NJPW: 3 dream matches for Jon Moxley in New Japan

It’s official – Jon Moxley will debut on June 5th in Ryogoku on the final night of the Best of the Super Juniors. Juice Robinson and the IWGP US Title may be in his sights for now, but what else could be in store for Moxley once he steps foot in New Japan?

For weeks, a mysterious video has plagued Juice Robinson. Playing to live audiences after his matches, the short clip featured an unknown person sitting at a bar drinking with fellow patrons. After carving an hourglass into the bar top, the individual leaves with a broken bottle in one hand and a knife in the other.

Before wrapping up, the words “Time’s Up” display on the screen before revealing a date of June 5, 2019. With the target of the video being Robinson, questions began to circulate as to who could be behind the videos. A returning David Finlay? A debuting Chris Brookes? Someone else entirely?

It didn’t seem as though anyone had Jon Moxley pegged as a serious contender for the spot.

On May 26 in Chiba, Robinson finally had enough. After seeing the video once more while on commentary, he claimed to have an idea of who was behind the videos before hastily leaving his post prior to the main event. A clearly frustrated Robinson had enough of almost a full month of teases leading up to June 5th.

Now, just days after Moxley made his massive debut at AEW’s Double Or Nothing, it has been revealed that the previously nameless figure in the videos taunting Robinson was, in fact, Jon Moxley.

Many were unsure of what Moxley’s future would be after departing WWE. Would he take some time off to recharge before returning to the ring? Would he retire completely?

Moxley has responded with an emphatic “NO” by staking his claim in two of the biggest wrestling companies in the world over the span of a long weekend.

The question then turns to what Moxley will do with his time in New Japan and who else will be on his radar. It’s easy to pick out some dream matches when a new face arrives in NJPW. Of course, it’d be fun to see Moxley get in the ring with Tanahashi and Okada, so we’ll skip those speculative bouts for now.

Let’s dive a little deeper and discuss 3 matches that may not come to everybody’s minds immediately but probably should.

3. Toru Yano

This should be a dream match on the list of anybody coming to New Japan, honestly. While it may be easy to write Toru Yano off as a comedy act and nothing more, one needs only to look just below the surface to see just how expansive Yano’s skill set truly is. He’s a bit like Ryusuke Taguchi in that way – their comedy and silly antics often mask (and make you forget) how solid they are in the ring.

Yano’s bread and butter is comedy, of course. He has his own way of weaving fun spots into his matches whether he’s in the opening bout or in a hotly contested New Japan Cup match. What makes Yano so unique is that he can flip the switch at any moment to bounce between DVD and Curry Salesman and Technical Pro Wrestler.

Jon Moxley has the ability to dance a similar line.

It’s been no secret that, while in WWE, Moxley reportedly “hated hokey s—” as part of the Dean Ambrose character. Who can blame him? Whether it was being foiled by a ghost inside of a TV monitor (or something) or spraying ketchup and mustard on his rivals, there was no end to the number of ways WWE made Ambrose look like a goofball.

What’s also no secret, though, is that Moxley has an odd and dark sense of humor that can, and should, be tapped into every now and then.

Looking back at his career previous to WWE you can find examples of Moxley balancing comedy and seriousness. From drunkenly singing “Sweet Caroline” to extolling the virtues of fanny packs and his ability to make them work, Moxley knows how to poke fun at himself and the sport without coming off poorly.

With that same mindset, Moxley and Yano could turn out an all-time classic in a New Japan ring.

Yano, who had a notable victory over Moxley’s AEW contemporary Kenny Omega in last year’s G1 Climax, could introduce Moxley to an entirely new world in NJPW. At the same time, someone with such a steely demeanor could throw YTR completely off his game and make for some incredible interactions.

We’ve seen Yano turn it on and outsmart the wrestler’s wrestlers when in the ring with Zack Sabre Jr, SANADA, and Davey Boy Smith Jr to name a few. With a relative unknown to New Japan like Jon Moxley, would Yano’s techniques confuse Moxley to the point of victory for the trickster or lead to a Moxley breaking point?

If Moxley is unleashed on Yano at full force we could see the rise of a tormentor second only to Minoru Suzuki. And, speaking of Suzuki…

2. Minoru Suzuki

Facing off with Minoru Suzuki is a nightmare match for whoever stands across the ring from him and a dream match for everybody watching. You’d have to be seriously deranged to dream of having a match with someone so uniquely violent and dangerous, and Jon Moxley may very well be that deranged individual.

With a history going back to Combat Zone Wrestling and steeped in hardcore roots, Moxley is no stranger to throwing everything not nailed down at his opponents. If a wild Suzuki were to appear and drag Moxley through the seats and stands of Korakuen Hall? Moxley would, more than likely, feel right at home.

