Source: f4wonline.com
Due to what Dave Meltzer described as "a minor political timing snag," Jon Moxley will not be facing Hiroshi Tanahashi at next month's AEW All Out.
It was believed the reigning IWGP U.S. Champion was the front-runner to face the former AEW and IWGP U.S. titleholder after
Moxley had talked to Tony Khan about an idea to face a top New Japan wrestler at the pay-per-view followed by a promo Moxley cut on Tanahashi on a late-July Dynamite.
However,
Tanahashi was booked to defend against Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo on September 4th. While it would be possible for him to fly to Chicago for the AEW event the next day, Meltzer reported in this week's
Wrestling Observer Newsletter that some other factors are at play.
"The reason Jon Moxley went hard on Hiroshi Tanahashi in his promo a few weeks ago and never mentioned his name in this week’s promo while mentioning a ton of other names is because the match was supposed to be imminent and that is no longer the case. Basically, things changed from the New Japan side and the match will probably happen but not just yet. Most likely, the idea would be for a Moxley win and right now New Japan didn’t want Tanahashi to lose based on whatever it is they have planned for the U.S. title," he wrote.
It's unknown what the plan is for Moxley at All Out at this point.
