Jon Moxley Awarded Fifth 5-Star Match Of His Career

The stars have been thrown around once again, and Jon Moxley has received his fifth five star rating.

On 4th June 2023, NJPW presented Dominion in Osaka, Japan. The show was headlined by Sanada successfully defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Yota Tsuji, however it was the match which preceded it that caught the eye of Dave Meltzer at The Wrestling Observer.

Jon Moxley had been making occasional appearances for NJPW in recent months, but this time he brought Blackpool Combat Club partner Claudio Castagnoli with him. They teamed with Shota Umino to take on the star-studded combination of Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii. In the end Moxley was on the losing side, as Okada hit the Rainmaker on Umino for the victory.

Meltzer’s star ratings for the show have now been released, and he’s given the six-man tag five stars. This marks the fifth five star rating of Moxley’s career, the second in two weeks after the Anarchy In The Arena match at Double Or Nothing, and his third this year. The other match was his contest against ‘Hangman’ Adam Page at Revolution.

Also on the card at Dominion was Will Ospreay, who got four stars for his match with Lance Archer to determine the number one contender for the IWGP United States Championship currently held by Kenny Omega. ‘The Aerial Assassin’ was victorious, lining up a rematch with Omega at Forbidden Door. Their original clash at Wrestle Kingdom in January earned 6.25 stars and brought Ospreay level with Misawa for having 25 five star matches to his name, the most of anyone.