Jon Moxley: ‘There’s a lot more to everything than meets the eye’
“We call ourselves All Elite Wrestling? Then we need to be elite every single day.”
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The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of the business of pro wrestling.
Contents for The Week in Wrestling:
Jon Moxley on his run as AEW world champion
A look at the past week in wrestling
John Cena is the right man for the job
Tweet of the Week
Jon Moxley: “The goal is to get better every single day”
So long as Jon Moxley can breathe or his eyes can see, so long lives his memory of Bryan Danielson’s final match.
It took place in October at the Tacoma Dome, a short drive from Danielson’s hometown. That was the site of Danielson’s first-ever wrestling show, where he watched The Ultimate Warrior wage war with “Ravishing” Rick Rude. But it now holds a different meaning, as it currently stands as the final resting place for his career.
“Bryan had this beautiful warrior’s death,” said Moxley. “It took place right next to his hometown, right where his career started. The soul of the American Dragon left his body.”
Moxley is perpetually seeking excellence. He picks his matches and promos apart, constantly looking for subtleties and nuances to enhance his work. The wrestling world was largely impressed with the Moxley-Danielson bout from October, which headlined WrestleDream and saw Moxley crown himself champion. But when Moxley runs it back, he is focused on finding areas in which to refine.
“That’s very much a William Regal thing,” explained Moxley. “You can have the greatest match in the world, but when there’s even one little thing that isn’t perfect, that’s the area you want to focus on.
“The goal is to get better every single day. I’m always scouring for how to be better. That’s my approach to life. It’s constant evaluation.”
Featured on the same B/R Sports on MAX graphic this week beside the likes of Lamar Jackson and Nikola Jokic, Moxley finds himself in a unique spot. He needs the right rival, one who can highlight The Death Riders’ savagery and ruthlessness during his heel run as champ. Danielson was a perfect foe, but Moxley has yet to land on an opponent with a similar breed of chemistry.
Perhaps that will change tonight. Moxley is back home in Cincinnati, defending the AEW world title against Powerhouse Hobbs on Dynamite at the Brady Music Center.
Hobbs won last week’s Casino Gauntlet Match on Dynamite, putting him in tonight’s title bout against Moxley. While it is unlikely that there is a title change with only a week’s build, it would offer a way for AEW to instill an air of unpredictability in its product as it starts its new run streaming on MAX.
“You never know when your number is going to get called,” said Moxley. “Hobbs is very capable of being the guy to knock me down and keep me there. One day that’s going to happen to me. It could be tonight.
“Hobbs won a lottery ticket, now he can change his life in three seconds. It’s going to be a dog fight in the ring. Going down swinging is an understatement. I’m prepared to dig my fingernails into the sidewalk as you drag me down the street. I’m prepared to ride it out until the end.”
Moxley’s Death Riders consist of Claudio Castagnoli, Marina Shafir, Wheeler Yuta, and PAC. It is only natural to compare them with Moxley’s previous group–The Blackpool Combat Club–even as this group finds its place.
“These are the people I want to be around,” said Moxley. “These are the people I surround myself with–people like Claudio. Marina has been fucking awesome, too. She’s very intense and brings a level and a quality of zero bullshit that I really appreciate. These are people I put my faith and trust in. Until the very end, we’re all in on this.
“Our biggest hallmark is pride in our work, and I’m deep in the game right now. This is the hill I’m very much prepared to die on. It’s exciting–I’m at war every day, and I’m doing it with the best. It’s the power of association. If you surround yourself with clowns, you’re going to be a fucking clown. We want to be elite. We call ourselves All Elite Wrestling? Then we need to be elite every single day. We’re putting 100 percent of ourselves into this.”
Moxley relishes the chance to create. When he built the masterpiece with Danielson this past fall, he felt a rare type of euphoria in the ring. That is what he is searching for tonight on his trip home to Cincinnati, looking to bring the absolute best out of himself and Powerhouse Hobbs.
Moxley finds peace amid the chaos. That gives life to him each time he steps in the ring, and he is hungry for the moment to start anew tonight on Dynamite.
“We have new people checking out AEW on MAX,” said Moxley. “There’s a lot more to everything than meets the eye.”
This past week…
Corey Graves took to social media to express his frustration that he is no longer part of Raw, where he was replaced by Pat McAfee. One of the best commentators in wrestling, it will be interesting to see how this plays out between Graves and WWE, but hopefully he beats McAfee in a match at WrestleMania.
The opening segment of Raw got its point across: the upcoming men’s Royal Rumble is going to have a loaded field.
Penta made his debut on Raw, and it was memorable. The way he got the crowd to react to his Canadian Destroyer, which has become far too common a move, was the lasting impression. But the brilliance of Chad Gable cannot be lost in all the excitement of the new arrival.
Lyra Valkyria is the new Women’s Intercontinental Champion.
Not only did the Philadelphia Eagles advance in the NFL playoffs, Quinyon Mitchell made the most of the moment by hitting an end zone celebration Pedigree on teammate Cooper DeJean.
I didn’t initially think Jey Uso was the man to dethrone Gunther, but it would make an outstanding finish for WWE’s return to NBC on Saturday Night’s Main Event later this month.
Omos has looked incredible in NOAH.
If you’re searching for a highlight reel, look no further.
In case you were wondering, the answer is yes: the mastermind behind Kayfabe News is still throwing his fast ball.
Even if John Cena wins, he’ll still put Cody Rhodes over
A year ago, The Rock wrestled Cody Rhodes in a tag team match at WrestleMania 40.
The finish of the match came when The Rock pinned Rhodes. Two nights later on Raw, Rock hinted that he’d be the one to take Rhodes’ world title.
Approaching WrestleMania 41, there is no current plan for a rematch. Instead, all signs point to Rhodes defending the belt against John Cena.
And that has to be music to Rhodes’ ears.
There is a considerable contrast between Cena and The Rock. One is a board member for TKO, the other is not (to be fair, Cena is the new spokesman for McDonald’s). At this point in his legendary career, The Rock is doing what is best for The Rock. That is not the case with Cena, who last won a televised singles match in 2018.
Cena seems poised to win the Royal Rumble and then headline WrestleMania. WWE will attempt to rewrite history by saying Cena is breaking Ric Flair’s world title record (Flair’s real world title tally is far more than 16), and it will all build to an emotional moment to close out the second night of WWE’s signature event.
There is every reason to believe Cena would beat Rhodes at WrestleMania 41. By then, Rhodes will have been champion for over a year, and the most challenging part of being a crowd favorite world champ is to keep people invested for a long period of time. Losing the belt and then chasing Cena is in his best interests, though Roman Reigns is also chomping at the bit for another run with the belt.
But as Sting proved to us throughout his career, it isn’t always about winning. If you lose in the right fashion, it can mean more than a win. That is what is at stake for Rhodes at WrestleMania, where Cena is going to make him look like the world champion that he is, even if he takes the belt from him.
Tweet of the Week
Even if they are man-made prisons, congratulations to the lucky couple.