Former WWE Superstar confirms he was punished after Dean Ambrose match (Exclusive)
EC3 has disclosed details about the time he received backstage heat after going off-script during a WWE match against Jon Moxley.
Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose in WWE, feuded with EC3 in early 2019. Despite being a bad guy, fans treated the current AEW star like a babyface after news broke that he had decided to leave the company. As a result, fans booed EC3 when the two men faced each other.
On Sportskeeda's "The Wrestling Outlaws" show, EC3 recalled how he had no problem with fans turning against him during that time:
"We're working these matches, I'm the 'good guy,' he's the 'bad guy,'" EC3 said. "They're booing me out of the building, they're cheering for him because they love him and it's cool. In my perfect world, I'm like, 'This is exactly what I want.' I kinda want that [John] Cena reception anyways, where I'm supposed to be cheered but I'm booed because I think that's my wheelhouse as far as where I can take this." [2:39 - 3:00]
The brief on-screen rivalry led to a series of matches at live events. In their final untelevised contest against each other, they agreed that it made sense for Moxley to work as a babyface and EC3 to perform as a heel:
"Three nights of that [crowd reactions] go on, we're at the last night for a live event," EC3 continued. "We're in there working and we just go, 'You wanna switch it up in the match?' 'Yeah, let's switch it up.' I heel out and now I'm working like a heel, and now he's working like a babyface and we kinda change it on the fly. Here we are, 10 minutes, just rocking and rolling, having fun, the way this s**t should be, bam bam bam." [3:01 - 3:26]
WWE's decision-makers appeared to have no issue with EC3 and Moxley's decision to change their roles in the match. However, it soon became apparent that the four-time 24/7 Champion had upset management for performing as a heel without permission:
"Finish the match, come to the back… nobody cares," EC3 added. "Cool. We get to TV the next day, and this will be the week after the Alexa Bliss segment. I'm back in the ring with him, and then he's over [defeating] me. Apparently, it got out that we went into business for ourselves. Since he was leaving and they couldn't punish him, I was in theory the one that had to be punished. So, that was the beginning of the end for that really great run I had." [3:27 - 3:59]
Following the underwhelming RAW rivalry, EC3 appeared regularly on WWE Main Event. He faced superstars including No Way Jose and Tyler Breeze on the show, which is usually reserved for lower-level performers.
EC3 found out the full story after Jon Moxley left WWE
In his FIRST MATCH on #RAW, @therealec3 just picked up a VICTORY over former @WWE Champion @TheDeanAmbrose! https://t.co/BHeILuuagN
Shortly after leaving WWE, Jon Moxley told several stories about his time with the company on Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" podcast.
EC3 was unaware WWE was purposely punishing him until Moxley revealed that information to Jericho:
"I didn't know that until Jon told that story on Jericho’s podcast too," EC3 stated. "I had an idea but I didn't know the clarifications, nor do I wanna be the guy that comes here and makes excuses and passes the blame. I have a lot of blame to accept, and I take that." [4:00 - 4:15]
EC3 was handed his release from WWE in April 2020 as a cost-cutting measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has since co-founded the Control Your Narrative (CYN) wrestling promotion.
What are your memories of EC3 and Jon Moxley's WWE feud? Let us know in the comments section below.
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