Jon Moxley On Why He Doesn’t Have Ill Will Toward WWE, Enjoying His AEW Run So Far

Jon Moxley spoke with the State of Combat podcast about his success in AEW so far, whether he has ill will toward WWE and more. Moxley talked with host Brian Campbell about being happy with his run in AEW to date and enjoying having more creative freedom, as well as how the company is keeping itself as an alternative to WWE.

Highlights from the discussion are below:

On if he’s happy with his AEW run so far: “I don’t think it could be going much better. When I initially decided to leave where I was at before, AEW wasn’t even a thing in existence yet. So that opportunity came up and it just worked out really good. I was excited about the project and agreed on all the points about you know, that there are fans that need an alternative that deserves a national, global, mainstream alternative and there’s an audience for it, and we can give them that. I think we are really succeeding when giving the mainstream audience something different, which is the biggest thing I think we need to do.”

On AEW remaining an alternative to WWE so far: “A lot of other start-up promotions over the years have relied on ex-WWE stars and WWE formula and so forth like that. And the cool thing about this is that the top six, eight, however many guys. If we wanted to be in WWE right now, we could. We are actively choosing to do something different to try it a different way. It’s all dudes in their primes, at the top of their games, and we brought these fans with us. And really, these AEW fans that are showing up to Dynamite every week, that are watching our PPVs, coming to PPVs, following our stuff. They’re really, the fans have driven us more than anything. It hasn’t been hard, it hasn’t been like staple gun and posters all over town, trying to get people in the buildings. These fans are hungry for an alternative. They want this and we’re just trying to give them the best possible wrestling show that we can every week.”

On if he has full creative control over himself: “Pretty much. Full control — it’s all a collaborative effort. There’s so many great ideas that come in, and I go ‘That’s a great idea. Really, that’s cool. We could do that. Hell yeah, that’s awesome!’ And I’m hearing good ideas. I have full control on that, you know. I’m not gonna go out there and do anything that makes me look stupid, at least not on purpose. And that is a very — that’s a giant kind of weight lifted off my shoulders. Yeah, it’s a collaborative effort with everybody. Everybody’s got ideas, everybody adds their own little flavor to the mix. You’ve got all these talented, super creative guys that have no fear of reprisals. There’s no higher-ups we’re trying to make sure we have to please or anything like that. It’s super-creative guys who don’t give a damn what anybody thinks. We’re trying to put on something that we like, that we think the people will like. And you know, you’ve got to play the music your way and hope that people appreciate it. But whatever it is, it’s honest and authentic.”

On if he has any bad blood toward WWE or a desire to show them up: “No, no. Not really. I don’t have any — especially now that it’s however long, six months later. I’m not motivated by any sort of, like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna show WWE,’ or ‘I’m gonna show them.’ I showed them, I had a great run there. I have nothing to prove to them. I kind of don’t care what they do, they can do whatever. Good luck to them, whatever, but I don’t have any of that chip on my shoulder as far as like, ‘I’ll show Vince!’ I honestly don’t have that. I feel like that would probably be just negative anyway. My energy is about creating new, positive things and just putting out pieces of work whether they be big or small. Having a good match, or good angle, or good promo, and then just enjoying myself and enjoying the fact that I don’t have to have a real job, that I get live my dream. That life’s been good to me and I just want to live in the moment, and really just enjoy that I get to be a pro wrestler, which is all I ever wanted to do.”

On if he’d be upset if he turned on Raw and Baron Corbin was the new third member of the Shield: “Oh, that would amuse me to no end.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The State of Combat Podcast with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.