Vince McMahon repeatedly gave a three-word warning to Jon Moxley in WWE
Jon Moxley wrote in his new book MOX that Vince McMahon regularly told him to “tone it down” after his WWE matches.
Before joining WWE’s main roster in November 2012, Moxley lost an untelevised match against Ted DiBiase Jr. in December 2011. The 35-year-old, who was part of WWE’s FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling) developmental system at the time, thought the match went well until he returned backstage.
Moxley was given a note, courtesy of Vince McMahon, which left him feeling self-conscious the next time he competed in a match.
“The response from the crowd to all of it was great. I had been hitting on all cylinders that evening. The note I got from Vince: ‘Tone it down.’ The next night I went out and had basically the same match in Richmond, except this time I felt strangely self-conscious. It was not as good. I didn’t really do anything different, but I felt like I was wrestling in f***ing bowling shoes with ‘tone it down’ ever present in my mind,” Moxley wrote.
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Following the match in Richmond, Triple H told Jon Moxley that Vince McMahon was impressed and thought he did a “great job.” In Moxley’s opinion, the match “may have sucked a little more” due to the “tone it down” advice he received.
Vince McMahon also told Jon Moxley to “tone it down” in The Shield
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Known in WWE as Dean Ambrose, Jon Moxley joined Vince McMahon’s main roster alongside fellow Shield members Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at Survivor Series 2012.
During his time in The Shield, Moxley was repeatedly given the same feedback by the WWE Chairman.
“In the early days of The Shield, as soon as we started wrestling matches, that’s all I heard all the time. Tone it down. Strangely, this would always come right after some really awesome s*** just happened or we tore the house down,” Moxley wrote.
Moxley also wrote in his book that Vince McMahon has “lost his magic” as WWE’s creative mastermind. He joked that his former boss is trying to destroy his own creation by purposely booking bad storylines.