Hiroshi Tanahashi wants CM Punk to step through the Forbidden Door and wrestle in Japan.
On the June 1 episode of AEW Dynamite, Tanahashi confronted the AEW World Champion when the fan-favorite wondered who he’d be facing at the Forbidden Door supershow. Two days later, Punk announced that he was injured, so he’ll be out of action for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, AEW will crown an interim champion, and part of the process in doing so will run through NJPW; Tanahashi will face at Dominion on June 12, and the winner will battle AEW’s representative at Forbidden Door.
In an interview with Tokyo Sports, which was translated by golden_kuma, Tanahashi noted that Punk owes him one, so he invited him to Japan so he could wrestle at the promotion’s biggest show of the year.
“1.4 Wrestle Kingdom,” said Tanahashi. “Punk owes me one. I’d like to invite him to Japan. I’ve been to the US a lot, so come here with a special price. Tokyo Dome is a prestigious stage.”
The NJPW star also noted that he believed the decision to keep the proper world championship on Punk is “overprotective.”
“I think it’s overprotective,” Tanahashi said. “If it were in Japan, you would give up the belt normally. Or maybe he will come back in a short period of time.”
For now, the dream bout between Punk and Tanahashi will remain just that. Fans will have to wait and see whether the two stars will clash at some point down the road.
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