Jon Moxley Says Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch Idea Was Brought To Him

At AEW Revolution, Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega will compete in a barbed wire exploding deathmatch for the AEW Title. While the match is famous in Japan, it is a rare occurrence in America, especially for a company on national television.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Moxley revealed that this was no his idea, despite being a match up his alley, and that it was instead brought to him by someone else in the company.

“Never would have expected in a million years that I would do one in AEW. Two years ago, when I first talked to them, I never would’ve been like, ‘Hey, I wanna sign with you, can I come do exploding barbed wire deathmatches?’ I never expected that opportunity. When this was brought to me, quite some time ago actually, I wasn’t going to turn it down. ‘Really? We can do that? Hell yeah.’ It was brought to me. I was like a kid in the candy store. I have a standard that I have to live up to. One thing I can’t stand is promising something and not delivering to fans. When I tell you some wild stuff is going down, I’m going to deliver on it,” he said. “I made it clear to Tony, ‘Don’t put me in these situations unless you want me to go full tilt.’ Be careful what you wish for. I’m not in the business of underdelivering on promises.”

AEW has pushed the boundaries before, most notably with the Lights Outs match between Moxley and Omega at AEW Full Gear 2019. That match featured the ring apron being pulled up, exposing the boards underneath, which played a part in the finish.

It was a spot Moxley actually pitched to WWE years prior.

“I always pitched whacky, creative, violent things. I was like, ‘It’s not that bad, trust me, it’s going to be cool.’ Something simple like tearing the canvas off and exposing the boards. I pitched that for a Hell in a Cell [2014] match and Hunter [Triple H] and Vince [McMahon] and Seth [Rollins]. I was really into it like, ‘I’m gonna take a boxcutter, rip the canvas off, expose the wood.’ They look at me like I was fucking stupid. They didn’t get it at all. Vince is like, ‘I don’t think people are going to understand it.’ Fuck it. They looked at me like I was an idiot. It always works. ‘Trust me, people are going to go nuts. It’s going to be great. It’s different and we’ve never done it in Hell in a Cell.’ Of course, ‘No.’ Like every other idea. Hunter liked thumbtacks when Cactus was making him look good and putting him over. Whatever, dude,” said Moxley.

WWE would expose the ring board at WWE Hell in a Cell 2015 when The Undertaker battled Brock Lesnar. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa would also utilize the exposed ring spot in a street fight at NXT TakeOver: Chicago in 2018.

You can check out the current lineup for AEW Revolution by clicking here.

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