Jon Moxley Considered Not Wrestling For Years But Cody Recruited Him To AEW
Photo Credit: Giorgio Reyes / 101 WKQX
Fightful had the opportunity to sit down with Jon Moxley recently and discuss a variety of topics ranging from considering taking time off to why he ultimately decided to come to AEW. See the highlights below.
H/T & Transcription credits to Fightful.
On considering working independently under a mask when leaving WWE:
I didn’t have a real clear vision of where my career was gonna go when I was leaving. I kinda thought I would take myself off Broadway, so to speak for a while. I didn’t even have a clear vision for myself. I figured I’d disappear and go off the grid, and wrestle in Japan or somewhere else. Or put a mask on and do indies. I have no idea. I had no idea. I didn’t have a set plan. I kinda wanted to go wherever the wind took me and the timing of AEW popping up at the exact same time.
On Cody Rhodes recruiting him to join AEW:
Cody Rhodes had the initial conversation with me. For years we worked together in WWE and obviously I’ve been friends with—was friends with Jericho before he stabbed me in the eye. Things took a turn for the worse real quick there. Even back then I knew that Jericho ain’t stupid. He’s always got his finger on the pulse. He’s one of the smarter guys and if he was gonna take a chance that this is for real, and risk his reputation and his time and he believed in it, it seemed like that was a sign that this could be for real.
On why he was so specific about what he wanted before signing a deal with AEW:
There’s so many things over the years that have popped up like, “This is gonna be the new thing!” and it lasts for a couple of years. “Money Marks” or whatever would start a promotion and it’s around for a little while and then goes in the tubes,” Moxley said, with Lucha Underground, Wrestling Society X, Global Force Wrestling, Ring Ka King, XWF, Pro Wrestling Retribution and others serving as examples since the closing of WCW. “You hear a lot of promises. So, even the first time to AEW and the top secret TV deal nobody knows if we’re gonna get yet, I’m like, “Is that for real?” So, I was like, “Okay, if this is all for real and this is how I see my career going and things I want to do, then I’m on board.
On why he thinks the move to AEW ultimately paid off:
Just to be on the forefront of the cusp of something new is really cool. Like I said, the fans can feel the energy, they feel that they’re apart of something new. There’s so much positive energy, the other day on the boat, all the fans were like hugging and high fiving each other. It’s kind of like ECW, but the opposite. There’s not like fueled by vitriol or hatred at all. It’s just positivity. It’s almost like people are starting to realize, “Oh, you like wrestling, too? So, do I!” The world is so much more in communication with each other now today with social media and so forth. So, now everybody, whether they’re coming out to an AEW show or on the Jericho cruise or whatever, they can be part of a community and it’s cool.
The full interview can be seen below courtesy of Fightful.
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