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AEW Star Jon Moxley on Returning to New Japan: ‘It Makes Me Better’

The pandemic has denied him the opportunity to wrestle across the Pacific for three years. But that will change in just a few short weeks.

Justin Barrasso

Jon Moxley is headed back to Japan.

He will be on the Resurgence card Sunday in Long Beach, Calif., wrestling in a star-studded six-man tag that includes Kazuchika Okada. Then he will travel to Osaka for Dominion on June 4, which will be his first time wrestling in Japan since February 2020.

“I’m really stoked about going back to Japan,” says Moxley. “Now I don’t have to worry about going back and forth between New Japan and AEW. The working relationship is really good, and that makes it easy for me. I still work for New Japan Strong in the U.S., but it’s not the same as being over there in Japan. It’s been so long. I need it. There are still a lot of big matchups. I’m really excited about it.”

Moxley’s match at Dominion has yet to be made official, but all indications point to it being the first title defense of the NEVER openweight six-man titles for the iconic team of Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii against Moxley, Shota Umino and one other partner. (Seeing Bryan Danielson or Claudio Castagnoli in that third spot would be incredible.) Moxley will have instant chemistry with Ishii, one of the most underrated yet hardest hitting, compelling performers in the industry, and he is slowly building a feud with Okada, who is the face of New Japan.

One of the best matches of Moxley’s career took place against Tanahashi last June at the joint AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door show. Originally scheduled to be CM Punk against Tanahashi, it was changed to Moxley after an injury prevented Punk from wrestling. And the result was pure wrestling bliss: a back-and-forth, physical 18-minute affair where Tanahashi won over the crowd in Chicago, but Moxley ultimately reigned supreme.

“I’ve never watched it, and I never will,” says Moxley, sharing his affinity for the match. "It’s one of those things that was so perfect in the moment.

“I was supposed to wrestle Tanahashi many times, and it kept getting f---ed up for one reason or another. The relationship [between NJPW and AEW] wasn’t necessarily the best before, and I was in the middle of that. Then a couple years later, we’re doing a pay-per-view together, I’m in the main event, and it’s against Tanahashi, which was the last big dream I wanted. There were a lot of people who did a lot to bring that together, but I feel like I was the goddamn linchpin of the whole f---ing thing.

“It was magical. The match was so f---ing perfect. It was exactly how I envisioned it. I was in such a f---ing zone. Every single second of it was exactly how I played it out in my head. If I ever watch it back, I’ll pick apart little things because I’m my own worst critic. So that’s why I won’t. It was f---ing perfect.”

Moxley’s return to New Japan was announced during a surprise promo earlier this month at the Wrestling Dontaku show in Fukuoka. The video package aired after Okada, Tanahashi and Ishii won the six-man titles. Okada then mocked Umino, who is Moxley’s former Young Boy (the NJPW term for trainee), setting the stage for a challenge from Moxley.

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While Moxley is headed back to Japan, wrestling royalty from New Japan graces California this Sunday. Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi will return to the U.S. for Resurgence, which will also feature Mercedes Moné in action, likely in two different matches.

Tanahashi matches up against Will Ospreay at Resurgence, with the winner advancing to the finals of a tournament that determines Kenny Omega’s challenger for the IWGP United States championship in June at Forbidden Door.

Heading into the weekend, Tanahashi shared that he has recovered from an injury to his ribs suffered last month at the Capital Collision show in Washington, D.C.

“My rib injury is completely healed,” says Tanahashi. “The last thing I have to do is get my power and speed back, but I am going into Long Beach at 100%.”

Now 46, Tanahashi’s cardio will be tested Sunday against Ospreay, who is an athletic marvel. The possibility also exists that Ospreay will form a partnership with Don Callis, who previously had been in Omega’s corner.

“Will Ospreay is one-of-a-kind,” says Tanahashi. “There’s never been anyone like him, and there never will be. Ospreay has amazing speed and athletic ability, but it’s his power that worries me most. His raw strength is off the charts.”

A win for Tanahashi would take him one step closer to a rematch against Omega. They last wrestled four years at the Tokyo Dome when Tanahashi defeated Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 13 for the IWGP heavyweight title, where they deftly brought the best out of each other in an intense, physical showcase.

Following the match, Omega exited New Japan to help launch AEW. Even though his most iconic feud in New Japan was with Okada, the match against Tanahashi may have been even more spectacular of a story.

“The match with Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome show was a savage one,” says Tanahashi, speaking through a translator. “It left a bad taste in my mouth to have to wrestle that way. For Kenny, there is a chance for revenge. But I have to win the tournament first.”

Tanahashi also shares fond memories of his match against Moxley at Forbidden Door. Though it ended in defeat, Tanahashi captured the affection of the crowd with a textbook star babyface performance, and their contrast of styles meshed extremely well.

“I hold Jon Moxley in high respect,” says Tanahashi. “Moxley’s style is brutal, but there’s a beauty to his brutality. I want to wrestle him a lot more.”

Tanahashi’s request will likely be granted next month at Dominion. He is part of the NEVER openweight six-man champions, winning the gold earlier this month at Wrestling Dontaku with Okada and Ishii. But before that match can be announced, an important first step has to occur this Sunday at Resurgence when Okada faces off against Moxley for the first time in a six-man tag, teaming with Rocky Romero and Ishii against Moxley’s BCC partner Wheeler Yuta and protégé Shota Umino.

“Moxley is a wrestler with great charisma,” says Okada, speaking through a translator. “I can’t really speak to how good he is until I wrestle him, but I can definitely say that Moxley’s charisma is incredible. So yes, I’m very excited for Long Beach.”

A rift has formed with Okada over Moxley and Umino’s friendship. He has referred to Moxley as Umino’s babysitter, and he flipped off Umino at Wrestling Dontaku earlier this month.

“That was sign language for the cocky ’Young Boy’ Shota, and to Moxley so he doesn’t get too big-headed,” says Okada. “My issue is with both of them. Long Beach is only the start to this.”

Their match at Resurgence should lay the foundation for a six-man title match in June at Dominion. It serves as another reminder of how Moxley’s return to New Japan adds even more of a pulse to the upcoming months of pro wrestling. There is a certain vigor to these matches, with a hungry Moxley seeking to leave a lasting imprint there.

After playing a major role for WWE and now AEW, the opportunity to return to Japan represents a different challenge for Moxley. It is one he relishes, and he is looking forward to bringing his brand of violence back to New Japan.

“Okada, Ishii, I’m here to wrestle the best guys,” says Moxley. “I’m here to push myself. And I want to help the young guys, pushing them to be the best. Getting back to Japan and mixing it up over there, it makes me better.”

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

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Justin Barrasso
JUSTIN BARRASSO

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