Jon Moxley Beats Taichi in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Climax 29

Jon Moxley kicked off Block B action in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Climax 29 with a win over Taichi at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo on Saturday.

The match marked the first of many first-time-ever bouts that Moxley is set to experience throughout the G1 tournament.

It hasn't taken long for Moxley to make an impact in New Japan on the heels of his departure from WWE. In his first match for the promotion, Mox defeated Juice Robinson to win the IWGP United States Championship.

After beating Shota Umino in his second NJPW match at Dominion, Moxley announced his intent to enter the G1 Climax, making him one of the biggest names in the entire tournament.

While Taichi may not be as world renowned as Moxley, he is a veteran performer who has been a major player in New Japan for much of his career. The 39-year-old is a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team champion and two-time NEVER Openweight champion.

Taichi has never gotten much of a look as a main event-caliber guy in New Japan, but he had a chance to prove he belongs on that level in Saturday's match against Moxley.

Since Moxley is under contract with All Elite Wrestling, his time with NJPW is expected to be relatively brief. Once AEW's weekly show begins airing on TNT in the fall, Moxley will likely be exclusive to AEW.

Because of that, NJPW has a limited amount of time to get the most it can out of Moxley, and putting him in the G1 Climax is an ideal way to set up a bunch of dream matches.

Moxley vs. Taichi wasn't necessarily a dream match, but it was a contest that seemed unlikely to ever happen given Moxley's lengthy tenure in WWE as Dean Ambrose.

Now that Moxley has a win under his belt in the G1 Climax, he will turn his attention to Jeff Cobb, who he is set to face in Hokkaido, Japan, on Monday.

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