AEW's Jon Moxley To Defend IWGP World Title In Lumberjack Deathmatch
Jon Moxley is set to return to Japan on June 9th for NJPW Dominion in Osaka-jō Hall in Osaka, Japan. Moxley is set to defend his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Evil at the annual June event but now with an added stipulation, which could work in Evil's favor.
NJPW announced that Moxley's defense will take place under Lumberjack Deathmatch rules, meaning there will be wrestlers -likely from Evil's House of Torture and Moxley's Blackpool Combat Club- at ringside to keep the action in the ring and very little by way of rules will be enforced. Evil's House of Torture compatriots are already known for their mid-match interference, which is why Evil suggested the stipulation in the first place.
OFFICIAL
EVIL's demand for the stipulation was accepted, and his challenge to Jon Moxley's IWGP World Heavyweight title will be in a Lumberjack Match!https://t.co/xpRrCioUSU#njpw #njdominion pic.twitter.com/jd2KvrHfCv
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) June 1, 2024
Moxley is currently in his first run with the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, which he won from Tetsuya Naito in April. The match will be Moxley's 4th defense of the title, having already beaten Shota Umino, Ren Narita, and AEW's Powerhouse Hobbs in title matches. Moxley has been the target of animosity from the NJPW locker room, including his protege Umino, who believe that Moxley's part-time status with the company robs fans of the IWGP Title preview matches that are usually featured on the smaller events on the NJPW schedule.
Moxley has had a number of "World Title Eliminator" Matches in AEW, including a recent one at the Double or Nothing PPV against Konosuke Takeshita, but none of the challengers have qualified for an IWGP title match.