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Next Jon Moxley IWGP World Heavyweight Title Defence Confirmed

By Craig Ballantyne • Published 13th May 2024
Jon Moxley posing with IWGP World Heavyweight Title at NJPW Resurgence

The next challenger for Jon Moxley’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship has been revealed.

On April 12th, Jon Moxley made history when he defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time, becoming the first man to win the WWE, AEW, and IWGP World Titles.

In the weeks since, he has shown himself to be a fighting champion, with a successful defence against Powerhouse Hobbs on AEW Dynamite, and overcoming the underhanded tactics of House of Torture to retain the gold against Ren Narita at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku on May 4th.

On May 11th at New Japan’s Resurgence event in Ontario, California, The Death Rider had his most emotional challenge yet as he put the gold on the line against his New Japan protege, Shot ‘Shooter’ Umino. The match saw Umino give his all against his mentor in a violent bout, but Moxley was able to use his veteran instincts to dodge a Death Rider DDT to hit his own version and win the match.

Afterwards, the leader of the House of Torture, EVIL, hit the ring alongside Narita and the two attacked Moxley and Umino. EVIL then declared himself the “real” champion and spray-painted Moxley’s title belt black, declaring that Moxley would be challenging him for the title.

After the show, Moxley vowed to “rid New Japan Pro-Wrestling of the scourge that is House of Torture.” Now, he could get his wish as NJPW has announced that EVIL will challenge him for the title at Dominion on June 9th in Osaka Jo Hall.

Jon Moxley Working On “Handshake Deal” With NJPW

Surprisingly for an IWGP Title-holder, Jon Moxley has revealed that he is on a “handshake deal” with New Japan. The star explained in a recent interview that he had an initial six-month contract with the company when he first wrestled for them in 2019, but since then they have been working less formally.