Yota Tsuji Clarifies His Comments Suggesting Him Boycoytting AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door & Him Being Willing To Wrestle Non-Title Match In AEW

As noted before, current IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji had stated in an interview with Tokyo Sports this past June about him not being interested in defending his title at AEW and NJPW’s co-promoted Forbidden Door 2026 event and had gone as far as to suggest boycotting the event due to his lingering issues with NJPW’s partnership with AEW. Tsuji has been vocal in recent years about his dissatisfaction with the AEW and NJPW relationship over his issues with NJPW not benefiting as much from it compared to AEW. Tsuji had invited AEW CEO Tony Khan this past Summer for a round of golf between the two as a way to mend the fences.

Tokyo Sports held a recent interview with Tsuji. One of the topics discussed included Tsuji clarifying his past comments about him teasing a boycott of Forbidden Door and him being open to wrestling a match in AEW in the future but not for his IWGP Heavyweight title.

“I think many people have the impression that I boycotted the ‘Forbidden Door’ joint event in June, but I didn’t boycott it. I just don’t intend to easily have an IWGP match against a wrestler from another organization, but conversely, if it’s not a title match, I think it’s fine for me to go to AEW. If someone picks a fight with me, I’ll accept the challenge even if the belt isn’t on the line.”