Jon Moxley and Yuji Nagata are set to clash on the 12th of May edition of Dynamite for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship!
This marks the second time that a New Japan Pro-Wrestling wrestler will compete on Dynamite. KENTA previously attacked Moxley at Beach Break, setting up a tag team match on the following episode of Dynamite. Though Moxley and KENTA did have a match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, that match took place on New Beginning USA.
Another key difference from his previous title defence is that this time, Moxley picked his challenger. Rather than make things easy for himself, ‘The Death Rider’ chose to call out the legendary Yuji Nagata:
‘Just like I said on January 4th, last year at the Tokyo Dome when I won that belt, I’m big game hunting in New Japan Pro Wrestling, I’m taking scalps from the hardest hitters in the game. I have a deep respect for the legends of this sport and I feel like things should be done in a certain way – I’m not one for ego trips and grandstanding, I’m not one for talking trash on Twitter, so I’m going to make this real simple. Nagata-san. Grab your six-shooter. Meet me outside the saloon at dawn. And we’ll see who can get a shot off first. That is…if you’re up to it.’
h/t to lastwordonsports for the transcription
Nagata is a certified legend of Japanese professional wrestling. His achievements span across the three major Japanese men’s promotions: NJPW, AJPW and Pro Wrestling NOAH. His tournament victories, to name a few, include All Japan’s Champion Carnival (2011), NOAH’s Global League (2013) and both the New Japan Cup (2007 and 2011) and the G1 Climax (2001).
Clearly no stranger to championships, Nagata has held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship twice and the GHC Heavyweight Championship once. He was also the first man to win both the New Japan Cup and the G1 Climax.
Inside The Ropes will provide coverage of the match between Jon Moxley and Yuji Nagata. You can catch up with the most recent Dynamite results here.