Will Ospreay Beats Kenny Omega, Wins US Title at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023

Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega at the second annual AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event on Sunday to become a two-time IWGP United States heavyweight champion.

The two of them wrestled for close to 45 minutes in a hard-hitting affair that will definitely be in consideration for the match of the year.

Omega and Ospreay have long been considered two of the most dynamic in-ring workers in the world, and while their paths crossed many times in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, it wasn’t until earlier this year that they had their first singles match against each other in the promotion.

Before that, the only time they ever went one-on-one was at a PWG show in 2015.

At Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January, Omega made his NJPW return, wrestling his first match for the promotion since leaving New Japan to help form All Elite Wrestling in 2019.

Ospreay put the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship on the line against Omega then, and The Cleaner was victorious in a contest that has been widely regarded as a 2023 Match of the Year contender.

Omega has largely been focused on his work in AEW rather than defending the U.S. title since then, but NJPW held a tournament to determine his opponent at Forbidden Door.

Ospreay defeated AEW’s Lance Archer in the finals at Dominion on June 4, cementing his rematch against Omega.

One year ago, Ospreay was part of one of the most entertaining matches on the inaugural Forbidden Door card, successfully defending the U.S. title against Orange Cassidy. But Omega was unable to compete due to injury, leaving the show without one of its biggest potential draws.

This time around, Omega was healthy and good to go, but Ospreay got the better of him and will take the IWGP U.S. title back to Japan.

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