Original plan for several NJPW wrestlers for AEW Forbidden Door
Prior to last Sunday’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view, AEW head Tony Khan mentioned that injuries and visa issues affected the availability of several wrestlers that were supposed to be on the show.
On Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, the original plan for some of those wrestlers were revealed.
Dave Meltzer said that former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Callum Newman (pictured above) was set to be on the show with Bryan Alvarez noting he was going to challenge Continental Champion Jon Moxley. Newman lost his title to Yota Tsuji at NJPW Dominion and dislocated his shoulder during the match. Moxley defended against Bandido instead.
Meltzer said the challenger for IWGP Global Champion Shota Umino was originally supposed to be Gabe Kidd and not PAC. Kidd, coming off a shoulder injury, is having visa issues and is set to take on Umino on July 6 in Tokyo.
Tomohiro Ishii was also tabbed for the event, but was taken out in storyline several weeks ago on AEW TV to cover for a neck injury. It’s unconfirmed, but assumed he would have been part of the 12-man cage match that featured other Conglomeration members.
While not a NJPW wrestler, Meltzer said Sareee was set to be on the show and presumed that she would have challenged Willow Nightingale in the finals of the women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Sareee was not cleared by AEW medical and was replaced by eventual finalist Maya World while Nightingale was injured and replaced by tournament winner Mercedes Mone.
NJPW wrestlers at the event were limited to Umino, Shingo Takagi, Drilla Maloney and Zack Sabre Jr.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.