Forbidden Door 2022: Injuries Cannot Stop AEW and NJPW from Delivering

Bishamon defeated The Factory in the opening AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Buy-In tag match, with Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI facing QT Marshall and Aaron Solo. Solo and Marshall worked short bursts of offense, including a double stomp on Goto and Marshall's dive onto the opponents, but Bishamon repeatedly combined strikes and tags to regain control. YOSHI-HASHI broke through with a neckbreaker before Solo interrupted the cover. Goto then returned, and Bishamon used their tandem finishing move on Solo for the pin at approximately 8:55. This gave the cross-promotional card a compact, credible NJPW tag-team opener. The independent June 26 live card and AEW's June 27 first-party play-by-play both document the four wrestlers and the finish; no battle royal took place during this Buy-In.

Lance Archer pinned Nick Comoroto with the Black Out in their Forbidden Door 2022 Buy-In singles match. Comoroto had knocked the larger wrestler into the guardrail and slowed him with overhead strikes, then answered an Archer chokeslam by landing a powerslam from the corner for a near fall. Archer showed his own surprising agility by walking the ropes for a moonsault, which nearly ended the contest before Comoroto fought back. The finish came when Archer finally gained control and lifted Comoroto for his signature powerbomb. C- (5.7) reflects a short powerhouse showcase with a decisive fall rather than a championship or tournament finish.

Swerve in Our Glory beat Suzuki-gun when Keith Lee pinned Yoshinobu Kanemaru with a Jackhammer despite having his knee repeatedly targeted. Kanemaru and El Desperado used frequent tags, a figure-four leglock and even whiskey sprayed into Lee's eyes while the referee was distracted. Swerve Strickland nearly cost his partner by accidentally dropkicking Lee's knee when Desperado dodged their attempted tandem move, but Swerve recovered to strike Desperado with a brainbuster. Lee ultimately fought out of another submission attempt, caught his opponent and scored the count. B- (7.1) credits an effective two-team injury story and a clear Lee pin; Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs confronted the winners only afterward.

Max Caster and the Gunn Club beat the NJPW LA Dojo team when Caster pinned The DKC following a Mic Drop. Danhausen had disrupted Billy, Austin and Colten Gunn's entrance with a video message, sending Austin and Colten away to chase him before the match developed. The NJPW trainees kept Caster isolated through an Alex Coughlin gut-wrench, Kevin Knight splash and Yuya Uemura bulldog, but Billy Gunn eventually tagged in to turn the momentum. The DKC answered with karate chops until Caster found the finishing opening. C- (5.8) reflects a lively but brief Buy-In trios-plus-one match whose true winning fall belonged to Caster, not the absent Gunn brothers.

Chris Jericho pinned Shota Umino with the Judas Effect to win the opening Forbidden Door 2022 six-man match for his team alongside Minoru Suzuki and Sammy Guevara. Wheeler Yuta opened with six German suplexes on Jericho, while Eddie Kingston traded vicious chops with Suzuki and later landed a spinning backfist. Umino nearly settled the match with an avalanche powerslam and brainbuster on Jericho, but Suzuki interrupted his Walls of Jericho submission and struck Kingston with a Gotch-style piledriver. Jericho used that opening to land his finishing elbow and take the pin. B (7.7) credits the frantic interpromotional offense and real decision, which earned the winning team the Blood & Guts match advantage, not a title.

FTR captured the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship while retaining the ROH World Tag Team Championship by pinning Rocky Romero after their Big Rig finisher in a three-team title match. Dax Harwood had left with a shoulder injury, forcing Cash Wheeler to withstand attacks from Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan until Harwood returned from the medical area. Roppongi Vice nearly won with stereo knee strikes and a Strong Zero combination, while United Empire kept breaking attempts through power moves. FTR regrouped and caught Romero for the decisive fall. A- (8.7) recognizes an eventful title switch with genuine medical jeopardy, not a victory that handed the IWGP belts to Roppongi Vice.