Suzuki and Moxley have two incredibly distinct backgrounds all built on the same foundation – causing physical harm to their opponents. The King of Pro Wrestling has a background in mixed martial arts and can stretch, crack, and snap his opponents just as easily as he can hurl them through a row of chairs.

The ability for Suzuki to wrestle literally any type of match is what makes him as exciting as it does dangerous. Just as easily as he could grapple with Jonathan Gresham, he could trade strikes with Hirooki Goto, or fight dirty with Jay White.

There are no bounds to the ways in which Minoru Suzuki can inflict punishment onto his opponents.

Can the same be said for Jon Moxley? His hardcore history is well-written. With 2 reigns as the CZW Heavyweight Champion reaching nearly 400 days, Moxley knows how to fight down and dirty.

His record boasts victories over hardcore icons like Nick Gage and Tommy Dreamer and he holds the distinction of being (hopefully!) the only wrestler to have his head attacked with an electric saw.

We also know Moxley can operate within the confines of a standard wrestling match with Triple Crown and Grand Slam honors added to his trophy case. Though he likely falls behind Suzuki’s level in grappling or MMA (and who doesn’t?), he has more than enough tricks up his sleeve to still go toe to toe with the legend.

The only question that remains, though, is simple: would Moxley and Suzuki make better friends than they would enemies? With the faction-heavy style of New Japan, the possibility remains that Moxley could find himself aligned with Suzuki-gun, Taguchi Japan, CHAOS, Bullet Club, or the main unit.

If he comes in as a wild card operating on his own, the door is wide open for Moxley to square up with literally any member of the roster – and keeping his history with dog-related men in mind, could a certain Stone Pitbull be in his future?

1. Tomohiro Ishii

Throughout his WWE run, Moxley bounced back and forth between friends and enemies with “The Big Dog” Roman Reigns. The Shield were eventually able to reconcile prior to his departure from the company, but the imagery in Moxley’s own “return to the indies” video spoke some interesting truths.

As he broke from the prison in which he was locked, Ambrose made a run for his freedom. As he did? He was chased out of the yard by – you guessed it – a big dog.

Was there a deeper meaning to the scene, or was it just a nice way to work a sweet pupper into the video? We may never know the answer, but it’s more fun to speculate anyway.

With “The Big Dog” behind him and New Japan on the horizon, there’s one angry canine on the roster who could give Moxley a run for his money. He’s one half of almost all of my personal “match of the year” candidates and one of the most under-appreciated members of the NJPW roster.

If Moxley wants to round out his run in Japan, however short or long it may be, he can’t look past an encounter with Tomohiro Ishii.

Ishii is one of the, if not the, most consistent wrestlers on the roster. His miracle-working skills pulled amazing performances out of Taichi and YOSHI-HASHI in the New Japan Cup, both feats which should earn Ishii a spot as 3 out of the 4 heads on a pro-wrestling Mount Rushmore.

Ishii can always be counted on to put on incredible, captivating matchups but always seems to fall short before he can attain the top prize in the company. While crowds are consistently behind The Stone Pitbull and he more than certainly has the ability to make a run at the top of the mountain, there simply hasn’t been an opportunity to pull the trigger on an Ishii IWGP Heavyweight Title Run.

If this is sounding somewhat familiar, it’s because Jon Moxley fit into a similar role during his WWE run as Dean Ambrose. While Ambrose did eventually find his way to the WWE Championship, it was clear that the company put more stock into his Shield brethren of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

Despite being a stronger promo and a having a more dynamic personality, Moxley was routinely shuffled to the back of the line as the threesome climbed up the card.

With 3 reigns for Reigns and 2 for Rollins and Moxley’s single reign amounting to just 84 days, you didn’t have to look too far to see who the real stars of the group were meant to be. Try as he might, Moxley couldn’t spin garbage into gold enough times for WWE to see him as the top guy.

Now, Moxley has something to prove. There seems to be no doubt that he believes in himself and is ready to become the superstar he knows he’s always been. The time is now, though, to prove to his former employers and any of his doubters exactly who Jon Moxley is and what Jon Moxley can do.

For anyone to take a beating from Ishii and survive to tell the tale helps to cement that individual as a serious threat to anyone on the New Japan roster or any other roster on the planet. To finally break free from the shackles and prison in which Moxley was so trapped, having breakout matches against men like Ishii would put him on another level.

When Moxley finally takes his first step into New Japan on June 5 at the Best of the Super Juniors finals, so many questions will hang in the balance. If he is able to walk away with Juice Robinson’s IWGP US Title, what does it mean for the future of the championship and a potential relationship between NJPW and AEW?

While AEW has turned the entire wrestling business on its head with a fantastic first outing with Double Or Nothing, Jon Moxley has shocked and surprised with the revelation that he’ll be working with both companies in under 72 hours.

What happens next month in Ryogoku and in the months leading up to AEW’s TV show on TNT will be pivotal for Moxley, New Japan, and AEW.