3 WWE matches that Jon Moxley competed in
When WWE revealed in January 2019 that Dean Ambrose will leave the company at the end of his contract in April, fans understandably questioned whether the announcement was legitimate or whether it could lead to a storyline resulting in him staying where he is.
As the weeks progressed, it became clear that the former WWE champion was indeed set to leave the company. He lost multiple matches on Raw in the build-up to WrestleMania 35 – an event that he did not even participate on – while he took part in multiple farewell matches with fellow Shield members Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
Last week, after teaming with Reigns and Rollins to defeat Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in a match that was promoted as ‘The Shield’s Final Chapter’, WWE finally confirmed the departure of one of its most popular modern-day Superstars when his profile page on the company’s official website was moved to the alumni section.
Now, just a few days on from his WWE exit, it looks as though Ambrose will be back in wrestling before we know it, as he broke his seven-year social media silence in the early hours of May 1 to post a cryptic video on Twitter.
The biggest talking point from the video is that the camera briefly panned towards dice showing the numbers 2 and 5 (AEW's Double or Nothing takes place on May 25), but it is also noteworthy that Ambrose will now be going by the name Jon Moxley, aka Mox, again.
The former Shield member worked under the Moxley name for several years before making it to WWE, and he even competed in three televised matches for the company as Jon Moxley between 2006-2007.
In this article, let’s take a look at who he faced and what happened during those matches.
#3 Jon Moxley & Brad Taylor vs. Joey Mercury & Johnny Nitro
Speaking during a Shield episode of WWE Network show ‘Table for 3’, Seth Rollins mentioned how former WWE producer Joey Mercury was essentially a fourth member of the popular faction when they began to make a name for themselves in 2012-13.
“I was talking to an old mentor of ours, Joey Mercury, the other day. I miss Joey a lot too. I love him so much. Very, actually, integral part of The Shield. He should maybe be the fourth seat [at the Table For 3 dining table] because he was the behind-the-scenes Shield brother.”
Looking back through the record books, it turns out that Mercury was actually the first person to pin Jon Moxley during a televised WWE match.
Mercury, part of the MNM tag team, teamed with Johnny Nitro (w/Melina) to defeat Moxley and the unknown Brad Taylor during a tag match on Velocity in January 2006.
Interestingly, Taylor played a similar role 12 years later when he was one of three men who were decimated by The Bludgeon Brothers on an episode of SmackDown Live in August 2018.