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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.
#4 Jon Moxley vs Shingo Takagi - G1 Climax 29, 2019
Shingo Takagi wasn't the only Los Ingobernables de Japon member Jon Moxley faced in the G1 Climax 29, as not only did the latter face Tetsuya Naito, but also picked up a huge win over the reigning IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, last year.
However, Moxley's match against Takagi was one of the finest matches the former has ever delivered in a pro wrestling ring. The reigning IWGP US Champion mostly used his brawling style throughout the match but what made the bout even more special was the usage of their technical abilities.
Takagi, of course, started off in the Jr. Heavyweight Division in NJPW but made quite the transition to the Heavyweight Division. And during his transition period, the LIJ member almost made a habit of putting up classic matches, every time he took to the ring.
That was also the case for Takagi when he stepped foot into the squared circle against 'The Death Rider', as the latter made the former NEVER Openweight Champion tap-out to the Cloverleaf for the win.
#3 Jon Moxley vs Minoru Suzuki - New Beginning in Osaka, 2020
In the lead-up to Jon Moxley's second reign as IWGP US Champion, the AEW Superstar engaged himself in a feud against the Suzuki Gun faction and took aim at the group's leader Minoru Suzuki.
Moxley's initial rivalry was with Suzuki's fellow stablemate Lance Archer. However, on December 9, when Moxley made his return to NJPW, he attacked both Archer and put Suzuki away, as well.
At the time, fans seemed more focused on the Moxley vs Archer rivalry but at Wrestle Kingdom 14, Minoru Suzuki stepped up to 'The Purveyor of Violence' and ignited a brawl with the latter at the Tokyo Dome. This eventually led to a match between Mox and Suzuki at NJPW: New Beginning in Osaka, in a contest that was an excellent brawl and consisted of nothing which was done over the top.
Of course, both Moxley and Suzuki are known for their brawling styles and therefore, the duo perfectly clicked when they stepped into the ring against each other. MOX eventually walked away as the winner when he put away Suzuki via the Paradigm Shift.
The win also prevented Suzuki from becoming 'The King of the US', as Moxley retained the IWGP US Championship over the Suzuki Gun leader.
#2 Jon Moxley vs Lance Archer - Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night 1, 2020
This year's Wrestle Kingdom 14 featured a Texas Deathmatch between two current AEW Superstars, as Jon Moxley challenged Lance Archer for the IWGP US Championship at the biggest annual NJPW event.
Moxley was forced to vacate the IWGP US Title in the first place, due to traveling issues after he failed to make it to Japan from the US amid the Typhoon Hagibis last year. However, in the closing stages of 2019, Moxley made his return to The Land of the Rising Sun and put Archer on notice, claiming that he was coming back for the title he never lost.
With Archer having beaten Juice Robinson at King of Pro Wrestling 2019 to win the strap, 'The Murderhawk Monster' accepted Moxley's challenge to a Texas Deathmatch at Wrestle Kingdom 14 and the match was exactly what you would've hoped for.
The match had its fair share of hardcore spots for both men, with Archer using his sheer strength to brutalize Moxley and the two men ended up producing a fun brawl that occurred all over the iconic Tokyo Dome. One of the highlights of the match was when Moxley decided to put Archer through a table in the closing minutes and regained the IWGP US Championship in style.
#1 Jon Moxley vs Tomohiro Ishii - G1 Climax 29, 2019
Tomohiro Ishii is arguably one of the hardest hitting men in all of professional wrestling today and at last year's G1 Climax, Jon Moxley got a taste of it. Moxley entered the G1 Climax in the hope of exploiting the differences in style of pro wrestling.
Being the experienced campaigner that he is, Ishii has shared the ring with pretty much all of the big names from the New Japan roster but this was probably the first time he was getting into the ring with someone as wild as Jon Moxley.
The match itself was one of the highly-awaited clashes from last year's G1 and it was also a Champion vs Champion bout, with Moxley entering with the IWGP US Championship and Ishii walking in as the NEVER Openweight Champion.
Now, getting down to the bout, Moxley's hardcore style certainly let the best out of Ishii and 'The Stone Pitbull' also used the strong style to his advantage. The two men brutalized each other and the usage of foreign objects also added an extra bit of flair to this contest.
An absolute war, if you ask me, and to this day, this definitely remains as one of Jon Moxley's best performances inside a squared circle.
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