Jon Moxley Wanted To Go “Off-Broadway” For A Year Or Two Following WWE Departure

When Jon Moxley left WWE at the end of April 2019, he popped up in AEW almost immediately. But that wasn’t his original plan.

Speaking on AEW Unrestricted, Moxley revealed what he planned to do post-WWE before AEW came calling.

“I knew for eight months prior to showing up in AEW that I was leaving WWE. I didn’t know where I was gonna go or what I was gonna do. I was thinking I would take myself off-broadway,” said Moxley. “Wrestle in Japan or wrestle under a mask. I didn’t want to be on every show as ‘former WWE star Dean Ambrose’ and gouge people for money or make money off my name. I was trying to leave that in the past. I figured I would go out of the spotlight for a long time and once I came up with a new thing and was ready to come back, whether it be a year or two years, then I would emerge on the national scene again. I was paying attention to Ring of Honor, IMPACT, Japan. I knew I wanted to go to Japan and always had the feeling that I could. I wanted to disappear and come back later on when I got a new schtick. That didn’t happen at all. Not even close.”

Moxley continued, discussing the conversations he had with Cody and Chris Jericho about the origins of AEW.

“Cody and Chris Jericho were telling me about AEW and I was like, ‘that sounds awesome, but I’ll believe it when I see it.’ All the infrastructure was being put into place before anyone knew about it, which was smart because they didn’t come out with all these big promises right out of the gate and then not deliver like most companies do. It’s amazing that all this is real because a year ago, there was no other legit alternative. Fans and wrestlers have been wanting this for years and it’s something the business has needed for so many years and it’s finally here. It’s legit and not going away. We just signed a new contract (with TNT),” he said.

Moxley kicked off his AEW career by attacking Jericho at AEW Double or Nothing 2019. On Feb. 29, Moxley will challenge Jericho for the AEW World Title at AEW Revolution. You can check out the current lineup for the event by clicking here.

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