Major AEW vs NJPW Plans Scrapped

A major New Japan vs AEW match at Forbidden Door was scrapped.

This week, top New Japan star Tetsuya Naito got the internet talking when he addressed his absence from the Forbidden Door show, taking to his NJPW Diary to claim he wasn’t invited to the show.

The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion would add that he was “genuinely upset” about not wrestling on the event, questioning if he is needed by his employers. He would write:

“Unfortunately, I was not invited to the “AEW x NJPW” show that is being talked about all over the place. Not invited = not needed. Right? Because of that frustration, I haven’t watched any footage of this show. I’m genuinely upset about it.”

Naito’s comments left many wondering if what he said was a shoot and a work, and if he had legitimate heat with New Japan. Well, according to Twitter user Backup Hangman, the post is in fact a work, with Naito said to have been originally planned for the show before his match had to be scrapped.

Interestingly, it seems his planned opponent was no other than the absent Kenny Omega, who was unable to get clearance in time for the show.

“The original plan was Naito/Omega but Omega wasn’t healthy in time. He’s working. Anyone reacting to this has no sources.”

It appears that AEW had hoped that Omega would be back for the Forbidden Door show, which makes sense due to his history with New Japan, although as of now he remains on the shelf for an unknown amount of time.

The Naito story adds to concerns that Omega’s recovery isn’t going as planned, with it still unknown when and if we will see him in the ring again.

h/t Fightful for the translation.