Jon Moxley signaled a new era when he dethroned Bryan Danielson for the All Elite Wrestling World Championship. October’s WrestleDream event turned into a nightmare as the newly anointed title holder was not satisfied with just ending the full-time in-ring career of the “American Dragon.” In a disturbing scene, Moxley led a violent attack on Danielson that saw his follower Wheeler Yuta suffocate the beloved star with a plastic bag.
This was the statement made by the Death Riders as they turned the company and TV shows upside down. Moxley has waged war against many popular faces within the company including Darby Allin. The brawler turns his attention next to another fan favorite and AEW steward in Orange Cassidy. The normally fun-loving man of few words in blue denim took a darker more serious turn in black. Cassidy goes into the main event of Full Gear against Moxley wanting to not only take the gold but get revenge for what his crew did to best friend Chuck Taylor’s neck.
Before the big match, we caught up with Moxley to talk about the recent developments, the upcoming title battle, and how he will do whatever it takes for AEW to succeed.
Lee South/AEW
How much of what we’re seeing on TV is how you truly feel about the company?
Jon Moxley: It’s very real. I’ve never been much of a putting-on-act kind of wrestler. Everything is always informed by where I’m at in real life outside the ring. I do take inspiration from all corners of the universe and funnel it through. At this point when it comes to my career and life, I just have no time for bullsh*t anymore. I don’t have time to beat around the bush. I’m not necessarily alone in my thoughts and feelings. My feelings and motivations are quite ubiquitous throughout AEW. I’m just the one verbalizing it and getting to move it into action. Though I can’t do it by myself.
How do you look back at beating Bryan Danielson? A pretty big deal to be the man to beat him for the AEW Championship as his last opponent of his full-time career.
It’s easy to get emotionally attached to a match with Bryan Danielson. One of my best friends and training partners and a guy I’ve been down the literal and proverbial roads with all around the world for years. There was an objective that needed to be completed. He had to be taken off the board as part of the big picture. He was a thing on a checklist. There was no way I was walking out of the building without getting the job done. I don’t have time to feel sad about it. To me, it was a beautiful funeral. His mom was in the front row as I was squeezing his neck as his mom screamed that she loved him, and he screamed it back to her. I’m not sure if that was caught on camera, but that was quite a powerful moment to see up close.
A lot of guys’ careers will end in the hospital or their phones will stop ringing. It won’t be on their terms. Bryan was able to do very much to end this stage of his career on his terms. He did not verbally submit or tap out, but I felt the spirit of the “American Dragon” leave his body and feel that he can now rest.
Ricky Havlik/AEW
What a run though.
I don’t think people understand how much he has gone through physically. I remember the run-up to WrestleMania he headlined. I was with him pretty much every night, and he was banged up. He was getting through it to get there. A lot of people don’t understand the actual physical toll this could take on your body. I don’t think people knew how much he was suffering. You would never know it by looking at him. I was there and saw and understood what he went through. I felt like Bryan was at peace. I felt his mother was at peace, and everyone in the state of Washington was upset that night. It is what it is. We’re moving forward from here.
I’m resetting the clock in my head mentally. As far as I’m concerned, this is Day Zero. We’re a couple of months into a fresh start in this wilderness that is the land of the pro wrestling landscape. We have a lot of objectives to accomplish…I’m a servant of the fans, the ones who pay money to buy tickets and pay for parking and have to work the next morning and still stay out late to come to a show. People who supported us for this whole time and aren’t on the ride yet will join the ride. I’m a servant of all the people here at AEW who want to be part of something and believe in what this could be.
You talk about the sacrifices you make. Your style is very physical. As a husband and dad, do you look at your career any differently in terms of risk-taking? Is there that line?
Yeah. I don’t think that’s just specific to me, but anybody who has been doing this long enough. You at some point realize you don’t have to do that all the time. That it isn’t smart to do it every single night. You figure out the risk-reward ratio as you go. Someone who has been doing this for a long time will naturally evolve. That comes with experience. I’m of the opinion that it’s hot or cold. Don’t be lukewarm. If you’re going to do something, do it. Whatever the situation calls for I’ll put a hundred percent into that. It doesn’t mean I’m going to do something f*ckin stupid. It is what it all boils down to. You realize what is stupid and not. I’d say 99 percent of getting hurt is doing something stupid. The other part is just freak stuff you can’t avoid.
I’ve been pretty fortunate that I’m still feeling pretty good. I’m just going to go until it doesn’t make any sense to me anymore. The way I see things now and look at the future is a little different than it was a few years ago. Situations change, and you constantly evolve and see the world differently…I was looking for this vision for this peaceful life before being called to war. I realized that the picture in my head is fictional and not my destiny and why I’m here. People are meant to be in what they call the white furnace. The struggle is where the joy is. You’re put here to work. The joy is in the struggle. I have a whole different outlook now. There is so much more to accomplish and at stake. This is exactly where I wanted to be. Every day is a battle. The future is uncertain and unpredictable, but the potential for this company is so great.
You see big things on the horizon for the company.
The potential of AEW is so f*ckin’ huge. We’re not even scratching the surface of it. Just the roster of wrestlers is this ridiculous bounty of riches. Just a ridiculously stacked roster of the best wrestlers in the world. So many people you haven’t even seen yet of what they can do. I’ve seen what they can do. I can imagine what they can become if we water that seed and let it grow.
