Final Picks for Omega vs. Ospreay, Danielson vs. Okada and AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door

If the inaugural installment was any indication, AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door 2023 is bound to be a must-see spectacle.

Sunday's show boasts an even more loaded lineup than last year's, headlined by the highly-anticipated rematch between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

Joining them at the top of the card will be Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada, who will finally collide in a dream match for the ages. Even without anything at stake, it should still end up being one of the best bouts of the year.

Forbidden Door provides the top talent from AEW and NJPW an opportunity to prove their superiority over the opposing promotion, and the fans with a multitude of matches many thought they'd never see.

With a number of massive AEW and NJPW shows on the horizon, who will reign supreme in each bout and begin to build momentum?

Ahead of tonight's stacked show, these are the last-minute picks that matter most.

Zero Hour: Athena vs. Billie Starkz (Women's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match)

Athena has had an incredibly dominant run as ROH Women's World champion over on the Ring of Honor brand since becoming champ back in December. She's run through all of her opposition with ease and has been doing some of the strongest work of her career in the process.

Despite being relegated to Ring of Honor this year, she should be considered a front runner to win the whole tournament. Having not suffered a single loss in over nine months, it's safe to assume she won't be losing on the Forbidden Door pre-show.

Billie Starkz isn't one to be underestimated, however. At 18-years-old, she's made a name for herself across several promotions this past year and is already quite good.

She should push Athena to the limit and come closer to beating than most, but this win belongs to the ROH Women's World champion.

Prediction: Athena advances.

CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima (Men's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match)

CM Punk's first singles match since returning to AEW last weekend was announced as an afterthought during Wednesday's Dynamite. It will be a quarterfinal match in the men's Owen Hart Cup against NJPW stalwart Satoshi Kojima.

All signs seemed to point to Punk battling KENTA, the actual innovator of the GTS finisher, but per Fightful Select, KENTA pulling out of the event caused plans to change. Punk vs. Kojima is a lot less interesting on paper but should still be a solid match given the experience level of both men.

The winner of Punk vs. Kojima will face the winner of Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong in the next round. Following their interaction in the main event of last week's Collision, Punk and Joe rekindling their rivalry one-on-one makes the most sense.

In other words, Punk besting Kojima is virtually guranteeed.

Prediction: CM Punk advances.

Adam Cole vs. Tom Lawlor

The latest addition to the Forbidden Door card will feature Adam Cole going one-on-one with NJPW's Tom Lawlor.

MJF made the match official on Friday's Rampage on Cole's behalf, noting he felt he was doing his new tag team partner a favor in wanting to provide him with a chance to compete on a big stage.

Lawlor is an accomplished individual and has been an impressive prospect in NJPW in recent years. It's fairly obvious Cole will win, but Lawlor should be made to look credible in defeat.

Cole should not be losing ahead of his inevitable rematch with MJF for the AEW World Championship. The two teaming up in the meantime should be entertaining, and it's possible this leads to MJF and Cole taking on Team Filthy (Lawlor and Royce Issacs) next week on Dynamite as a warm-up for the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament.

Prediction: Adam Cole wins.

Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale (AEW Women's World Championship)

The Outcasts have been the focal point of AEW's women's division all year and that doesn't appearing to be changing any time soon with Toni Storm at the helm as AEW Women's World champion.

Storm took the title from Jamie Hayter in shocking fashion at Double or Nothing and Hayter hasn't been seen since. The Outcasts have had their hands full with Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale as of late with the latter posing a threat to the title.

Nightingale already has gold of her own in the form of the newly-created NJPW Strong Women's Championship, but being as popular and as skilled as she is, there's no reason why she can't add another piece of hardware to her collection.

With Storm's second stint as champ just getting underway, it's more likely she retains the title and leaves the door open for a rematch with either Hayter or the returning Thunder Rosa for August's All In pay-per-view.

Prediction: Toni Storm retains.

Cassidy vs. Garcia vs. Sabre vs. Shibata (AEW International Championship)

The outstanding AEW International Championship reign of Orange Cassidy since October has been a recurring highlight on AEW programming throughout the year. He's defended against all comers, including a 21-man Blackjack Battle Royale where the odds weren't exactly in his favor.

That would seem to suggest that this four-way at Forbidden Door will be an easy obstacle to overcome, though the level of stars involved indicates otherwise. Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyori Shibata are all terrific talents and shouldn't be counted out completely.

Sabre and Shibata are already champions, making Garcia the strongest contender of the three challengers. He has said his sights are set on Shibata's ROH Pure Championship and thus Cassidy retaining his International title is the best bet.

When the time comes for Cassidy to finally lose his coveted championship, it should be in a one-on-one scenario to maximize the moment. That moment will not happen on this show, but it will be a fun four-way, nonetheless.

Prediction: Orange Cassidy retains.

Jericho, Guevara and Suzuki vs. Sting, Allin and Naito

Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki proved to be a winning combination at last year's Forbidden Door and they again emerged victorious on Wednesday's Dynamite.

