Kenny Omega and The Real Winners and Losers From AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door 2023

All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling promised a night of dream matches with AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door 2023, and this show certainly delivered on big moments.

Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay renewed their rivalry from NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, a match many had labelled as the early match of the year for 2023. They may have upstaged it in the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada collided in the ultimate dream match, a first-time collision of The American Dragon and The Rainmaker. Everyone benefited from seeing these two war.

CM Punk's first singles match since his return was a big success, defeating Satoshi Kojima. The Elite, Eddie Kingston and Tomohiro Ishii managed to work together to take down The Blackpool Combat Club and Konosuke Takeshita.

Not everyone though walked out of the night in a dream scenario. Hiroshi Tanahashi looked slow against MJF. Daniel Garcia was overshadowed by Orange Cassidy, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyori Shibata.

"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry could not even truly challenge IWGP world heavyweight champion SANADA. Willow Nightingale could not dethrone Toni Storm, but she certainly looked like a dangerous challenger throughout.

It was a night of mostly highs, once again proving the value of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. However, there were clear winners and losers coming out of the night.

Loser: Hiroshi Tanahashi

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a legend of the professional wrestling business. New Japan Pro-Wrestling would not be the company it is without him.

However, time is the greatest rival of all legends. Eventually, your body cannot keep up with the level of performance you expect of yourself in the ring.

The Ace graduated from the NJPW Dojo in October 1999, nearly 23 years old. Over 23 years later, he can no longer work with the same speed and ferocity of his peak performance.

He had a solid outing with MJF for the AEW World Championship. The champ did everything in his power to protect his challenger while playing to an excited crowd.

However, this was nowhere near where Tanahashi was even last year at Forbidden Door against Jon Moxley. At this point, The Ace has to consider a way to change his style to preserve his body.

He will soon enter the G1 Climax, a tournament he has competed in since 2002. However, this is the very first time where he could legitimately struggle. It will be an interesting story to follow in 2023 and beyond.

Winner: CM Punk

CM Punk returned to action just eight days ago, and he has quickly returned to peak performance. However, it was not until his first singles match that fans saw all that he still has to offer.

It was clear how much it meant to him to work with a legend like Satoshi Kojima, giving him respect throughout a physical battle. This was classically puroresu, a style that fit The Best in the World better than many may have expected.

The 52-year-old Kojima works a much more conservative style than the 46-year-old Hiroshi Tanahashi, but he outperformed his peer. He came off as a true icon of the business, pushing The Best in the World to his limit.

While controversy will always follow Punk, if he continues to perform at this level every time out in the ring, fans will quickly forgive the messy narrative that surrounds him.

Loser: Daniel Garcia

Daniel Garcia walked into a match of champions as the only man without gold. He wanted this more than anyone else, but he could not pull it off.

He took the pinfall and was forgotten in the aftermath where three champions faced off. In many ways, The Dragon Slayer was an afterthought in this battle of AEW and NJPW giants.

As the crowd loved to point out, Garcia is continuing to struggle with balancing his Sports Entertainment promise and his professional wrestling roots.

This all could be setting up The Dragon Slayer to fall to his farthest point before finding himself away from the Jericho Appreciation Society.

Until that time, Garcia will continue to lose in the big moments.

Loser: "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry

"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry walked into his match with SANADA, hoping to prove a point. He completely failed in that regard.

While he put on a good match with the IWGP world heavyweight champion, he never earned his opponent's respect. He pulled out some impressive moves but fell very short of an actual victory.

Perry knew he failed and was so affected by his failure that he turned heel against his only friend left, Hook.

This heel turn should help Jungle Boy get back on the right path in AEW. However, this was one of the lowest nights of his career.

Winners: Everyone Involved with The Elite vs. BCC 10-Man (Especially Tomohiro Ishii)

It is rare that a 10-man tag team match is one of the hottest matches on a wrestling PPV, but Forbidden Door used a fresh collection of wrestlers and the phenomenal BCC vs. Elite feud to absolutely deliver on that promise.

It was a wild match of constant highs. The crowd was electric for everything from Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley chopping each other to the revenge of The Elite against Konosuke Takeshita.

However, no one came out better than Tomohiro Ishii. The Stone Pittbull has had his moments in AEW, but he never got his big win on US soil until Forbidden Door.

His alliance with Kingston defined the late stage of this match, and when Ishii got his hands on Wheeler Yuta, he did not allow the 26-year-old BCC member to escape.

When the dust settled, everyone looked great. Even Shota Umino, who is still finding his footing, got more of a rub from his continued association with BCC.

Winner: Willow Nightingale

While Willow Nightingale may be the NJPW Strong women's champion, she has struggled to look like a top woman in AEW. In this match with Toni Storm though, she challenged the AEW women's champion more than anyone else has in 2023.

It took every trick in the book for Storm to escape with the win. The NJPW Strong women's champion had the best match of her AEW career.

While interference can sometimes dilute a title match, the two made the most of Saraya and Ruby Soho's involvement to sell how great Nightingale is.

Until the battle lines are even, Storm and The Outcasts will continue to win. Storm though can also continue to deliver every time out in elevating the women she fights until the faces of AEW's women's division finally choose to rally against the heels.

Winners: Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, and the Fans (As Long as Omega is Okay)

Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega walked into their rematch with the goal to somehow top their unbelievable Wrestle Kingdom 17 clash.

They did just that with a passionate crowd that loved every minute of a match that never let up despite going well over 30 minutes. They set a new standard for the match of the year in 2023.

There was a concerning spot near the end as The Best Bout Machine took a rough Tiger Driver from The Assassin. He landed straight on his head and neck.

It looked like Omega was fine to finish up the match, but it was scary all the same. Assuming both men can recover from this war in time, this feud should end as a trilogy in Wembley Stadium at AEW All In 2023.

Omega and Ospreay may be the only men that can one-up their own effort to put on the best match of 2023 again.

Winner: Bryan Danielson

Labeling any match as a dream match can set unrealistic expectations, especially when that match has to contend with the unreal Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay bout earlier in the night.

However, while Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada may not be the match of the year, it was still a very good showing from two phenomenal performers.

The Rainmaker especially had so much to live up to given his resume in Japan. Both men can hold their heads high for putting on that performance.

The night ended though with one clear victor. The American Dragon walked in and out to the sound of Final Countdown, ending the match with a clear and definitive submission.

Both companies collectively agreed to a powerfully definitive finish. This was about who was the true "best in the world", and Danielson won.

We will likely see a rematch down the line. Perhaps that is where The American Dragon will give the win back while having a fresh opportunity to compete in the Tokyo Dome.

For now though, he has been crowned as the absolute best wrestler in the world, and it is a difficult label to dispute.