Backstage Update On MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi At AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II

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On last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite, it was announced that MJF would be defending his AEW World Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2.

Amid some criticism regarding the announced match due to both men’s standing in their respective companies, Dave Meltzer, speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, shared his perspective on the matter. He expressed the belief that Tanahashi’s standing within NJPW has shifted, indicating that he is no longer considered a top-tier talent who is meticulously protected and shielded from losing to wrestlers from other promotions, as he had been in the past. Tanahashi’s selection as MJF’s opponent may be attributed to the fact that he possesses name recognition while also being someone who can now be defeated. Meltzer remarked,

“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.”

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