CM Punk Vs. KENTA Reportedly Scrapped For AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023

AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door hits this weekend, and with only four matches official, the card is still highly anticipated, largely due to Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson. And for a while, it seemed as though CM Punk vs. KENTA was destined to join the litany of dream matches coming this Sunday. Alas, that one is apparently not to be.

According to Fightful Select, the idea of a Punk-KENTA match is off, with some question as to the degree of how much it was ever really on. KENTA has been adamant about the fact that he sees no reason for the match to take place, unless certain conditions were met – namely money. How much of that was a front for a match he knew wasn't going to happen remains to be seen. But, by the time, KENTA tweeted about a match between him and Punk "never happening" over the weekend, the rumored bout was already dead.

This leaves Punk's presence at Forbidden Door up in the air. Other options were being put on the table as possibilities, but the wealth of NJPW's top talent has supposedly already been set for matches of their own. While they have yet to be announced, it'd take a bit of reshuffling in order to get the returning former AEW World Champion on the card with a worthy opponent. And does this also mean that KENTA won't be involved at all in this year's cross-promotional super-show?

Matches that are planned to occur on Sunday though are "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry challenging SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, and MJF putting the AEW World Championship on the line against Hiroshi Tanahashi, though MJF has hinted he may not show up for the match. More matches for Forbidden Door are expected to be announced tonight on "AEW Dynamite," and possibly later in the week on "AEW Rampage" and "AEW Collision."