Marina Shafir and Jon Moxley (AEW)
I see that with Marina Shafir and what she has done to the dynamic of this new group you lead.
Dude, Marina is great. I only surround myself with people I trust and people of the highest quality of character and integrity because I don’t have time for bullsh*t. Marina has earned that respect with me. She is that kind of person who is unf*ckwithable as they say. I find her to be an inspiring person to be around. The thing about her is she has done as much or more work in the last two years than anyone. Just getting better at her craft, and pro wrestling. I’d say more than anyone in the f*ckin business. Definitely, anyone in AEW.
I was trying to get a thing going three years ago. A lot of these younger guys aren’t getting a lot of reps without us doing house shows. A lot of these guys are fresh out of wrestling school. They are doing an eight-minute match here and there or once a week. Sometimes you have to work not on TV. It’s why I love working on the indies. It’s not the payday. I just like to be out there with no time limits or limitations and just f*ck around. It’s like a jam session. It didn’t make sense for our business plan to do house shows. So I thought, “Why don’t we just build relationships with these indie companies?” The good ones. No dilapidated rings or nobody doing heroin in the locker room. Just reputable people I work with. We could send these guys there. That was my idea. We didn’t really make that official but presented that if anyone wanted to get extra work, I would see what I facilitate. A lot of people did at first.
Marina was one of the ones who took you up on that offer.
The one person who said, “I’ll go wherever you want. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Just tell me where to go.” She states working with DEFY and REVOLVER. From where she was two years ago to now is night and day. This was through sheer will. She is going to England, Seattle, Texas. I just watched her match from DEFY this past weekend. She blew my mind. Sometimes I’m gone a week and feel like my kid grew a foot. I’m like, “How did that happen so fast?” Just how Marina has matured as a performer is incredible. The tools she has at a super high level like being an Olympic level judo practitioner and martial artist. Everything she brings to the table. It’s inspiring to me to see someone who is willing to put myself out there and do the work and wants to improve all the time. She is inspiring to me. She is badass.
What stands out about facing Orange Cassidy and taking him to a new place in the ring?
I think Orange Cassidy is a lot more serious than people give him credit for. I’ve been watching him for years. His critics didn’t understand him at first sight and said he would never be able to compete on a major league level. I instantly saw something different from what they were seeing. I got him instantly. You see his standard method in the ring. Someone might be thrown off or flustered or not know what to make of it. But if you studied “The Book of Five Rings” you see Orange Cassidy. The psychological tactics. For a guy who is supposed to be not serious, I don’t see this guy smile. Is he a comedian? I don’t see it. I’m starting to see in the last couple of weeks that this guy is a lot more cold-blooded, even borderline sociopathic. What is he really capable of? What is he hiding with this icy exterior? It’s a potentially much bigger challenge than I have anticipated. He is much more dangerous in evoking and revealing himself before my eyes. That’s exciting.
Lee South/AEW
What’s next for AEW?
There is no me being in there and losing. Everything is different now. It is life or death. AEW has to be a success. If it’s not, the business gets set back another 20 f*ckin’ years. I’m not willing to go through that again. Others who I’ve known for 15-20 years are not willing to go through that again. It’s at the hands of our generation. This is what we wanted to do and all we’ve ever wanted to do. The future is in our hands. Whatever AEW will become in the future is up to us. Frankly, in five years nothing has been built. We’re going to build it right now. There has been no flag. AEW has not really nailed down its identity being a young company, and that’s fine. There has been a known flag for everyone to unify to say this is who we are what we do and the direction we’re going. We’re going to plant our flag. That’s starting with me and the few people watching my back and others. We’re going to demand more of everybody around us. We’re going to unify behind one flag and march forward and turn this into what it can be.
This could be the best place I’ve ever worked. It could be 10 times better than anyone has ever worked. I can see how powerful wrestling can be. We want to build a place we can take pride in. I see all this beyond Saturday night in Newark. That could all go up in flames if I get taken out. If the AEW title gets put in the wrong hands. It’s my responsibility to make that impossible for that to accomplish.
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What can fans expect from this match with Orange Cassidy?
If we’re asking people to pay a little more on pay-per-view, I’m going to give them a little more. I can’t juggle or dance or do cartwheels for you, but I can put my elbow all the way into Orange Cassidy’s face to see how much of his skull I can get. I can see if I can snap his arm so loud that it reverberates through the audio and picks up on camera. We have a group chat going where we’re always sending really bad cuts and hematomas and snaps. It doesn’t bother me. I have an iron stomach for that kind of stuff. I also don’t like to watch horror movies. The real world is scary enough. I don’t need to see demons and werewolves eating people. But if someone’s arm gets snapped or a leg breaks, everyone wants to throw up. it doesn’t bother me at all. Since it’s pay-per-view, I will try to give that to the fans in New Jersey and fans watching on pay-per-view. Something really heinous in the main event on Saturday night.
AEW Dynamite, Wednesdays, 8/7c, TBS
AEW Rampage, Fridays, 10/9c, TNT
AEW Collision, Saturdays, 8/7c, TNT
Full Gear, November 23, 8/7c, Pay-Per-View
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