Juice Robinson Set To Defend IWGP US Championship At New Japan Cup Finals

As the New Japan Cup tournament rolls on, we have yet to determine who the finalists will be.

These two wrestlers will face off for the opportunity to become the New Japan Cup 2019 winner on March 24th. The winner also earns the right to face Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. That match is scheduled for the NJPW/ROH G1 Supercard show in April.

One match, however, has been confirmed for the New Japan Cup Finals: Juice Robinson will defend his IWGP US Heavyweight Championship against Bullet Club’s Chase Owens.

Owens upset Robinson during the first round of the tournament, defeating him on March 8th. He would pick up the clean victory after executing his Package Piledriver finisher. This victory eliminated Robinson and gave Owens legitimate claim to a title opportunity — a demand Owens has made abundantly clear with frequent post-match attacks on the US champion.

After a particularly vicious assault on 3/17, wielding the US Championship itself as a weapon against Juice, Robinson has finally agreed to a matchup against Bullet Club’s ‘Crown Jewel.’

Juice Robinson defeated Cody for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 13 event in January. He would go on to successfully defend the title against Beretta during the promotion’s ‘The New Beginning in USA’ show. Juice is the only person to be a two-time NJPW US champion since the title was established in 2017.