In the finals of the first-ever New Japan Cup USA Tournament, former WWE Superstar KENTA defeated David Finlay and earned himself a shot at the IWGP United States Championship in the process. For his next big match in New Japan Pro Wrestling, KENTA will now be facing his former WWE colleague Jon Moxley.
On course to winning the New Japan Cup USA, KENTA defeated the likes of Karl Fredericks and Jeff Cobb, and eventually got the job done for himself in a huge win over David Finlay to earn himself his first-ever match against The Death Rider.
Jon Moxley's run as IWGP United States Champion
Jon Moxley reclaimed the IWGP United States Championship at this year's Wrestle Kingdom 14 when he defeated his current AEW colleague Lance Archer in a brutal Texas Death Match.
Ever since returning to Japan, Moxley has been engaged in a feud against the Suzuki Gun faction and after putting away Lance Archer at the Tokyo Dome, not only did The Death Rider defeat Juice Robinson but also successfully defended his strap against Minoru Suzuki.
Prior to the on-going global pandemic, Jon Moxley was set for a feud against another Suzuki Gun member in Zack Sabre Jr. after the latter had attacked the reigning IWGP US Champion. But, that match never came to fruition, as Moxley was forced to head back to the US, while ZSJ was stuck in Japan.
With Moxley's next contender stuck at The Land of the Rising Sun, NJPW decided to postpone the feud between The Death Rider and The Technical Wizard, and instead decided to come up with the idea of the NJ Cup USA. The tournament featured several top Superstars from the New Japan roster who are currently working in the US and amid the several Bullet Club members in the tournament, it was KENTA who eventually walked out with the crown.
When can we expect KENTA vs Jon Moxley?
As things stand, we do not know when Jon Moxley will be officially returning to New Japan Pro Wrestling. However, it is expected of him to defend the IWGP US Championship on American soil against KENTA, which is a very interesting move given he also works for All Elite Wrestling and is the reigning AEW World Champion.