Jon Moxley defeated Juice Robinson on night two of Wrestle Kingdom 14, his second match in as many days, closing the book on a rivalry that has been slowly escalating since last May.
Shortly after debuting in All Elite Wrestling, Moxley arrived in a New Japan Pro-Wrestling ring for the very first time, revealed as the mysterious face behind a series of vignettes teasing someone called the “Death Rider”.
The story told was that Juice Robinson sat under Mox’s learning tree while they were in WWE developmental together, went out to the bars drinking together, and eventually the former world champion became something of a mentor to him.
Of course, then he showed up at the Best of the Super Juniors finals and beat Juice to take away his IWGP. U.S. Heavyweight title. Their second match came during the 2019 G1 Climax tournament, where Robinson actually scored an upset victory over the new champion to even their score, 1-1 a piece.
When a typhoon kept Mox from appearing at the October King of Pro-Wrestling event, NJPW officials were forced to strip him of the title. Lance Archer then beat Robinson, the #1 contender, to win the vacant belt, setting up the Texas Death Match with the “Death Rider” on night one of Wrestle Kingdom.
Moxley was not the only presence that All Elite Wrestling had at the Tokyo Dome throughout the weekend. AEW World Champion Chris Jericho defeated the “Ace” of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Hiroshi Tanahashi, in a classic match on night two, second from the top of the card.
Things aren’t quite settled yet, however. New Japan returns tomorrow for one last show, closing out the tour with the annual New Year Dash mystery event. As always, the card will remain a complete mystery until bell time, and you can expect plenty of angles and surprises to plant the seeds for 2020.
🦁WRESTLE KINGDOM 14 in Tokyo Dome🏟
4TH MATCH IWGP US HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP🤼♂️‼️ @JonMoxley (8th CHAMPION) 🆚 Juice Robinson(CHALLENGER)‼️
Watch #njwk14 NOW on https://t.co/Tj7UBJ4PjP #njpw #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/WmepKwbMHO
— njpwworld (@njpwworld) January 5, 2020