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AEW World Champion Jon Moxley Comments on Creative Process in AEW, Working with Younger Talent, Favorite Matches, More

By John Canton • Published 30th September 2020

Jon Moxley is the longest-reigning AEW World Champion in the history of the company. That may not seem like that big of a deal for a company that ran its first official event in May 2019 and started doing weekly TV one year ago, but it’s still something to be proud of. Moxley won the AEW World Title from Chris Jericho at the Revolution pay-per-view on February 29, which was a few weeks before the COVID-19 global pandemic shut down the world in mid-March. Since then, wrestling shows have taken place either without fans or recently at AEW shows, with a limited crowd.

After 214 days as AEW World Champion, Moxley talked to Bleacher Report for an in-depth article about his time in AEW so far. In fact, Moxley hasn’t lost a singles match in his AEW career. Nobody has been booked stronger than him, so it’s fair to say he’s clearly the top guy in AEW. Moxley is 34 years old and will turn 35 in December, so he’s still in the prime of his wrestling career with about 15 years of experience as well. Here are some interview highlights.

The creative process in AEW:

“I’ll talk on the phone with (AEW President) Tony Khan and we’ll throw some ideas out. I’ll talk to whoever I’m working with and we’ll throw some ideas out. We’ll get on a three-way call and just loosely talk out the next six weeks of a story, and when I show up, we do it. It doesn’t get changed on the day of and nobody messes with it, not that I am above taking creative direction. Even the misses are fun when you’re in control because it’s part of a journey. When you try again, it’s even more satisfying when you get it right. I want to keep pushing myself to be the best I can be every single time.”

Is that part about things getting changed on the day of the show a shot at his former employer, WWE? Probably. It’s fair to say he’s pretty happy where he is working now.

Moxley talked about the AEW roster’s diversity with guys in their early 20s that have bright futures along with the mix of veterans that are there:

“I love getting to work with the young dudes who are in their 20s who are getting their first chance to be on national television. They’re unencumbered and not being repackaged or told who they are, so they are just going to keep getting better. Some of these guys are nuts and they have these crazy ideas and they push me to think of things in new ways. I don’t go in there and go ‘Let me tell you what we are going to do because I am more experienced.’ I go ‘What do you want to do? I’m old and slow so tell me your cool idea.’ I am all about learning from the young guys because they have a different perspective than me.”

“And then we have this incredible group of veterans like SCU. We have a legend in Chris Jericho, who I always learn from. And then, we have this group of guys who are in the prime of their career. We have people at every level, and it’s a smorgasbord of guys to work with. It’s endless opportunities of stories to tell. There is an endless sea of narrative possibilities, which is good because we have a lot of time to fill.”

Moxley commented on some of his favorite AEW matches and wrestlers he has worked with so far:

“Trying to pick your favorite matches is like trying to pick your favorite kid. You can’t love one more than the other, and you love them for different reasons. The bit I got to do with Darby Allin was great because I had this picture painted in my head. I had that story in my head for months and it basically came off exactly how I had pictured it in my mind. To be able to create that moment exactly how I had envisioned it was the most satisfying feeling in the world.”

“The match with MJF also went exactly how I had pictured it. I have loved working with Brian Cage. I loved the whole thing with Jericho. I don’t look at that as a match. I look at it as a whole eight-week story.”

Moxley spoke about the long term future while also explaining how he feels lucky getting to live his dream:

“I want to ride this for as long as I can even if it comes down to having to take longer periods of time off. If it gets down to where I can only wrestle one match a year like The Undertaker, then so be it. I could totally see myself being in a producer or coach role. I could see myself being a trainer or booker. I probably won’t know until that day comes, but there is also a good chance that one day I am just going to be gone and you will never see me again. But wherever I’m at, I’ll be all good, so don’t worry about it.”

“I’m the luckiest guy in the world because I get to do the thing that I like as a living and got to turn it into a career. It’s really cool.”

Moxley also spoke about acting roles, wrestling at shows in front of no fans due to the current pandemic, how he doesn’t play video games and advises people consumed by social media like Twitter to venture out for a walk more often. It’s good advice! Check it out on Bleacher Report here.

You can watch Moxley in action tonight on AEW Dynamite as he faces an opponent of Eddie Kingston’s choosing. I’ll have a review up on TJRWrestling after the show.