Jon Moxley points out a big similarity between himself and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion caused by the pandemic
Jon Moxley has claimed that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a similar situation both for him and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Tetsuya Naito.
In January 2020, Jon Moxley won the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Lance Archer at Wrestle Kingdom 14. On the same show, Naito also defeated Kazuchika Okada on Night 2 to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title.
In the recently released part three of his interview with NJPW, Jon Moxley opened up on how the pandemic has affected both his and Naito's title reign in almost a similar manner.
The reigning IWGP US Champion claimed that with NJPW running shows with no audience, the new World Champion literally became the definition of a champion who wasn't capable of drawing fans.
At the same time, MOX believes that while it's a terrible position to be put in, it also shows that both the company and the fans lean on the newly-crowned Superstar. Here's what Moxley said:
"You know Naito is going through the exact same thing that I was. Freshly win the world title, I guess he won in January and I would've just weeks later in February, and then all this happened. Then you know, we're running no shows and then empty arena shows. You know, so you go from 20,000 people to nobody and you're like the new world champion and then you're like, 'Okay, so I'm literally the definition of a champion who can't put a**es in seats.' Because we're not allowed to have a**es in seats, so like that sucks, that's a terrible position to be put in but at the same time, and I'm sure he felt the similar way like, you got to this position because you know the company and the fans lean on you and put you in this positon or you know you can take it a step further and you might be able to inspire people."
What's next for Jon Moxley in NJPW?
Jon Moxley will be putting his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship on the line against KENTA in his next title defense. The reigning champion will face the Bullet Club star on NJPW Strong as part of the New Beginning in USA tour.