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Juice Robinson (2018)

164 PTS.



The phrase “biggest match of Juice Robinson’s career” was thrown around so many times in 2017 that it became a meme in of itself. It was true though! The former NXT hippie CJ Parker embarked on a journey to Japan, restarting his career as a NJPW dojo young lion and worked his way through the ranks of the company. Robinson’s rise was clear evidence of the concise and easy-to-comprehend structure of NJPW. Robinson’s career followed a clear upward path as watched a man start from the bottom and slowly but surely work their way up the ladder.

In 2018, the meme was no longer necessary as Robinson continued his upward momentum but seemed like less of a man climbing through the next level but a truly made man. Robinson took part in the 2018 New Japan Cup and made it all the way to the semifinals before losing to Hiroshi Tanahashi. The nearly 30-minute match made it clear to everyone watching that Juice was for real in 2018.

A month later, Juice received his first major NJPW title opportunity against Hirooki Goto. Though Robinson was unsuccessful in his attempt at the NEVER Openweight Title, he again proved to be someone to keep an eye on.

In July, Robinson’s big break finally came when he defeated “Switchblade” Jay White for the IWGP United States Championship. The much-maligned championship has seen its ups and downs. Regardless of what happens in the future, the title’s greatest highlight may be when Robinson, the valiant babyface with a raucous Cow Palace in San Francisco behind him, pinned White to win the title. The match featured tense moments (including White being chased around the ring by NJPW on AXS commentator Josh Barnett) but was centered around Robinson, nursing an injured hand, fighting through the pain and ultimately leaving triumphant. The emotional Robinson fed off the hot crowd throughout the match and delivered arguably the best performance of his entire career.

That injured hand would continue to be an issue for Robinson as he embarked on his second consecutive G1 Climax tournament. Robinson finished with just six points, a disappointment to some, but it was more about how he lost rather than the losing itself. Robinson was protected throughout and each losing effort was a direct result of his injured hand. The story told was that Robinson would be doing better, would be racking up wins and could be near the top of his block if not for the injured hand. The G1 Climax is filled with superstars and someone needs to eat pins. During the prior year’s tournament, Robinson was that pineater. The up and comer didn’t need those initial G1 Climax wins, he just needed to prove he belonged in the tournament. This year, Robinson entered the tournament as a champion. Thus, there needed to be a way for Robinson to take falls without diminishing the championship. Where most companies would have booked themselves into a corner, NJPW masterfully used Robinson’s injury to their benefit. Thus, Robinson’s G1 Climax losing streak did little to hurt his momentum. Later in the tournament, Robinson declared his injured hand healed, defiantly ripping off the cast and began using chops and punches from the formerly injured hand to win three matches in the tail-end of the G1 Climax.

Robinson lost the IWGP United States Championship to Cody at NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed but has a rematch at Wrestle Kingdom 13. The smart money is on Robinson to win the title back and begin what is hopefully a long and fruitful reign as champion.