Bryan Danielson was victorious against Kazuchika Okada in the main event of tonight’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view, but he didn’t leave the show unscathed. Danielson revealed in the post-show media scrum that he suffered an arm injury — believed to be a fractured forearm — with about 10 minutes left in the match. According to the medical trainers, Danielson is expected to be out of action for the next six-to-eight weeks in order to recover. Danielson said it was a “freak accident” in that Okada hit him with an elbow drop and Danielson didn’t have an arm in a safe spot for the landing.
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Since his 60-minute Iron Man Match with MJF at AEW Revolution, the only match “The American Dragon” had been involved in was the Anarchy in the Arena Match at Double or Nothing last month. Fightful had previously reported that Danielson was “banged up,” and he confirmed he had been dealing with a torn labrum and compressed vertebrae. Regarding this new injury, he chose to fight through it and claimed he wants a rematch with Okada in order to “break his arm.”
“I wanted this match for so long without ever thinking it was a possibility. I started watching him while I was in WWE, but there was no place to go work where that match would ever be possible. Then AEW started. That’s why this is so special to me. I wanted it for so long, and it’s now actually going to happen,” Danielson said in an interview with Sports Illustrated while promoting Sunday’s match.
Based on the recovery timetable, it sounds like Danielson won’t be able to get back in action until All In in late August in London. He teased facing either Zack Sabre Jr. and Will Ospreay at the event.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 Results
- Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun) def. Roppongi Vice & El Desperado (Zero Hour)
- Owen Hart Cup: Athena def. Billie Starkz (Zero Hour)
- El Phantasmo def. Stu Grayson (Zero Hour)
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi) def. United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Kyle Fletcher, TJP) vs. (Zero Hour)
- AEW World Championship: MJF def. Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Owen Hart Cup: CM Punk def. Satoshi Kojima
- AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy def. Katsuyori Shibata, Zack Sabre Jr., Daniel Garcia
- IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Sanada def. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry
- The Elite (Hangman Page & The Young Bucks), Eddie Kingston & Tomohiro Ishii def. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta), Konosukta Takeshita & Shota Umino
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm def. Willow Nightingale
- IWGP United States Championship: Will Ospreay def. Kenny Oemga
- Sting, Darby Allin & Tetsuya Naito def. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara & Minoru Suzuki
- Bryan Danielson def. Kazuchika Okada
