The Butcher Reveals He Tested Positive For COVID, Was Cleared Just Before Match Against Jon Moxley

On the September 30 episode of AEW Dynamite, The Butcher competed in a rare singles match against then-AEW Champion Jon Moxley. 

Moxley was in the middle of a feud with Eddie Kingston, who was aligned with The Butcher & The Blade at the time. 

Speaking on Talk Is Jericho, The Butcher revealed he had tested positive for COVID in the weeks leading up to the match, making it a tougher match than it would have been under normal circumstances. 

“I just came back from COVID,” said The Butcher. “I got cleared the day before. My lungs were still messed up. I shouldn’t have wrestled that match. I put myself [in danger]. I’ve never felt anything like that in my life. It was a 10-minute match, that’s awesome. It was a 20-minute match. I had no plane ticket, I was sitting at home. Mox had just wrestled Eddie [Kingston] on Dynamite. It was two in the morning, I was about to take a piss, I get a text from Mox saying, ‘I think it’s you and I on Friday.’ This is Wednesday, Dynamite had just aired. All I thought was, ‘This dude is drunk.’ I wasn’t cleared, Doc Sampson cleared me, but I had to get tested. I get there, test negative, had antibodies because I had COVID. It was 98 degrees that night.”

He went on to say that his stamina wasn’t great and he was frustrated with how things went because he knows he would have great chemistry with Moxley. 

Butcher said The Young Bucks were so concerned with how he looked during the match that they wondered if he had a heart attack. 

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.