Jon Moxley discusses his ability to stay reliable in professional wrestling.
While its matches are predetermined, professional wrestling is still a rather unpredictable industry — hence, the commonly used caution of “the card is subject to change.” For All Elite Wrestling, their cards have experienced several changes, especially in the last two years due to injuries, backstage events, and other outside circumstances. Fortunately, Jon Moxley has been there to step up and fill in the gaps on a few occasions.
Speaking with Rick Ucchino for Bleav In Pro Wrestling, Moxley, who is now the AEW International Champion, explained the pride he feels for being trusted to step up into those positions. On the other hand, Moxley says that same reliability had been taken for granted during his previous stint in WWE.
“I think it’s kind of our thing. We take a lot of pride in our work and our work ethic and our standard that we set ourselves to, and the way we do the job. To be one of those guys that’s like reliable kind of always there. The downside is it’s very, very easy to take you for granted. In the last conversation I had with Vince McMahon, like real conversation, he straight up told me, ‘We took you for granted.’ Soon, I was gone. Never talked to him again,” Moxley said.
“It is a tough job. I got a lot of experience, so a lot of stuff is very familiar to me. I’m very comfortable doing stuff that a lot of other people might be intimidated by. Orange Cassidy pulled off an amazing performance [at AEW All Out]. He lost, but he pulled off an amazing performance in his first ever pay-per-view main event.”
Versatility
“That was not planned in the weeks out. In fact, everything would have looked completely different. But that’s kind of how it’s going to go. If you’re going to have any success in wrestling, it’s very rarely going to go according to plan. You got to be ready to take opportunity when it’s there. When things go awry and the wave changes direction, you got to be able to surf on it and stay on your board. You got to be able to go with the flow, so to speak.”
Jon Moxley continued on to emphasize the importance of versatility. Depending on one’s match placement and the audience’s vibe, one may need to adjust their match approach. “Every big opportunity I’ve had probably in my career has come completely out of the blue. You’ve got to be ready to get your sh*t together and strike when the iron is hot,” Moxley said. “And I think Orange Cassidy did that 100%. Being in a main event, you think like, ‘Oh, what’s the difference? Your match is last instead of second or third. What’s the difference?'”
“It’s a big difference, especially on an AEW pay-per-view because they’re so stacked. Often, you count in the Zero Hour or whatever, you’re talking about five hours of wrestling. I don’t have any control over anything else that’s on the show prior, and a show in itself is kind of a living work of art in that you have to book it with its ebbs and flows and highs and lows.”
Ease Off The Pedal
“It can’t just be 1000mph, foot on the gas pedal matches ten matches in a row because then you’re going to burn the audience out, both watching at home and in the arena. You’re in the main event. You don’t know where the people are going to be at by the time your match is up. Often at an AEW pay-per-view, you’ve got to be able to almost instantly feel where they’re at. They might be taking a breath right now after the last match or two.”
“You might need to start a little slower and lull them into a sense of relaxation and then pick it back up. If me and Orange Cassidy were in the first match, that match will look totally different because it would have been a different scenario. I don’t like to plan too much in a situation like that. I want to kind of gauge where we’re at and see what we need to do to get them where we’re at. Our job is to close strong, like being a pigeon closer. That might not always be just run out there at 200 miles an hour.”
RELATED: Jon Moxley: Bryan Danielson Is The Most Perfect Pure Pro Wrestler Of All Time
