Bryan Danielson Taps Out Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door 2023
Bryan Danielson has become the first wrestler to get a submission win over Kazuchika Okada since 2015 as he forced him to tap out at AEW NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 event.
Storyline
Kazuchika Okada teamed up with Tanahashi and Ishii to defeat Shota Umino and BCC’s Moxley & Claudio in a tag team match at NJPW Dominion 6.4. After the match, Moxley told Okada that he was not the best wrestler in the world and had a message from the best one. Bryan Danielson appeared on screen and stated that he was the litmus test of the best professional wrestler in the world.
Bryan challenged Okada to a match at Forbidden Door and Okada was quick to accept it. Okada even appeared on the June 21 episode of Dynamite to save Ishii from an attack by Danielson. The latter escaped the ring, but Okada sent a message by hitting Wheeler Yuta with the Rainmaker.
Live Updates
Bryan Danielson makes his entrance first on “The Final Countdown” whereas the Rainmaker Kazuchika Okada is the second one to enter the ring.
These two start things off with a handlock. They have some back-and-forth before the match picks up the pace. Okada eventually drops Bryan with a shoulder tackle. He then hits Snapmare followed by a running drop kick to send Bryan to the floor.
Okada sends Bryan into the barricade and then hit him with the boot to send him across it. Bryan replies by slamming Okada’s shoulder into the ring post.
Bryan comes with a suicide dive that sends Okada’a arm into the announce table. He targets Okada’s arm and sends him into the ring post. Back to the ring, Danielson goes to the top and jumps on Okada’s arm. Bryan puts Okada into the cattle mutation before kicking him on his triceps.
Bryan hits chops but Okada gets angry and no-sells the rest of them. Okada hits the forearm followed by a flapjack. Okada drops Bryan with a big boot, followed by a DDT for two-count. Okada knocks Bryan off with a drop kick to the floor.
Outside the ring, Okada sends Bryan across the barricade and then hits him with the running crossbody. The two get back inside, where Okada puts Bryan into a hold but the latter breaks it by sending him into the corner.
Okada picks Bryan up and hits his leg to the back of his neck for two-count. Bryan hits a missile dropkick to Okada followed by the European uppercut. Okada replies with the same move and the two continue to trade uppercuts.
Okada hits a shotgun dropkick, and Bryan replies with a German suplex. Bryan hits several running dropkicks to Okada in the corner before Okada catches up to Bryan with one of his own. Bryan counters the rainmaker but Okada catches him with a dropkick.
Okada goes for the diving move, but Bryan transforms into an armbar. Bryan then converts it into the crossface. However, Okada gets to the rope to break the move.
Bryan misses a suicide dive but ducks the Rainmaker and hits Busaika knee. Okada ducks a roundhouse kick and hits a piledriver on the end of the ramp. Back to the ring, Okada hits an elbow drop from the top rope. Bryan starts convulsing and a doctor is brought in to check on him. It was all a ruse, though and Bryan counters with Okada goes for the Rainmaker again.
Bryan hits Busaika knee for a near fall. He hits some kicks before Okada hits a dropkick. Okada hits landslide and Rainmaker but only gets a near fall. Bryan gets Okada to the mat and puts on Labell lock. Bryan puts more pressure on the injured arm and turns it into rings of Saturn to get the submission.