is a talent, he’s moving, he’s quick, he can do anything,” Booker stated. “He can fly, he can mat wrestle, he can do just about anything. So, whoever you put him with, they better have some stamina, their legs better are ready to go. They’ve got a plethora of guys in AEW that can go out there and have those types of matches. I don’t know if Kenny Omega is going to be back for this show, of course, he and Kenny Omega I am sure have got a lot of history together. They would definitely be able to go out and give the crowd that match, that we don’t see here in the States on a regular basis. Of course, Danielson would be a guy that he could go out there and go with. Of course, the market guy is going to be CM Punk to put him out there with him. If you want to just have those two marquee names. Which, a lot of times, the names may be more important than the match. Sometimes, as far as giving me that main event.”
AEW vs NJPW Forbidden Door goes down on Sunday the 26th of June LIVE from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Hall Of Fame podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
