5 Best Jon Moxley matches in NJPW so far
It's been a year since Jon Moxley FKA Dean Ambrose marked his farewell from WWE. The former WWE Champion ended his eight-year run with the promotion and within a month after his departure, the former Dean Ambrose had announced the return of Jon Moxley, the legend of CZW and Deathmatch Wrestling.
On May 25, Moxley made his first appearance since his WWE departure, as he ended All Elite Wrestling's first-ever pay-per-view, Double or Nothing by attacking Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, and marked his arrival in the newly inaugurated promotion.
However, as it turned out, that wasn't the only surprise that Moxley had in store for us, as the very next day, he revealed himself as 'The Death Rider', the man who had tormented then-IWGP United States Champion, Juice Robinson for weeks.
On June 5, 2019, Moxley made his New Japan Pro Wrestling debut, and having already targeted Robinson for weeks, the former WWE Champion got a crack at the IWGP US Championship in his first match at The Land of The Rising Sun.
In the finals of the Best of the Super Juniors, 2019, Moxley won the IWGP US Championship by beating a man with whom he was very familiar with, that is, Juice Robinson. Robinson, during his time in WWE, was known as CJ Parker and spent his valuable time leaning in the company's developmental brand alongside Moxley.
It has now been a year since Moxley marked his New Japan debut and within the past year, 'The Death Rider' has had his ups and downs in the promotion, mostly ups, to be honest. The reigning AEW Champion entered his first G1 Climax Tournament, defeated the likes of Taichi, Ishii, and Tetsuya Naito. He was even forced to vacate the IWGP US Title due to a cyclone but earlier this year, MOX reclaimed his belt and became a two-time champion.
With that being said, in honor of Jon Moxley's 1-year anniversary with NJPW, I've decided to take an in-depth look at 5 of Moxley's best matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling so far.
#5 Jon Moxley vs Juice Robinson (IWGP US Championship) - Best of Super Juniors Final, 2019
Jon Moxley's debut match in New Japan Pro Wrestling against Juice Robinson certainly helped him a lot in order to get off to a solid start in the promotion. However, the bigger factor here was Moxley's terrific performance was recognized by the Japanese audience and the former WWE Superstar became an instant hit, courtesy of his debut match.
The match itself was a brutal contest and Moxley made history by winning a championship in his first-ever match under the New Japan Pro Wrestling banner. That, of course, was Mox's first match against Juice, as the reigning IWGP US Champion faced 'The Flamboyant' in a rematch at the G1 Climax 29.