riginal plans for several NJPW wrestlers who ended up missing AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door were revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio by Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez.
Callum Newman was originally set to challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW Continental Championship, but lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Yota Tsuji at NJPW Dominion and suffered a dislocated shoulder during the match. Moxley defended against Bandido instead.
Gabe Kidd was originally supposed to challenge Shota Umino for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship rather than PAC. Kidd suffered a shoulder injury and has separately been dealing with visa issues. He is now set to face Umino on July 6 in Tokyo.
Tomohiro Ishii was also planned for the show, presumed to have been part of the 12-man cage match, but was written off AEW television weeks ago to cover for a neck injury.
Sareee, while not an NJPW wrestler, was originally slated to face Willow Nightingale in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation final. Sareee was not cleared by AEW medical and was replaced by Maya World, while Nightingale’s own injury and TBS Championship relinquishment opened the door for tournament winner Mercedes Moné. Separately, Fightful Select previously reported that Toni Storm had originally been planned to win the women’s tournament before her recent hiatus from AEW.
The only NJPW wrestlers who ultimately appeared at Forbidden Door were Shota Umino, Shingo Takagi, Drilla Maloney, and Zack Sabre Jr.