One of Jon Moxley's final WWE rivals reflects on their "weird and unique chemistry" (Exclusive)
EC3 has recalled how he and Jon Moxley were asked to extend one of their matches by 10 minutes at short notice.
Both men were part of WWE's former developmental system Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in 2011. Moxley (f.k.a. Dean Ambrose) defeated EC3 (f.k.a. Derrick Bateman) in two untelevised FCW matches that summer.
On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws show, EC3 revealed what happened as they prepared to finish a match that was only supposed to last six minutes:
"We did have a really weird and unique chemistry," EC3 said. "I remember one time in FCW we had a six-minute match, just him and I, and we're towards the four-minute, five-minute [mark], we're going home, and it was probably one of these crazy tests like, 'You guys have 10 minutes.' 'What?!'" [1:24 - 1:40]
EC3 and Moxley quickly adapted and went on to produce impressive performances for the rest of the match:
"So we're at the finish of the match, we get 10 minutes added, and we just rocked, freestyle, calling it out there," EC3 continued. "That's probably some of the most fun I've had ever in a ring. We don't know what's happening, but it's all solid and it's good. He goes on to superstardom, I go down my own variety of superstardom." [1:41 - 2:02]
Watch the video above to hear former WWE writer Vince Russo explain how the company ruined Jon Moxley's Dean Ambrose character.
EC3 discusses his friendship with Jon Moxley
The two men briefly crossed paths on WWE's main roster in early 2019 shortly before Jon Moxley's contract expired. While the former Shield member is now a three-time AEW World Champion, EC3 is the co-founder of the Control Your Narrative (CYN) wrestling promotion.
In his FIRST MATCH on #RAW, @therealec3 just picked up a VICTORY over former @WWE Champion @TheDeanAmbrose! https://t.co/BHeILuuagN
Despite their careers going in different directions, the former on-screen rivals have remained casual friends:
"Moxley/Ambrose is awesome," EC3 stated. "I know him from FCW. I knew him from the indies. We're dudes that we're cool, we're casual friends, maybe check in every eight to 12 months, but at the same time we're not talking all the time." [1:06 - 1:23]
EC3 also spoke about the time he received backstage heat following a WWE live event match against Moxley.
What was your favorite Dean Ambrose moment in WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.
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