The Forbidden Door between AEW and NJPW is open wide and a presidential surprise has come through it.
On "AEW Dynamite," AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks and AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada challenged The Acclaimed to a trios match at Forbidden Door on AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on Sunday. The Acclaimed accepted but their WWE Hall of Famer compatriot Billy Gunn announced that he would not be teaming with Max Caster and Anthony Bowens, instead opting to bring in NJPW President, and Okada's chief rival, Hiroshi Tanahashi as the group's third member, then playing a video of highlights of Tanahashi hitting his trademark High Fly Flow.
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Tanahashi and Okada have a storied rivalry which dates all the way back to 2012, when Okada unseated Tanahashi as IWGP Heavyweight Champion for the first time. The rivalry which followed included numerous Wrestle Kingdom main events and IWGP Heavyweight Title Matches, becoming NJPW's top rivalry of the 2010s. Tanahashi was one of Okada's final opponents during Okada's farewell tour from NJPW earlier this year. Okada defeated Tanahashi on February 11 in Okada's final NJPW singles match before joining AEW.
