Tony Khan has now commented on plans for CM Punk to wrestle at AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023.
At the June 25 show, CM Punk will face off against former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima in the first round of the Owen Hart Foundation tournament.
During the AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door media call, Tony Khan noted that he’s looking forward to this bout, believing that it will be a hard-hitting encounter.
Grateful that Satoshi Kojima will be on this weekend’s card, Khan stated:
“This is a great hard-hitting match and this is the match I want to see.
“I thought it was very fitting that one of the most decorate champions in the history of Japan, Satoshi Kojima, who has been the GHC Champion, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, the Triple Crown Champion.
“To have one of the most decorated heavyweights ever in Japan come here and wrestle one of the most decorated heavyweights in America, CM Punk, it’s a huge matchup.
“Kojima, for us, is an amazing get. He was involved in All Out 2021 and had a great match with Jon Moxley.
“I love working with Kojima and he was somebody I really wanted to bring back for this event.
“For me, personally, Kojima versus Punk is a match I always wanted to see. They both always wanted to wrestle each other.
“It’s a great match for us on the card.”
Prior to AEW announcing this match, it was reported that the original plan was for Punk to face off against KENTA, the originator of the GTS, before the bout was called off.
Previous reports indicated that KENTA expressed to NJPW and AEW that he won’t be facing Punk at the event last week ahead of Collision.
Addressing rumors, Khan noted:
“As for anybody else that was allegedly going to be involved or allegedly rumored, I can’t really comment to that.”
Kojima recently opened up about his upcoming bout, admitting that he’s nervous about facing ‘world-famous’ CM Punk.
Check out the announced card for AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 right here.
Transcription via Fightful.
If you want to stay fully updated on all the latest wrestling news, click the red bell in the bottom right of your screen to receive notifications from WrestleTalk.com straight to your device!
Trending
- Jade Cargill Addresses First One-On-One WWE Loss
- Bayley Makes Interesting Pitch To WWE Following Queen Of The Ring Tournament
- LA Knight Sends Message To The Bloodline After WWE King Of The Ring Loss
- Change To WWE Match After Legitimate Injury Revealed?
- New WWE Show Name Revealed?
- Challenge Issued To Tony Khan Ahead Of Upcoming Pay-Per-View
- WWE Botches Bloodline Match Announcement
- WWE Star Teases New Alliance Amid Faction Split Rumors
- WWE Star Doesn’t Feel Like He Lost After King Of The Ring Defeat
- Damian Priest Shares WWE Moment He Struggled To Stay In Character