7 WWE Wrestlers We'd Love to See Go Through the Forbidden Door

For the second straight year, Sunday's Forbidden Door pay-per-view will feature some of All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling's very best doing battle in matches many fans thought they'd never see.

Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay as well as Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson would have been inconceivable a few years ago, but thanks to the strong working relationship the two companies now have, both bouts are set to become a reality.

WWE has historically never worked well with others. After all, it was Vince McMahon who destroyed the territory system that the business was built on, and no indication has been given during the Triple H era that he'd be any more willing to work with the competition.

Outside talent popping up in WWE isn't unheard of, though. Mickie James entered the 2022 women's Royal Rumble as the Impact Knockouts world champion, not to mention Karl Anderson defending the NEVER Openweight Championship at this year's NJPW Wrestle Kingdom while contracted to WWE.

A WWE vs. AEW supershow will likely never be in the cards if the former has little to gain from it, but it's always fun to fantasy-book nonetheless.

These are the seven stars from WWE we'd love to see break down the "forbidden door."

AJ Styles

As AJ Styles nears the end of his iconic career, there are still plenty of opponents fans are hoping he'll face before he calls it quits, along with many matches we're guaranteed to never get unless WWE and AEW establish some sort of working relationship.

Kenny Omega leads that list of dream matches for most, including The Cleaner himself.

He's credited for booting Styles out of Bullet Club at the onset of 2016 and usurping him as the leader of the group. The Phenomenal One hasn't been seen in NJPW since.

Of course, both men went on to have incredible success in their respective promotions, but a one-on-one match always alluded them. Styles' current contract in WWE is bound to be his last, so unless Omega makes the jump when his deal expires soon, this match will remain a "what if."

In a "forbidden door" scenario, it would be a blast to see Styles wrestle Omega, or virtually anyone else on the stacked rosters AEW and NJPW boast. The 46-year-old remains at the top of his game and to see him out of the WWE bubble again would be a welcome change.

Kevin Owens

When several top talents left WWE for AEW in the summer of 2021, all signs seemed to point to Kevin Owens being next in line.

The Prizefighter had been spinning his wheels creatively for months and had every reason to join his PWG buddies The Young Bucks and Adam Cole in AEW.

Ultimately, Owens re-signed with WWE, and considering where his career has gone since then, it turned out to be the best decision he could have made. He's done some of his strongest work as both a babyface and a heel and has headlined a handful of pay-per-views, including WrestleMania two years in a row.

A Forbidden Door-type show would allow him to rekindle some old rivalries and reunite with friends without actually signing there.

Anything involving The Elite would make the most sense, but it would also be equally cool to see him mix it up with fresh faces such as MJF, Darby Allin and Ricky Starks. He and CM Punk never had a chance to feud on a major stage and that would be a must-see program.

Perhaps Owens can convince Chris Jericho to put an end to the Jericho Appreciation Society and reform JeriKO with fellow Canadian Sami Zayn serving as an honorary member.

Iyo Sky

Iyo Sky was widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world when she signed with WWE in June 2018, and that's still the case five years later.

Throughout her four-year stint in the black-and-gold brand, she reigned as NXT women's champion for nearly a year and had terrific bouts with the likes of Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae and Dakota Kai.

WWE's main roster audience have only gotten a small taste of what she's capable of, most notably during her Raw Women's Championship match with Bianca Belair at Backlash. Had she not re-signed with the company last year, there's a good chance she would have been back in Stardom and other promotions across the globe.

The former Sasha Banks, now known as Mercedes Moné, has been an excellent example of someone who has benefited from spreading her wings beyond WWE. She's racked up several wins since joining Stardom, but Sky would be her most exciting opponent yet.

Women's wrestling is thriving everywhere right now, so there's no shortage of opponents for The Genius of the Sky if she did go through the "forbidden door."

Who wouldn't want to see Toni Storm and Sky run it back from the finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic, this time over the former's AEW Women's World Championship?

