Tanahashi Believes AEW Star Would Get Great Reaction In Tokyo Dome
Hiroshi Tanahashi came back through the Forbidden Door very impressed with AEW.
Tanahashi recently recorded an episode of his "Podcast Off!" show and discussed two AEW talents that impressed him immensely. One star that stood out to Tanahashi was PAC, but Tanahashi admittedly couldn't remember his name. But there was another star that took Tanahashi's attention and made The Ace think he'd get a great reaction in the Tokyo Dome: Orange Cassidy. (Credit to Chris Charlton for the translation)
Tanahashi had a ton of praise for Orange Cassidy on his podcast this week, and said he would get a big reaction in the Tokyo Dome. He was impressed by PAC as well (but forgot his name)..
— chris charlton (@reasonjp) July 4, 2022
Cassidy had a standout match against IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay at June's Forbidden Door event, and despite coming up short, Cassidy caught the eye of the wrestler that coined the term "forbidden door" in the first place. Tanahashi's eye for talent is legendary, as it was Tanahashi in 2018 that suggested former-AEW Champion Hangman Page was "too good" to be just a cog in the Bullet Club machine, suggesting he take Page under his wing before Page departed NJPW to join the upstart AEW. Tanahashi has also indicated that his originally-scheduled opponent CM Punk should have a place at the Tokyo Dome if the AEW Champion is healthy by then.
Tony Khan has said after Forbidden Door that he liked working with New Japan and NJPW President Takami Ohbari even expressed his idea for bringing the next Forbidden Door event to Japan. With the event being hailed as a commercial success, and many talent sharing how much they enjoyed the event in recent backstage interviews, Forbidden Door 2 feels likely to happen. This would be good news for NJPW's Hiromu Takahashi, who recently stated his sincere disappointment in being unable to team with "Mr. Sting," after a fever kept him from competing at the landmark event.