The match between CM Punk and Satoshi Kojima at Forbidden Door is the match that Tony Khan wanted for the former two-time AEW World Champion.
All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan took part in a media scrum this afternoon for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door to answer a wide variety of questions. When asked about the reports that CM Punk was initially scheduled to face KENTA instead of Kojima at Forbidden Door, Khan said he believes they have a really strong card on Sunday and says the match between Kojima and Punk is the one he wants to see.
“Well, this is a really strong card for Sunday’s event. I’m incredibly excited about it,” Tony Khan said. “And I think this is a great hard-hitting match. And this is the match I want to see. And it’s worked out perfectly that Sunday’s card is, in my opinion, the most stars we’ve ever had on any pay-per-view we’ve ever done.
“It’s such a star-studded show, and I thought it was very fitting that one of the most decorated champions in the history of Japan, Satoshi Kojima, who has been the GHC champion, the Global Honored Crown winner, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, that Triple Crown Champion and to have one of the most decorated heavyweights ever in Japan to come here and wrestle one of the most decorated heavyweights ever in America, CM Punk.
“It’s a huge matchup, and I think it’s very fitting that it’s in this great Owen Hart tournament field where we have so many great matchups lined up, and I thought it was a great match to kick off the tournament, and I’m really excited about it. I think Kojima for us is an amazing get and somebody I was really excited to have. He was involved in the biggest pay-per-view we ever had, All Out 2021, which is the most successful non-WWE wrestling event on pay-per-view since the 90s. And he was a great part of that event.
“He had a great match with Jon Moxley, and I loved working with Kojima, and he was somebody I really wanted to bring back to this event. So I was very excited about it. For me personally, Kojima versus Punk is a match I’ve always wanted to see. I think they both always wanted to wrestle each other. So it’s a great, great match for us on the card. And as for anybody else that was allegedly going to be involved or allegedly rumored, I really can’t comment to that. But I would say that as it stands, I think this is our best card or best iteration of a card, and I feel like it’s a stacked show with the most star power we’ve ever presented this Sunday on pay-per-view.”
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What do you make of Tony Khan’s comments? Are you disappointed that we aren’t getting a match between CM Punk and KENTA at Forbidden Door? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door Media Call with a link back to this article for the transcription.
