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Possible reason why Hiroshi Tanahashi was chosen as MJF’s Forbidden Door opponent

Aaron Rift

As seen during the June 14th 2023 edition of AEW Dynamite, an AEW world title match between MJF and NJPW’s Hiroshi Tanahashi was set up for the 2023 Forbidden Door PPV event. During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com explained why Tanahashi was chosen as MJF’s opponent…

“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.” (quote courtesy of WrestlingNews.co)