When Paul Heyman savagely exposed former WWE Champion Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose)
Before joining AEW, Jon Moxley made a name for himself in WWE performing under the ring name Dean Ambrose. Although his run in the sports entertainment giant was fairly successful, he also made some enemies and possibly burned a few bridges.
In 2016, WWE's resident Lunatic Fringe appeared as a guest on Stone Cold Steve Austin's podcast. At the time, Ambrose was heavily criticized for displaying a somewhat disrespectful attitude towards The Texas Rattlesnake.
Ambrose also peeled back the curtain on his WWE WrestleMania 32 bout with Brock Lesnar, claiming that The Beast Incarnate was "lazy" and did not want to "do anything" in their match. Paul Heyman, the then-on-screen advocate for Lesnar did not take these comments lightly.
Heyman said the following at an Inside The Ropes event in 2019 when asked about Ambrose's remarks.
"Anybody who thinks that Brock Lesnar is lazy is not taking a look at the right circumstance. Come on, lazy? Lazy got him to an NCAA Division I Heavyweight championship? Lazy got him to knock out Randy Couture in his fourth MMA fight? The greatest heavyweight champion of all time and Brock Lesnar didn't grapple Randy Couture, take down, tap him out. He knocked out Randy Couture in his fourth professional fight!" [02:35 - 03:00]
Paul Heyman responds to Dean Ambrose calling Brock Lesnar "lazy" after their WrestleMania 32 match.
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Heyman did not mince his words when addressing Ambrose's "performance" on Stone Cold's podcast either:
"Ask Steve Austin how he feels about Dean Ambrose. [...] If Steve Austin could have come out of retirement at that moment, he would have b*tch-slapped Dean Ambrose all over the stage." [01:48 - 02:03]
Dean Ambrose and WWE have since parted ways. For the most part, Moxley seems to be a well-respected member of the AEW locker room.
Former WWE stars have conflict in AEW
Another former WWE talent who has had his fair share of controversial moments is CM Punk. The Voice of the Voiceless has since taken his unapologetic attitude to AEW, where, unsurprisingly, he has ruffled a few feathers.
Having two big personalities like Jon Moxley and CM Punk in the same locker room is bound to result in an explosion at some point. The two competed in a match shortly prior to Punk's extended absence from AEW.
UNDISPUTED CHAMP š
Jon Moxley defeats CM Punk to become Undisputed @AEW World Champion https://t.co/r4PkICkW5E
During his absence, The Second City Saint would hurl accusations at Mox. The former AEW World Champion claimed that at one point during their world title feud, The Blackpool Combat Club member did not want to "do the job" for him.
The Blue-Eyed Bandit clapped back not long after, pointing out all the extra work he did for CM Punk and AEW to make their program a success.
For the time being, it seems as though all the personal issues have been resolved. However, many suspect that it is only a matter of time before one of these two megastars is involved in another off-screen debacle.