PAC became the inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Champion by making Clark Connors submit to the Brutalizer in the four-way against Miro and Malakai Black. Connors threatened an upset with a spear through a table and a Trophy Kill near fall on PAC, while Miro traded heavy strikes with Black and trapped PAC in Game Over. Black then sprayed mist into Miro's eyes to break the submission. PAC recovered, splashed Black and Connors from the top rope and applied his finishing hold to Connors for the tap-out. A- (8.5) credits the varied styles and decisive inaugural title win, with the former challengers' interference distinguished from the actual submission victim.

Darby Allin, Sting and Shingo Takagi defeated the Bullet Club trio when Shingo pinned El Phantasmo after Last of the Dragon. Sting began the match by jumping onto the incoming Bullet Club from the entrance tunnel during a blackout. The Young Bucks isolated Allin with tandem moves, but Sting later shrugged off repeated superkicks and countered a BTE Trigger with a double Scorpion Deathlock. Shingo then took advantage of a tag, landed a lariat and finally completed his decisive move on El Phantasmo. B (7.9) rewards the interpromotional trios action and a clear Shingo pin; ringside ally Hikuleo wasn't the losing competitor.

Thunder Rosa retained the AEW Women's World Championship by pinning Toni Storm after the Final Reckoning. Storm had pushed the champion into a demanding fight with hard kicks, a hip attack, a DDT on the floor and a near fall off a second DDT. Rosa answered with suplexes, a running knee and the Death Valley Driver, then landed a Thunder Fire Driver that Storm survived at two. Storm briefly reversed the momentum by catching Rosa's leg and attempting another suplex, but Rosa recovered and hit the actual winning finish. B+ (8.1) credits the challenger's sustained offense while identifying Rosa's successful title defense rather than a switch to Storm.

Will Ospreay retained the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship when he pinned Orange Cassidy with the Storm Breaker. Cassidy initially fought with his hands in his pockets before growing more aggressive, using the Stundog Millionaire, a Michinoku Driver and the Beach Break to produce increasingly plausible near falls. Ospreay escaped the Orange Punch, struck with the Os-cutter and Hidden Blade, and finally landed the finish after Cassidy survived his earlier assault. Aussie Open interfered at ringside and attacked Cassidy after the bell, drawing Roppongi Vice and Katsuyori Shibata into the aftermath. A (9.3) rewards the escalating contest without mistaking the post-match confrontation for the title decision.

Claudio Castagnoli defeated Zack Sabre Jr. with the Ricola Bomb in his surprise Blackpool Combat Club debut. Sabre went after Claudio's fingers and arm, caught him in a triangle and later countered a Sharpshooter with a heel hook, forcing the larger wrestler to solve successive holds. Castagnoli answered with powerful European uppercuts, a gut-wrench slam off the ropes and the giant swing before connecting with the discus lariat and match-ending powerbomb. A- (8.8) reflects an immediate stylistic clash between Sabre's technical control and Castagnoli's strength, with a decisive pin rather than a submission or championship change.

Jay White retained the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship by pinning Adam Cole at the end of a four-way with Hangman Adam Page and Kazuchika Okada. Page repeatedly fought White and Cole, while Okada recovered from their early double-team attack to hit a dropkick and top-rope elbow. Gedo disrupted Page's Buckshot Lariat attempt, and Cole later superkicked Page out of another opening. As Okada battled Cole, White rushed in with the Blade Runner on Okada before turning to cover the fallen Cole for the deciding three-count. B+ (8.4) recognizes the quality of the exchanges while acknowledging an abrupt finish; the champion retained and Cole, not Okada, took the pin.

Jon Moxley became AEW Interim World Champion by pinning Hiroshi Tanahashi with the Death Rider. Tanahashi targeted Moxley's knee with a dragon screw and found success with the Sling Blade, Aces High and a High Fly Flow, but Moxley kicked out before turning a later attempt into the bulldog choke. The match grew more violent when Moxley was cut open and used a piledriver and King Kong Lariat to keep the New Japan veteran at bay. Tanahashi fought out of a second choke before Moxley landed the final move. A- (8.8) credits a hard-fought championship conclusion while distinguishing Moxley's interim title win from an undisputed-title change.