On this week's episode of AEW Dynamite, Bryan Danielson confirmed that he won't be competing at the Forbidden Door. He instead found the perfect replacement to face Zack Sabre Jr. at the pay-per-view.
Taking to Twitter, wrestling fans have heavily speculated that Danielson's replacement will be none other than former WWE star, Cesaro, the real-life Claudio Castagnoli.
The former United States Champion left WWE in February 2022 after his contract with the company expired.
Below are some of the best reactions to the announcement made by The American Dragon:
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Interestingly enough, some fans even speculated that ZSJ's mystery opponent might turn out to be another former WWE star, Johnny Gargano. The former NXT Champion also left the company a few months ago, as he chose not to renew his contract.
As part of his promo on Dynamite, Danielson confirmed that he won't be competing in next week's AEW Blood and Guts, as he has not been medically cleared.
The segment ended with Danielson and Sabre Jr. staring down at each other after the Suzuki-gun member made his AEW debut.
Bill Apter recently expressed his interest in a potential Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. match
Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. is officially not happening at the Forbidden Door. But that doesn't mean that the two men won't get booked against one another in the future, either in an AEW ring or an NJPW ring.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Top Story, Bill Apter admitted that he was highly interested in a potential clash between Danielson and ZSJ. He even recalled watching Sabre Jr. in action in Europe.
"I hope Bryan [Danielson] will get in there with Zack Sabre Jr. I saw him [ZSJ] in Europe several times when I was there, and when you talk about technical wrestlers, he against Bryan will be incredible."
It now remains to be seen which superstar Danielson has picked to replace him at Forbidden Door.