Ever since the conception of AEW, there have been tonnes of rumours regarding AEW and New Japan collaborating for a one-time event.
Those rumours are now at an all-time high because of Harold Meij stepping down as the president of NJPW. A lot of references were made about New Japan in televised segments apart from the usual Excalibur and J.R comments while discussing a wrestler’s history. We first saw the ace of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi make a surprise appearance on AEW T.V. as a part of the first batch of celebrities wishing Jericho 30 years in wrestling. Tanahashi expressed his wish of facing Le Champion 10 more times. Of course, we aren’t actually going to see Jericho versus Tanahashi 10 times but that comment by Tanahashi raised quite a few eyebrows. Tanahashi wasn’t the only New Japan star that congratulated Jericho; Ultimo Dragon also showed up on screen to wish the former AEW Champion well.
During a video package hyping up Moxley vs Archer, the match between the two competitors from WrestleKingdom 14 was not only mentioned, but AEW actually showed stills from that show. This was quite surprising given that companies like AEW or WWE usually use footage from small indie events because of copyright issues.
Lastly, in a backstage interview, Kenny Omega said everything but the name of G1 Climax while boasting his success in wrestling tournaments. The teasers didn’t just end there – multiple wrestlers took it to Twitter. After Dynamite went off the air, Orange Cassidy inquired, “When is BoSJ?” and Evil Uno tweeted out “Evil Uno wonders about the World Tag League.”
Now sure, this all could just be them messing with the fans but even if there’s a slight chance of a New Japan and AEW collaboration, I’m down to take the risk of getting work. This is the only thing that has occupied my mind for the last few days so put your wrestling glasses on and label me a mark as I look over some dream matches that we can get out of this union.
Hangman Adam Page vs Minoru Suzuki
Let’s start off with murder grandpa versus the anxious millennial cowboy. This match would be a very interesting clash of personalities: on one side you have this brutal Japanese fight machine who’s waiting to chop his opponent into pieces. On the other side you have a confused and lost cowboy with a drinking problem who could put on the match of the night if he feels like it. Given his recent showing in the G1, it doesn’t look like the 52-year-old leader of the Suzuki-Gun will be slowing down anytime soon and Adam Page is on the verge of stardom, so I don’t see any reason why a match between these two won’t deliver. Moreover, a feud between the two could easily be built around Suzuki wanting to beat some sense into this over babyface who’s taking a long time to get over his partner. Sure, these two aren’t the best wrestlers in the world right now but on any given night they can easily steal the show. Also, I want to see Hangman on the receiving end of some stiff slaps from Suzuki. That would get him over Kenny for sure.
Cody vs Jay White
Jay White is one of the two best heels in wrestling right now (we’ll get to the other one soon, don’t worry) and at the age of only 27, he is one of the favourites to win the G1 Climax having reached the finals last year. So who could be his counterpart in AEW? I think the only correct answer to that is Cody. Two years ago, when Jay made some comments about Brandi in an interview, Cody tweeted out in response:
Ouch.
It was surprising that it didn’t culminate in a singles match between the two but right now I want them to have a match more than ever. Both are at the height of their careers and Cody can easily play the valiant face to White’s dastardly heel to put on a match with some masterful storytelling. Keep in mind Jay would be coming in as the leader of the Bullet Club, a stable Cody was formerly a part of, but you already know that, adding multiple layers to it all.
MJF vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Okay, calm down. I know what you all are thinking right now: “What is this guy thinking? MJF isn’t as big of a star as Tanahashi. This would be a waste of Tanahashi in AEW. Give us Tana vs Mox. Booooo!” but please hear me out.
When you build a card, sure you can have some matches that are the show sellers and you can do it with other matches, but with Tana, I actually want to see him be deeply involved with a good storyteller. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing storytellers on the roster, but in my opinion, MJF is the best storyteller in AEW. People often overlook some of MJF’s amazing qualities because he can put on a very despicable heel figure. MJF actually is an elite tier ring worker and is even better when he wants to build a narrative.
All of the build towards his matches is about the match and what happens in it. With Jungleboy, it was pure wrestling versus flippy shit and during the match, MJF kept up with Jungleboy’s athletic antics outperforming him in the ring. With Moxley, it was the clash of wrestling styles and how in the match MJF had the upper hand in the ring while Mox would thrive outside of it. The build for his matches always puts the match over big and if there’s one person that I want to see be brought into this creative pattern, it would be Tanahashi.
Tanahashi is the ace and arguably the most liked figure in not only NJPW but all of pro wrestling while MJF is the most disliked person. It would be perfect. The purest babyface versus the most abominable heel. The greatest hero versus the greatest villain. Hiroshi Tanahashi versus Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
Jon Moxley vs Kota Ibushi
Do I need to say anything? These two names say it all. There’s nothing much I can add to it. Just imagine how astounding this match could turn out to be. The brawl between the two would be insane. Also since we’re kind of into fantasy booking territory, make it an hour-long iron man match. There is so much we can get out of these two guys in an hour. Ibushi will somehow find a way of taking the Paradigm Shift even more brutally on his neck. This match alone would sell tens of thousands of tickets in a matter of minutes because of the star power in this match. This match would definitely main-event this Supercard if it wasn’t for:
Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada 5
The greatest series of matches in professional wrestling without a doubt. The two best wrestlers in the world going at it doing what they do best. It doesn’t matter if it’s the fifth time, tenth time or the twentieth time, Kenny Omega versus Kazuchika Okada will deliver. Their previous four matches blew the roofs off in Japan, breaking the ranking system of critics all around the world. Many people consider these bouts to be the best wrestling matches of all time and rightfully so. While writing this article, I was trying not to include matches that have happened before, but how in the world was I going to miss this match? This has the potential to be the greatest wrestling match ever (sorry Edge and Orton) and we might be gifted with it again.
Allow me to just put a little scenario in your head: Omega brings back The Cleaner and wins the AEW World Championship (He did). His celebration however is cut short by the sound of a single, prominent coin flip that echoes around the arena.
I’m pretty sure you have goosebumps right now because I sure as hell do. Omega/Okada V is such a big match that even thinking about its possibility makes the hair on any wrestling fan’s neck stand up.
It was so much fun going over all these crazy possibilities and now I’ve gotten my hopes up. I really, really wish that we actually get this union although nothing is confirmed as of now but who knows? One thing we’ve learned from pro wrestling especially is that never say never!