Thekla Says She Respects Yota Tsuji’s Comments On Forbidden Door
Thekla respects Yota Tsuji’s decision to boycott this year’s Forbidden Door.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is set to take place on Sunday, June 28 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. While stars from All Elite Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, CMLL, and STARDOM are set to feature, one notable absence is IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji, who has made it clear that he has no desire to be involved.
Appearing on TMZ’s Inside The Ring ahead of Forbidden Door, AEW’s Thekla addressed Yota Tsuji’s recent comments. The ‘Toxic Spider’ said she respects his stance on the show, adding that it will be interesting to see how the partnered promotions continue to coexist moving forward.
“I’ve been seeing the comments that Tsuji has been making. And honestly, I kind of respect him for that because he’s just straight up like, ‘No, we got our own thing here in Japan.’ And he would rather have it all apart from each other. I have never been this proud to represent a company, I have to say. This is the most precious bling I’ve ever been holding as a champion. And especially with how Stardom and me, we’re not on good terms, per se. And I’ve never been that proud to represent Stardom anywhere. As I said, it’s interesting to see how it’s all gonna play out honestly because AEW and New Japan and Stardom and CMLL, I feel like we’re all in one group, one kind of family. But there’s also with comments like Tsuji is making, it’s interesting to see where we’re gonna go. Are we gonna be a happy family or is everybody gonna go their own ways? I think the Forbidden Door is there to be kicked down and burned, but also, there’s something to New Japan trying to get back on their feet just all by themselves. That’s what I think.”
-Thekla
Thekla is set to defend the AEW Women’s World Championship against STARDOM’s Starlight Kid at Forbidden Door, and should she successfully retain the title, either Mercedes Moné or Maya World could be next in line, as the pair face off in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament final for a shot at the championship at AEW All In at Wembley Stadium.
Elsewhere during the interview, Thekla said there were no comparisons to be made between her time in Japan and that of Mercedes Moné, giving a resounding no when asked about similarities between their respective runs in the country. You can read more about that here.
Regarding Yota Tsuji’s comments, IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion Shota Umino recently shared his thoughts on the matter ahead of his title defence against PAC at the show. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Yota Tsuji’s stance on not appearing at Forbidden Door as soon as we hear more.
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