AEW World Championship MJF will defend his title against Hiroshi Tanahashi at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door 2 later this month in Chicago, as announced on Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite.
Given MJF’s position as the top star in AEW, some fans have criticized the match booking. Last year’s Forbidden Door saw Jon Moxley defeat Tanahashi for the interim AEW World Heavyweight Title.
Dave Meltzer mentioned on Wrestling Observer Radio that he believes Tanahashi is no longer regarded as a top guy who is well-protected and not booked to lose to wrestlers from other promotions, as he was in previous years. Meltzer speculated that Tanahashi was chosen as MJF’s opponent because he has a name that can be defeated.
Meltzer stated, “I think two years ago, that would’ve been great. But the last Forbidden Door title match was [Jon] Moxley and Tanahashi, and Tanahashi lost. I know politically, Tanahashi is now a guy… for years and years and years and years, Tanahashi, [Kazuchika] Okada, [Tetsuya] Naito, and who was the fourth guy…Kota Ibushi or someone, it actually might have been Kenny Omega now that I think about it, but there are four guys that New Japan was like, ‘If we come to the United States,’ or whatever, like when they were working with Ring of Honor, it’s like, ‘You can’t beat these guys. You can do whatever you want.’ It was [Shinsuke] Nakamura who was the fourth guy at the time. And at other points, AJ [Styles] was as well. The point is that you couldn’t. And then Tanahashi is no longer on that list, so he’s a star who can lose, and that’s why he wrestled Moxley on the last Forbidden Door show.”