It will be a slightly different dynamic at this year's installment with tension teased between Jericho and Guevara on last week's show. Guevara is essentially already a babyface, and if a feud with Jericho is imminent, then they would gain nothing from a victory on this show.

That's in addition to their opponents being Darby Allin, Sting and Tetsuya Naito. Sting and Allin announced Naito as their partner on Saturday's Collision, and Sting and Allin have yet to lose together since joining forces in 2020.

Sting vs. Jericho might be in the works for All In, and if so, this match will give the audience a taste of what they're capable of as opponents. Expect dissension between Jericho and Guevara to cost them the win.

Prediction: Sting, Darby Allin and Tetsuya Naito win.

The Elite, Kingston and Ishii vs. Blackpool Combat Club, Takeshita and Umino

Despite Blackpool Combat Club coming out on top over The Elite in Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing, their blood feud has been far from over.

At Forbidden Door, the two factions will wage war once more, this time with a few others added to the mix. Eddie Kingston and Tomohiro Ishii will join the Elite side, while Blackpool Combat Club recruit Konosuke Takeshita and Shota Umino for one night only.

This merely mark another chapter in the ongoing story and not the culmination, so either team could win and it wouldn't matter. With Blackpool Combat Club winning at Double or Nothing, The Elite should even the score in this encounter.

A victory for the heels would be acceptable as well if the idea is to protect Takeshita before he faces Kenny Omega soon. Either way, it should be nothing short of an exciting affair, complete with chaos and pure pandemonium.

Prediction: The Elite, Eddie Kingson and Tomohiro Ishii win.

SANADA vs. Jack Perry (IWGP World Heavyweight Championship)

This bout doesn't have much build beyond SANADA issuing an open challenge for his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Forbidden Door and Jack Perry accepting soon after.

Perry has no ties to NJPW and isn't a main event-caliber competitor quite yet. A heel turn might get him back on the right track and that appears to be the purpose this match is supposed to serve.

It has been heavily teased that Hook, who is confirmed to be in Perry's corner, will factor into the finish in some form or fashion. It'll either to be to cost Perry the win inadvertently, to refuse to help him cheat, or to be there if Perry needs someone to snap on afterward.

A Hook vs. Perry program is looming and Forbidden Door could be the night that kicks it off. How Perry goes about turning heel remains to be seen, but the outcome to this contest is hardly in doubt.

Prediction: SANADA retains.

MJF vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (AEW World Championship)

For AEW fans previously unfamiliar with his work, Hiroshi Tanahashi lived up to the hype with his performance against Jon Moxley for the vacant AEW World Championship at last year's Forbidden Door event.

One year later, he finds himself contending for AEW's most prestigious prize once again, this time against a much more nefarious opponent in MJF. It will be satisfying to see Tanahashi get his hands on him after all the trash he's talked about NJPW in the last year.

Much like with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match, MJF winning is essentially set in stone.

As noted, MJF and Adam Cole have been at odds as of late over the AEW World Championship. The feud needs the title to continue, whereas Tanahashi doesn't need a title to remain relevant at this stage of his career.

Even seven months into MJF's reign, several potential challengers wait in the wings and it would be the wrong time to for it end now.

Prediction: MJF retains.

Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

In a battle of two of the best of all-time, Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada promises to be a must-see show-stealer.

Okada led the list of potential opponents for Danielson when the latter left WWE in 2021. Miraculously, the match is finally happening and it's sure to be an electric environment once the bell rings.

The Rainmaker fell short of regaining the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at last year's Forbidden Door, a show Danielson had to miss for injury-related reasons. The greatness of Okada has yet to be on full display on an AEW stage, but an instant classic with Danielson would obviously change that.

This is another instance where the outcome could go either way and it wouldn't make much of a difference. Danielson is always willing to elevate others, while Okada could easily absorb the loss and it wouldn't hurt his star status in the slightest.

Danielson is bound to be busy with The Elite for the foreseeable future and Okada might be headed back after world title gold. Okada scoring the win feels like the likelier scenario.

Prediction: Kazuchika Okada wins.

Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay (IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship)

Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay's original encounter over the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 17 was every bit as exceptional as expected, and there's no telling what they'll do to top themselves in their rematch at Forbidden Door.

The gold will once again be on the line, this time with Omega as the defending champion. Ospreay has everything to gain on Sunday but will face a distinct disadvantage with the event emanating from Omega's home country in his own company.

Omega has only one title defense since January, and it was on Dynamite against Jeff Cobb. He's done nothing for the championship other than hold it hostage and it's high time it return to its rightful owner.

It's not a matter of whether Ospreay will get it back but rather when. AEW could wait until All In to have Ospreay beat Omega in front of a hot crowd in London and extend their feud even further, but Omega has other adversaries he must deal with and therefore the U.S. title is no longer a priority.

Prediction: Will Ospreay wins the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

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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.