NJPW: Jon Moxley’s IWGP US Title win signals rejuvenation

What a month for the man formerly known as Dean Ambrose, Jon Moxley.

In addition to debuting at AEW Double or Nothing, Jon Moxley made his in-ring debut as ‘The Death Rider’ in New Japan. He wasted no time in making his presence felt, Moxley defeated Juice Robinson to become the New IWGP United States Champion.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Moxley left the WWE after his final match with ‘The Shield’ on a Network special. Apr. 21 was the date and Moxley grabbed a microphone at the end of the night. He thanked the fans for his time in WWE and urged them all “to follow their dreams and push back when told you can’t do something.”

Flash forward to Apr. 30. Moxley was no longer Dean Ambrose. He left an over minute long tweet with an amazing video, proclaiming he was indeed going to return to wrestling as Jon Moxley. The question was, where would he resurface?

He surfaced in All Elite Wrestling with his old ring attire from his CZW days. He arrived with “MOX” on his jacket, a disgruntled and cocky look on his face as he strode down the aisle of the MGM Grand Arena. He laid waste to Chris Jericho, a referee and Kenny Omega before triumphantly throwing his hands up in the air. Jon Moxley was breathing fresh air, alive and free from the creativity that was withheld in his final months with the WWE.

AEW has now been greeted with incredible, passionate promos from Jon Moxley. In his early days on the independent scene, Moxley was well-known for his eclectic, fiery and unorthodox promos which would make ‘The Dark Knight’ cringe at the sound of his voice.

That man had emerged from relative obscurity and in just one short calendar month, Jon Moxley went from despondent and doleful to the most talked about talent in the professional wrestling Universe. The momentum would continue in another continent many time zones away.

IWGP U.S. champion Juice Robinson was perplexed. For about a month, vignettes would run after his matches and while he was on commentary during New Japan’s Best Of Super Junior tournament.

A man would appear in a bar with an hourglass, a knife, alcohol and a ‘Death Rider’ jacket watching Juice wrestle. As a beer bottle was shattered in the final promo with knife in tow, a man walked out of the bar ready for a brawl. The hourglass was transformed out of the logo to spell ‘MOX’. The match was officially made for June 5th as Juice Robinson would defend the IWGP U.S. championship against Jon Moxley.

The story being told was Moxley and Robinson had wrestled in an American promotion against one another. 8 years later, both men had grown into their own. Moxley as worldwide star while Juice Robinson had made a name for himself in the New Japan promotion. Juice was a completely different wrestler, no longer intimidated and in cower of Moxley. Once looked at by Robinson as a legend, Moxley was now coming into his territory and trying to take the identity and reputation that Juice had built-in New Japan.

Jon Moxley  strode to the ring in wrestling trunks. Juice Robinson walked out and revealed he had chopped off his dreads and was ready for a pure six brawl. A donnybrook ensued from the opening bell. For over 20 minutes, both Moxley and Robinson fought all over the  Ryogoku Kokugikan arena.

This was not your typical professional wrestling match and Juice assured the NJPW fans that “This would be a fight.” A very spirited affair of punches, forearms, power-bombs, chairs and tables were prominently featured throughout this melee of an IWGP U.S. championship match. This was the most physical United States title match in New Japan’s history. The crowd fully supported Juice as there were some in the crowd who were unaware of Jon Moxley and his wrestling past.

Moxley would hit his finisher ‘Dirty Deeds’ for a shocking two-count. Stunned yet focused, Moxley had the wherewithal to debut a more punishing final blow. Another, higher-angled double arm DDT known as ‘The Death Rider’ was applied in full force to the now prone Juice Robinson. Three seconds later, Jon Moxley had won his NJPW debut and in turn became the new IWGP U.S. champion. This now begs to question, what is next for the rejuvenated superstar known as Jon Moxley?

He now carries the IWGP United States championship, which means he will be making future appearances in the New Japan promotion. Moxley is set to open up the Dominion card this Sunday. He will be facing off against ‘Young Lion’ Shota Umino. Most Young Lions are fed to the wolves in their first 6-12 months of New Japan action, so we fully expect Moxley to pummel Umino in the opener at Dominion.

Moxley will also face off with Joey Janela at AEW ‘Fyter Fest’ on Jun. 29 in Daytona Beach, Florida in what is sure to feed a hardcore wrestling fan’s appetite for violence. As Moxley worded it ” He will be bringing it quick, fast and in your face. Think of it as the Amazon Prime for head trauma.”

Beyond this, Jon Moxley can go many different ways with the IWGP U.S. Championship. He is not yet scheduled for AEW’s event  ‘Fight For The Fallen’ on Jul. 13. This would clear his schedule for New Japan’s most prestigious heavyweight tournament, the G1 Climax. I fully expect to see Moxley in one of the 2 blocks squaring off with some of the best talent that New Japan has to offer.

Dream matches such as Jon Moxley vs Minoru Suzuki, Tomohiro Ishii or Hiroki Goto could take place. A rematch with Juice Robinson would be a captivating spectacle to be seen. If anyone defeats Moxley in the G1 Climax tournament, they will be rewarded with a future IWGP United States Title match. The possibilities are endless in this tournament and we the fans will be rewarded with bouts we never thought we’d see.

Jon Moxley is the hottest commodity in professional wrestling today. After being pushed to the back-burner by Vince McMahon and WWE Creative, Moxley left the company and turned the volume up to a feverish pitch. He now possesses some New Japan gold and is ready to take on all comers.

Jon Moxley is thankful for the new opportunity in the Orient, having been given the freedom to do what he does best. What he does best is kick ass, take names and entertain the crowd with a cunning and ruthless guile which made him popular in the first place.

Get ready, Japan. Jon Moxley came, seen and conquered in his debut. Now he is looking to put his stamp in New Japan laurels and become the fighting champion that the IWGP United States title has sorely needed since it’s inception.