From the moment Jon Moxley joined AEW, his character has been vastly different to the man fans knew as Dean Ambrose in WWE.
Free from his former employer’s creative shackles, Moxley has been able to improvise more in addition to being more violent in the ring.
Moxley is not only the reigning AEW World Champion, having unified the Liminal and Interim World titles earlier this week, but is the only two-time AEW World Champion.
The Worst Guy
In addition to making his name in singles competition, Moxley is also part of the Blackpool Combat Club.
The group, named after William Regal’s hometown of Blackpool, England, consists of Regal, Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta, and Ring of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli.
Speaking to Tony Pike and Rick Ucchino of Cincinnati’s Cincy 360, Moxley spoke about working with his legitimate mentor Regal, and called Danielson and Castagnoli some of the best wrestlers in the world.
When discussing the group, Moxley also made reference to a recent dig by CM Punk, who called him the worst part of stables.
“CM Punk said ‘oh you’re the third best guy in your group. [referencing The Shield.] It’s actually an awesome situation to be the worst guy in your group because I get to learn from those guys… I want to be around people that are better than me. Iron sharpens iron, and I want to keep getting better… If you don’t get any better, you’re going to regress because the world is going to pass you by.”
Changing Opinions
AEW and Moxley have certainly proven to be popular with fans but they have also struggled to win over some people.
In the interview, the AEW World Champion said that early into the promotion’s tenure, they tried to book the Heritage Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, Moxley’s hometown.
He said that at the time the arena “did not want to do business” with AEW and made that clear.
Things have clearly changed, as the Heritage Bank Arena will play host to AEW this October.
“”Things have changed now and it’s a hot ticket and we are gonna be down there at the Heritage Bank Center this time.”
Jon Moxley.
Moxley explained that he’s especially looking forward to the Heritage Bank show, not just because it is in his hometown but also because he worked at the arena.
The show, set for October 18, will air on Tuesday night and go head-to-head with WWE NXT 2.0.
CM Punk
This week’s Dynamite saw Moxley dethrone CM Punk, becoming the AEW Undisputed World Champion.
In the interview, Moxley addressed his title reign, and couldn’t help but take a jab at Punk.
“Belts come and go, you know, I’m gonna lose this one at some point. Somebody will beat me, but then I’ll just get right back up on the horse and get another one. I’m not gonna go quit for 7 years, or feel sorry for myself, that’s just how these things go.”
Moxley’s line about quitting for seven years is of course in reference to Punk’s seven-year break from wrestling after walking out of WWE in 2014.
