Three New Matches Added To AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door Zero Hour

With AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door mere hours away, the card is shaping up to be a fitting successor to last year's groundbreaking event. While the majority of the card had been announced in the lead-up to last night's episode of "AEW Collision," three matches for this year's Zero Hour pre-show were announced during the main event of the show.

First, a singles match is set to join the previously announced first-round match in the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament between Athena and Billie Starks. NJPW star and former Bullet Club member El Phantasmo will face Dark Order founder Stu Grayson in a first-time meeting between the two Canadians. This match will mark Grayson's first appearance at an AEW event in three months, with Stu primarily competing in Ring of Honor since making his return to the Tony Khan-led companies in March.

Along with those singles bouts, two trios matches will complete the Forbidden Door Zero Hour this year. Strong Style's El Desperado will forge an uneasy alliance with Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero of CHAOS to battle The Mogul Embassy's Toa Liona, Bishop Kaun, and Swerve Strickland. Desperado, who, alongside Yoshinobu Kanemaru, lost to Swerve and Keith Lee at last year's event, is seeking revenge on the Mogul Embassy leader in this bout.

Lastly, Los Inogobernables De Japon and The United Empire will meet on the pre-show. While their respective faction leaders prepare for their main card matchups, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, and Shingo Takagi will face Kyle Fletcher, Jeff Cobb, and TJ Perkins. While this will mark LIJ's first appearance as a group in AEW, the United Empire has had a frequent presence on AEW and Ring of Honor this year, with Kyle Fletcher and the currently injured Mark Davis signing with AEW last month.