AEW Forbidden Door: Bryan Danielson Forces Kazuchika Okada to Submit

By Connor Casey

Bryan Danielson forced Kazuchika Okada to submit in the main event of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on Sunday night, trapping him in a modified LeBell Lock. Danielson's right arm had been weakened to a point where he couldn't fully lock in the submission, but he managed to use his good arm and legs to contort "The Rainmaker's" body to a point where he had no choice but to tap. 

The match was heavily promoted as two men battling for the right to call themselves "The Best Wrestler in the World," and the victory will likely give Danielson bragging rights for the foreseeable future. He told Sports Illustrated earlier this week that a match with "The Rainmaker" was something he wanted since his days in WWE. 

"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.

"The American Dragon" will also likely return to the faction war between The Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite. Hangman Page, The Young Bucks, Tomohiro Ishii and Eddie Kingston were able to pick up a 10-man tag match victory earlier in the night against Jon Moxley & co., but by the end it was clear that nothing had been settled between the two groups. 

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
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