Published: 1 hour ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 59 minutes ago by Dave Adamson
Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.
AEW/NJPW
With HENARE seeming to issue an open challenge for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, Ricochet has called out the IWGP Tag Team Champion.
The latest crossover between AEW and its partner promotions, Forbidden Door takes place on June 28 with the current match card available here.
The IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship will be on the line, with Shota Umino defending against PAC, but HENARE has now suggested an open challenge for the tag team champions in a tweet that reads:
“O-Khan and I are ready for anyone who wants to step up.”
Great-O-Khan and HENARE of the United Empire have held the titles since June 14, defeating Knockout Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) at NJPW Dominion.
With the challenge out in the open, though yet to be officially addressed, Ricochet made a point that HENARE is in fear of fellow The Demand members Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona, tweeting:
“He afraid of @BishopKaun and @ToaLiona 🐘🦁”
HENARE and Great-O-Khan have a history with the team better known as Gates of Agony, having competed three times across 2023.
To date, United Empire lead the way in wins, having suffered a single loss to the team and Oleg Boltin during the NJPW World Tag Team League of 2023, which saw HENARE and O-Khan team with Callum Newman. Two follow-up matches would see the O-Khan and HENARE beat Kaun & Liona the following night, returning to team with Newman for a victory over Gates of Agony & Yuto Nakashima on December 7.
HENARE joined Newman and Francisco Akira on the April 8 episode of AEW Dynamite, teaming Will Ospreay against Jon Moxley and the Death Riders in the Chaos in Canada match.
The IWGP Tag Team Championship Comes Knocking At AEW Forbidden Door
Originating in 2022, AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door has grown from a crossover pay-per-view between two partners to an event that features stars from CMLL and Stardom, with last year’s show seeing British promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling also in the mix.
During the past four years, the IWGP Tag Team Championship was on the line in 2022 in a Winner Takes All Match that saw ROH World Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defeat United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb) in a three-way that also featured Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta.
The June 2022 event was the only time that the IWGP Tag Team Championship was on the line, although subsequent shows featured other top NJPW title defense. It’s a curiosity that the first crossover was the only one to feature the top NJPW tag team prize on the line.
As a title, the IWGP Tag Team Championship has seen a number of prominent AEW stars hold the gold during their time with NJPW, with The Young Bucks being two-time former champions, along with Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis), FTR (thanks to Forbidden Door), FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson), among them.
An IWGP Tag Team Championship defense at this year’s Forbidden Door would add to an already stacked card, but also open up the opportunity for a new pair of challengers to fight for the title. Whether that would be Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona remains to be seen.
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