Tony Khan Believes Hiroshi Tanahashi Would Make A Great AEW World Champion

With only days to go, the card for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is all but complete, headlined by two high-profile singles bouts in Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson. But there is also a match for the AEW World Championship match as MJF defends against the long-time ace of NJPW, Hiroshi Tanahashi.

While MJF has had several notable title defenses during his championship reign, there's something different about this one in particular, at least in the mind of AEW owner Tony Khan. During an appearance on the "Pacific Rim" podcast, Khan offered up reasons why.

"For any great champion in wrestling, Tanahashi is the greatest measuring stick," Khan said. "And Tanahashi, he would be a great AEW World Champion too, which makes it such an exciting matchup."

While Khan spent a lot of time talking about Japanese wrestling from the 90s, which he discovered via tape trading, he also touched upon some of the difficulties of booking a show like Forbidden Door. Among them is the limited window in which he has to use outside talent due to their responsibilities for their home promotion happening at the same time.

"I would love to have the New Japan stars here for longer, but obviously, they're running their own promotion in the lead-up to the event," Khan said. "The more they're here, the better it is for us."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Pacific Rim" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription