Jon Moxley calls out multiple Japanese legends, including UFC Hall of Famer
Current Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley wants to try and beat every Japanese legend he can think of, insisting AEW President Tony Khan brings in three in particular: Jun Akiyama, The Great Muta, and UFC Hall of Famer Kazushi Sakuraba.
Moxley headlined the recent Forbidden Door pay-per-view with Hiroshi Tanahashi in a match that had been in the making since Mox debuted for New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2019.
The former WWE star won and, in the process, became the first two-time AEW World Champion (technically). He also set up a future unification match with current champion CM Punk.
#ANDNEW #AEW Interim World Champion @JonMoxley I #AEWxNJPW #ForbiddenDoor https://t.co/5pP0WNxSy0
Punk isn't the only person Moxley has his eye on. Speaking at the Forbidden Door media scrum, Mox insisted Tony Khan attempt to bring in more Japanese stars, including Akiyama and Sakuraba:
"Eddie Kingston would like to fight Jun Akiyama. Akiyama! Hey, Eddie Kingston is looking for you my friend. If you want to bring (Kazushi) Sakuraba, too. Maybe I'll go with him. Most importantly, Jun Akiyama, Eddie is looking for you." (H/T: Fightful)
As for The Great Muta, Moxley's idea is for the legendary Japanese star to have one more outing on the same side as one of his rivals from the past: Sting.
"I'd like to see, because it's his last year, check it out, I'm going to do some fantasy booking. Six-man tag. Three dudes over here, and on this side, we have Darby Allin, Sting, and The Great Muta. How do we make that happen? How do we do it? Somebody make a call. Everybody would love to see that. Gedo would love to see that. Who wouldn't love to see that? Muta, Sting, Darby Allin. Face paint, dudes with attitudes, it'd be pretty sick. Let's try to make it happen." (H/T: Fightful)
Jon Moxley has already faced several Japanese legends in AEW
Since his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2019, Jon Moxley seems to have a checklist of stars he wants to work with. He has already checked many boxes.
During the 2019 G1 Climax tournament, Moxley faced Jay White, Shingo Takagi, and Tetsuya Naito and had a Match of the Year candidate with Tomohiro Ishii.
Jon Moxley vs. Japan is the feud of 2021
However, in 2021, he picked up the pace of ticking off his dream opponents, facing some of the best Japan had to offer.
Whether defending his IWGP United States Championship against Yuji Nagata, facing Satoshi Kojima on pay-per-view, or trying to hurt Minoru Suzuki multiple times, Moxley wanted all of Japan.
Now that he has beaten Hiroshi Tanahashi for a major championship, could Jon Moxley one day win the biggest prize in NJPW? Only time will tell!