CM Punk is set to face Satoshi Kojima at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2 in the first round of the Owen Hart Memorial Tournament.
Fightful Select reported that KENTA vs. Punk was planned for the event, but the bout ended up not happening. KENTA went on social media for weeks and asked for THE BAG to take the match.
Asked during the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door media call about Punk potentially facing KENTA at the event, Tony Khan said, "As for anybody else that was allegedly going to be involved or allegedly rumored, I can't really comment to that."
He did, however, praise the bout between Kojima vs. Punk.
"This is a great hard-hitting match and this is the match I want to see. I thought it was very fitting that one of the most decorate champions in the history of Japan, Satoshi Kojima, who has been the GHC Champion, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, the Triple Crown Champion. To have one of the most decorated heavyweights ever in Japan come here and wrestle one of the most decorated heavyweights in America, CM Punk, it's a huge matchup. Kojima, for us, is an amazing get. He was involved in All Out 2021 and had a great match with Jon Moxley. I love working with Kojima and he was somebody I really wanted to bring back for this event. For me, personally, Kojima versus Punk is a match I always wanted to see. They both always wanted to wrestle each other. It's a great match for us on the card," he said.
Elsewhere during the interview, Khan commented on CM Punk's "run a business" line from AEW All Out 2022. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Fans can check out the lineup for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door by clicking here.
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