Jon Moxley Upset by Juice Robinson, Fails to Win Block B in NJPW G1 Climax 29

In a rematch of their IWGP United States Championship bout, Juice Robinson upset Jon Moxley on Sunday at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

With the loss, Moxley's losing streak extended to four in a row, and he ended Block B action with 10 points. As a result, he was eliminated from contention for Monday's final when Jay White beat Tetsuya Naito in Sunday's main event. White will fight Block A winner Kota Ibushi on Monday.

Evan S of SEScoops.com noted:

"Moxley put Juice in a long chinlock, and the referee was about to call for the bell before Juice pulled on his leg to stop him. Angered by the referee's refusal to make the decision, Moxley began throwing weapons in the ring. Losing his cool gave Juice the opportunity to fire back with punches followed by the Pulp Friction to pin Jon Moxley."

NJPW World provided highlights from Moxley vs. Robinson:

Moxley entered the day in a four-way tie for first place in Block B. While he held the tiebreaker over Naito by virtue of his victory over him, both White and Hirooki Goto had the tiebreaker over Moxley.

While Robinson was already eliminated entering Sunday's match with just six points, he had plenty of incentive. For starters, he had an opportunity to play spoiler and ruin Moxley's chances to reach the G1 final. Also, since Robinson dropped the IWGP United States title to Moxley, a win might have put him in line for a rematch.

Moxley initially appeared poised to run away with Block B, as he won each of his first five matches against Taichi, Jeff Cobb, Tomohiro Ishii, Shingo Takagi and Naito. Moxley hit the skids after that, though, and saw his lead evaporate.

After losing by count-out to Toru Yano and getting pinned by both White and Goto, Moxley entered Sunday knowing he likely needed a win and for the other matches to work in his favor.

Since Moxley is set to leave NJPW soon to focus on All Elite Wrestling—beginning with All Out on Aug. 31 and continuing when AEW on TNT debuts in October—there are likely few opportunities left for him to compete for New Japan.

That created some doubt with regard to how Sunday's match would play out. A win would have potentially allowed Moxley to compete in the G1 final, while a loss likely would have eliminated him and forced him to shift back to the U.S. title scene.

Sunday's loss knocked Moxley out of the G1 Climax, but he still has plenty to accomplish in NJPW, and another bout against Robinson with the IWGP United States title on the line may be in the cards.

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