Right now, there is a title collecting dust in New Japan Pro Wrestling. This is the IWGP United States Championship, currently held by Jon Moxley. Moxley of course, was also AEW World Champion for the bulk of 2020. However, last year on January 4th at Wrestle Kingdom 14, he beat Lance Archer to become the new IWGP United States Champion, and notched two defenses before COVID-19 hit.
NJPW has since recovered and has been running shows since the summer, and it’s already for Wrestle Kingdom 15. However, Jon Moxley won’t be there to defend his championship. Number one contender KENTA defends his title shot against Satoshi Kojima, and feels that win should make him the new IWGP United States Champion. Should NJPW strip Jon Moxley of this gold?
It’s Been Almost A Full Year Since The Belt Was Defended By Jon Moxley
If you just look at the raw data, Jon Moxley just hit 365 days as champion. That looks impressive, until you realize his last match in NJPW was back in February 2020. Obviously, this isn’t his fault. Moxley made it very clear that Japan is one of his favorite places to wrestle, and wants to keep wrestling there until he retires. However, travel was made near impossible in 2020, and that includes flying to Japan to defend his gold.
As it’s not Moxley’s fault, and he technically hasn’t missed any scheduled defenses, NJPW doesn’t have a reason to currently strip him of this championship. However, they might need to do it soon to appease KENTA.
Setting Up A Huge Match Post-Pandemic
Once the world returns to a state we can agree on as ‘normal’ once again, KENTA & Jon Moxley are going to put on a wrestling clinic. If KENTA has to wait much longer, he will come at Moxley like a feral animal uncaged. On the flip side, if Moxley gets stripped of the IWGP United States Championship again? He will not be returning to NJPW a happy man, and KENTA will face a proper lunatic.
Either way this plays out, fans will hopefully get an insane match out of it. Should NJPW strip Jon Moxley of the championship and award it to KENTA, or keep making him wait for his shot? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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