NJPW: 3 dream matches for Jon Moxley in New Japan

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.