NJPW News

Jon Moxley’s Interim AEW Title Challenger Decided at NJPW Dominion

By Craig Ballantyne. Published 12th June 2022.
Jon Moxley in the crowd

At NJPW Dominion, Jon Moxley’s opponent for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door was decided in a clash between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hirooki Goto.

On the June 3rd episode of Rampage, recently crowned AEW World Champion CM Punk gave an emotional address where he revealed that he needed to take time away from the ring to get surgery on his broken foot.

Instead of Punk being forced to vacate the title he had won only a week earlier at Double or Nothing, it was announced that an Interim AEW World Champion would be decided at the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door supershow on June 26th.

The following edition of Dynamite saw Kyle O’Reilly win a Battle Royal and go on to face Jon Moxley in the main event to determine who AEW would send to the show. After a brutal fight between the pair, Moxley emerged victorious with a knee to O’Reilly’s head followed by a huge Paradigm Shift.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the other side of the equation would be decided at NJPW Dominion, with the company’s Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi, taking on CHAOS’ Hirooki Goto.

The bout saw Goto take control from the outset, seemingly able to counter anything Tanahashi could throw at him. While the multi-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion mounted several comebacks, Goto kept up the pressure. However, Tanahashi turned things around with Aces High and a High Fly Flow to secure his spot against Jon Moxley.

With his victory, Tanahashi has reclaimed the main event spot at Forbidden Door he thought he had already secured by challenging CM Punk before his surgery announcement.

This will be only the second time Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi have met in the ring, although it will be the first time in singles action.

On May 14th, 2022, at NJPW Capital Collision, they were part of a Fatal Four-Way Match for the IWGP United States Championship, but both men came up short. While Tanahashi walked into the bout as the US Champion, it was Juice Robinson who emerged with the title around his waist.

Read the full results for NJPW Dominion 2022.