WWE News: Jon Moxley, FKA Dean Ambrose, reveals why Roman Reigns struggles to connect with WWE Universe
What's the story?
Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose during his WWE tenure, recently revealed a lot of details about his WWE career on Talk Is Jericho, and now Mox has expanded on those in conversation with Wade Keller.
One prominent theme is Roman Reigns - and in particular why he struggles to connect with the WWE Universe.
In case you didn't know…
On Talk Is Jericho, Jon Moxley opened up about Roman Reigns' leukemia diagnosis and how he, then known as Dean Ambrose, was fed a line that he really didn't want to say, but ended up doing it anyway.
“We’re all gonna get what we deserve. I mean, look at Roman. For Roman’s part, for what Roman did in The Shield, he has to answer to the man upstairs. And what’s worse… you [Rollins] have to answer to me.”
Moxley opened up about the line to Chris Jericho:
“I cut the promo and as soon as that line left my mouth, I went, 'Oh my God, I can’t believe I just said that.'”
The AEW star then revealed that there was an even worse line that he refused to say the following week, and it was so bad that he believed someone would have gotten fired, or sponsors may have pulled out of partnerships with WWE.
The heart of the matter
Speaking about Roman Reigns on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast, Jon Moxley revealed why he believed Reigns has a tough time connecting with the WWE Universe, particularly harping back to one memorable line that Reigns was handed a script for, that the former WWE Universal Champion tried to get changed.
I mean, Vince had him say suffering succotash, ya know what I mean? I remember that day. You think he wanted to say that? No. He went in there and he came out and was like, "He wants me to say suffering succotash," and I remember sort of laughing like, "Dude, you can’t say that."
In case you don't remember it, which may be a good thing, you can hear it at 2:31 on the below video.
Moxley pin-pointed the problem with Reigns as simply WWE not letting him be himself, saying that Reigns would cut incredible promos in the car between venues, but would then be handed a script that did him no favors with the crowd - contrary to his locker room perception.
I mean, his personality is so great. He’s just such a great dude. Like, everybody loves him. He’s the most lovable guy in the world. He’s the guy everybody gravitates to in the locker room. His natural charisma. But they don’t let him just be himself.
Ambrose even said that, despite being 'more over' with the crowd himself, he and Reigns were always cool with each other.
There are many times where I felt like I had a stronger connection with the audience than him. But it didn’t matter. But he’s my best friend, so it would never come between us.
What's next?
Well, Roman Reigns is currently embroiled in a rivalry with Shane McMahon in WWE, while Dean Ambrose's first match outwith the company is on the horizon, when he wrestles Joey Janela at AEW's Fyter Fest later this month.
Are you looking forward to Jon Moxley's AEW debut? Let us know in the comments.