Following the shocking return of Jon Moxley to NJPW on the latest episode of Strong, the company has set the date for his long-awaited IWGP United States Championship defence against KENTA.
Moxley made an impact when he returned to an NJPW ring earlier this week, laying out the number contender to his championship, KENTA, with a Death Rider DDT. Following the attack, he told an unconscious KENTA, “We’re gonna get it done however we gotta get it done”, referring to a match that has been months in the making. Now, NJPW has confirmed that it will happen on February 26th, in the main event of New Beginning USA 2021. This will be the first time Moxley has competed in a match for NJPW on US soil.
KENTA, who has repeatedly called out Moxley over the last few months, took to Twitter to respond to the news, simply saying, “Finally”.
Jon Moxley has not competed in NJPW since February 9th, 2020, when he successfully defended the US Championship against Minoru Suzuki at New Beginning in Osaka. He is now the longest reigning US Champion in the company’s history.
KENTA won the briefcase guaranteeing him a match for the championship back in August 2020 in the New Japan Cup USA tournament. Since then, he has defended the briefcase against the likes of Juice Robinson, Satoshi Kojima, and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
You can watch New Beginning USA 2021 on NJPW’s streaming service, NJPW World.