Jon Moxley could be set to take on Kazuchika Okada in a dream match soon, hinting towards a huge bout in New Japan Pro Wrestling for the pair.
Following their six-man tag team at Dominion 6.4, the stage is set for one of the biggest collisions in AEW & NJPW history, as a former AEW Champion clashes with a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
At Dominion 6.4, Jon Moxley teamed with Shota Umino and fellow Blackpool Combat Club member Claudio Castagnoli to take on Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiri Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
The Japanese trio held the NEVER Openweight Six-man Tag Team Championships, defending the belt for the first time against the mix-and-match trio.
While Moxley has a long relationship with Umino (whom he affectionately refers to as “Shooter”) and currently teams with Castagnoli in AEW, this combination of wrestlers had never fought together before.
The team of the BCC and Shota Umino lost the match, after Okada pinned Shota Umino following a Rainmaker.
In the post-show press conference, Moxley confirmed that the team would return to New Japan, and claimed that Okada tampered with his residency card to avoid wrestling him.
I wanna wrestle again. I got f***ing plans.
I’ve got a residency card, I know Okada has been f****** with the visa thing and trying to get our shit stopped up.
But I’ve got the card now, and I’ll come back whenever the f*** I want.
Thank you Japan.
This lack of experience went some ways to explaining their loss in the match, but it was not the only “first” in the bout.
Jon Moxley and Kazuchika Okada had never wrestled each other before. Their paths in NJPW had only crossed in tag team matches, where they had teamed together twice before.
The first was in 2020, when the pair teamed together in a loss to Suzuki-Gun. Their next match was two years later in a 12-man tag team match.
Dominion 6.4 was the first time they faced off in the ring, and set up a huge singles match down the line for the pair, although not at Forbidden Door.
Jon Moxley Could Beat Kazuchika Okada “In 8 Minutes”
The build for Jon Moxley vs Kazuchika Okada began before the match even began.
After a match at NJPW on May 23rd, Jon Moxley called out Okada, calling him “really good” and maybe “the greatest ever”, but warned that most people are scared of the idea of Okada and that he could beat him.
Moxley then claimed he could beat Okada in 11 minutes, before changing his mind to 8 minutes. He then teased the match happening in the future, claiming they’d wrestle “one of these days”.
“45, 35, 55, 60 minute matches? These guys are afraid of him. They let him stay in the game! 60 F**** Minutes!”
“I could beat Okada in 11 minutes…no, wait…8 minutes! It would take me 8 f****** minutes to beat Okada! One of these days, we’re going to put that to the test.”
Given that it’s unlikely Moxley would cut a promo to build to a match that is not happening, it seems set that Jon Moxley vs Kazuchika Okada will take place in the future.
While the match has not been confirmed, it is likely it will take place at a New Japan Show. With Okada busy in the G1 Climax until mid-August, the match could place in a show between then and Wrestle Kingdom 18, or even in the Tokyo Dome itself on January 4th.