Hiroshi Tanahashi Says He’ll Be the Star of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, Talks Coining the Term

Hiroshi Tanahashi is walking into his interim AEW World Championship match at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door believing he’ll be the star of the PPV. Tanahashi spoke with Sports Illustrated ahead of his match with Jon Moxley for the interim title at Sunday’s crossover PPV and talked about coining the phrase “Forbidden Door” and more. You can check out a couple of highlights below:

On coining the term ‘Forbidden Door’: “I will be the star of Forbidden Door. I mean, I did think of the name after all. When I first used the term, it was three years ago, and AEW had really only just gotten started. I don’t think anyone really knew how they would develop, but they had some great talent behind them, and I knew we would be onto something great if we crossed over. So coining that phrase, it was my way of putting things into the universe.”

On his match with Jon Moxley at the PPV: “If it’s up to him, this will get wild. But I’m expecting that. I can fight fire with fire. He’s a good bit bigger than me, and he has a reputation for being a street fighter. But he’s really precise with every little thing he does. Moxley rarely makes mistakes, and I respect that about him.”