Roman Reigns

Unlike most WWE Superstars included in this list, Roman Reigns is a WWE homegrown talent and therefore had no prior exposure or experience in wrestling when he kicked off his career in 2010.

He's also one of the company's greatest success stories of the last decade and arguably the biggest star in the business today.

Seeing the 38-year-old on another promotion's program without the WWE logo in the corner of the screen would be quite the spectacle, especially with his current character.

Reigns lays claim to being the best in the world, and while that may well be true, he would need to prove it against top talent across the industry. Imagine marquee matches pitting him against Kenny Omega, MJF, Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay in AEW and NJPW.

A war of words with him and CM Punk in particular would be nothing short of explosive given all the trash talk they've exchanged over the years.

As the epitome of everything WWE is, Reigns would be a fantastic foil for anyone from the outside world. No one he's faced since becoming The Tribal Chief has been able to beat him, but it's possible his successor is somewhere on the other side of the "forbidden door."

Gunther

For the former WALTER to transition so seamlessly to the main roster and become one of the best booked call-ups in many years has truly been a revelation.

There's a strong possibility he would have wound up in AEW had WWE waited a little longer to lock him down to a deal for NXT UK in late 2018. Who knows how he would have fared there, but it's not as if he's unfamiliar with most of the current roster.

Gunther made a name for himself on the independent scene thanks to his hard-hitting style and unmatched intensity. His matches with Keith Lee, Will Ospreay, Ricochet and Zack Sabre Jr. earned him critical acclaim and eventually an offer from WWE.

Although he has slimmed down significantly, he has gotten himself into sensational shape while remaining a fierce wrestler with a "final boss" vibe in the same vein as Brock Lesnar. He's currently working his way through the WWE roster but could use another crop of competitors' chests to cave in with his signature chops.

Waging war with old enemies and making new ones makes Gunther a great candidate to walk through the "forbidden door," in addition to his ability to get an awesome match out of just about anyone.

Rhea Ripley

Unlike Iyo Sky, Rhea Ripley wasn't a household name prior to her arrival in WWE. She cut her teeth on the Australian wrestling scene at an early age but was far from as seasoned as Sky and others were when she was recruited to NXT.

However, The Eradicator rose to superstardom in record time, and six years later, she has won almost every active women's title WWE has to offer. That's in addition to her women's Royal Rumble victory earlier this year that led to her beating Charlotte Flair for her latest title at WrestleMania 39.

She doesn't compete very often these days, but Ripley is the total package and the future of women's wrestling in WWE. She's proved herself as exceptionally skilled between the ropes, and there are plenty of people in AEW she can test her mettle against.

Of course, Jamie Hayter is the first name that comes to mind because those two would surely have the strongest chemistry together.

Ripley taking it to Thunder Rosa, Saraya or Kris Statlander would be equally cool, along with a renewal of her rivalry with Toni Storm from their NXT and NXT UK days.

Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins is no stranger to the wrestling world outside of WWE, breaking into the business young and and gaining experience from working every independent promotion that would have him.

In Ring of Honor alone, he had a successful stint that included capturing the world championship.

Despite all of that, his WWE run will be what he's forever synonymous with. He's served as a flagbearer for the company since cementing his status as a perennial main event player and has gone on record in saying he believes the best the business has to offer are already in WWE.

It's a logical mindset for him to have being in the position of prominence that he's in, but it hasn't endeared him to fans who exclusively follow AEW and other non-WWE promotions. That's exactly the reason why there will always be a desire to see him get in on the "forbidden door" action.

There's a built-in story with The Visionary showing up in other promotions representing WWE in a pursuit of competition he deems worthy. Rollins vs. Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada or Will Ospreay would all be certified show-stealers.

Ospreay in particular has never shown interest in going to WWE, but Rollins had an interesting response when the NJPW star issued the challenge through Twitter:

It's safe to say Rollins isn't going anywhere any time soon, but if an opportunity to make magic via the "forbidden door" was to present itself, he wouldn't hesitate to accept the offer.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.