"I just thought it was like an indie" – Jon Moxley says former WWE Champion helped him sign with Tony Khan's promotion
Jon Moxley recently revealed that Chris Jericho helped him decide to join AEW.
The former Shield member arguably made the toughest decision of his life when he decided to leave WWE in 2019, citing a lack of creative control and poor booking decisions.
There's no doubt he had already made up his mind to leave the global juggernaut, but the uncertainty of his future afterward must've left him wondering for months.
While speaking on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Jon Moxley revealed that he didn't even know AEW existed when he left Vince McMahon's promotion.
The Death Rider admitted that he was scared to jump over to a rising company. But, at the same time, Mox felt he'd be a coward to let this opportunity slip away:
"I didn’t know if AEW existed. I was already out the door. The crazy thing about it is it was just timing. A big thing people probably don’t know or understand is that it wasn’t a super easy decision to go to AEW. It was not easy at all. It was actually very scary to go to AEW. But the timing of it was so crazy, that it was almost like I didn’t choose this. The universe chose me. I would be a pu**y if I didn’t take this opportunity."
"I'll never be able to express how much gratitude I have for every fan that was in the building that night... it was one of the greatest moments of my life just that release and that getting accepted"
- Jon Moxley on his AEW debut
#AEWDynamite #AEWonTNT #AEWDark #Mox https://t.co/FWu11N4egE
Jon Moxley further added that he didn't know Tony Khan before meeting him for the first time. But he's glad that Chris Jericho helped him through things about other wrestling promotions, which he initially viewed as indies:
"I didn’t know Tony. I met Tony a few weeks before Double or Nothing. Jericho was a big help. He was the first guy I talked to about it because, honestly, I heard a little bit about this AEW thing. There’s all these like IMPACT, AEW, PWG, all these three letter companies. So AEW, whatever, I didn’t think it was a big deal. I just thought it was like an indie." (H/T- WrestlingNews.Co)
Jon Moxley is eyeing a shot at the AEW World Championship
.@orangecassidy outsmarted @TrueWillieHobbs & @JonMoxley brutalized @Pres10Vance to reach the semifinals of the #AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament THIS WED on #AEWDynamite LIVE NATIONWIDE at 8e/5p on TNT. Who will win & face @bryandanielson in the Finals at #AEWFullGear? https://t.co/FVeq8oSuJg
Jon Moxley is currently looking to get himself back in the AEW World Title picture. The former WWE superstar has reached the semi-finals of the Eliminator Tournament after defeating Preston Vance this week.
Mox will now face Orange Cassidy in the upcoming episode of AEW Dynamite. The winner will face Bryan Danielson in the tournament finals, which will go down at Full Gear pay-per-view.
Do you think Jon Moxley made the right decision to leave WWE and join AEW? Sound off in the comments section below.