AEW’s Death’s Door cage match was already chaotic enough, but apparently, one major name was supposed to be in the middle of it.
While speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that Tomohiro Ishii was originally planned for the 12-man steel cage match at Forbidden Door. The problem was simple: Ishii was not medically cleared in time, so AEW had to switch gears and put Konosuke Takeshita in his spot.
“The original card that we got — the guys who were on the card but did not end up on the card — included Tomohiro Ishii.”
Meltzer said Ishii would have taken Takeshita’s place in the Death’s Door match, which explains why AEW moved Takeshita vs. Ricochet to Dynamite instead of keeping it on the pay-per-view.
“I can tell you he would have been in place of Takeshita. I presume Takeshita and Ricochet would have been on the card, but they moved it to TV because Takeshita was in the main event.”
That also explains the angle around the Conglomeration heading into the cage match. AEW needed a reason for Ishii to be out, and according to Meltzer, the real issue was that he just was not ready.
“Ishii was going to be in, but he did not get cleared in time. That’s why they did that angle. It was an explanation for why the Conglomeration was going to be in the cage match, but he wasn’t ready. So he was going to be on the card.”
The Death’s Door match still delivered plenty of insanity, with Team Briscoe and Team DCMJF tearing through tables, thumbtacks, ladders, hockey gear, orange slices, and even an NES console before Mark Briscoe scored the win. Tony Khan later revealed Mike Mansury pitched the round cage idea, and Khan said he would love to bring the structure back.
Still, Ishii being part of that match would have given it a very different flavor. Takeshita ended up fitting right into the chaos, but AEW’s original plan had the Stone Pitbull locked inside Death’s Door instead.
What do you think about Tomohiro Ishii originally being planned for AEW’s Death’s Door cage match? Would you have preferred him over Takeshita? Let us know in the comments below.
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