AEW Roundup: The importance of Jon Moxley’s interview with Chris Jericho

Jon Moxley’s interview with Chris Jericho has made it clear just how difficult things are backstage for wrestlers in WWE and the insight Moxley provided gives a clue to how AEW can be a different, more creative environment for talent.

When Jon Moxley made his appearance at AEW‘s Double or Nothing, everyone in attendance and everyone watching at home knew they were witnessing a special moment in wrestling history. Moxley’s AEW debut had been months in the making, as one of the cornerstones of WWE had finally grown sick of being jerked around by a company whose bureaucracy hinders its immensely talented roster of wrestlers.

As Dean Ambrose in WWE, Moxley held multiple championships and was known as a workhorse. But some of his best years were either marred by injury – the product of having to wrestle so often as the guy WWE called whenever they were in trouble – or disappointing feuds.

Far from a disappointment himself and more than capable of delivering promos beyond the stale “You People” tripe, Moxley never got a chance to truly dazzle in high-profile feuds with Brock Lesnar and, more recently, Seth Rollins. The culprit? A system that forces wrestlers to navigate under restricted parameters and prevents these artists from expressing themselves with their characters. WWE is a machine that must be responsible to several different entities, including sponsors and stockholders, but it doesn’t excuse the conditions wrestlers find themselves in emotionally,

In an interview with fellow AEW star and WWE legend Chris Jericho, Moxley told all. He spoke openly about feeling depressed while working at WWE before leaving, he revealed the stories behind some of the dreadful lines Roman Reigns was given and he praised AEW for allowing wrestlers to quickly turn ideas into strong backstage promos without any sort of inhibition from multiple personnel.

Moxley’s ability to go on the record could open the floodgates for other wrestlers to do the same once they have left WWE. There’s no price on peace of mind, but Moxley’s words go beyond a cathartic release. Now that someone who excelled in WWE has spoken openly about the serious issues backstage, there can be no more excuses.

Fans who constantly come to WWE’s defense over the wrestlers themselves must look inward and understand that they cannot be a part of the problem. And WWE must understand that if they want to remain a juggernaut that can compete with other top sports and entertainment brands, they need to care more about the wellness of their performers. Yes, that means both physical and mental health.

It will be exciting to see what Moxley can do in AEW now that the shackles have seemingly been removed and his upcoming match against notorious bad boy Joey Janela could be one for the ages. That will be another opportunity for Moxley to show the wrestling world how big of a star he is, and, honestly, nobody feels hotter than Mox right now.

TakeOver UK and All Out on the same day…

…is awesome.

That’s it. That’s the take. I know some fans will sit there and say, “iT’s a WaR, ChOOse yOuR fIghTeR,” but, uh, you don’t have to choose.

Going out on Saturday night that Aug. 31? You can catch TakeOver: UK Cardiff live and then check out the “All Out” replay when you decompress on Sunday before the work week. Or have some family obligation or work during the day? Well, the Network is waiting for you to catch up on NXT UK, but you can still catch All Out live that night.

And if you’re free on Saturday and have friends who are into wrestling, you can make that Saturday a full day of wrestling goodness.

It’s all about having options and more great wrestling to enjoy. A back-to-back of NXT UK and All Out sounds like a perfect Saturday of wrestling, since you just know that both shows will deliver in a huge way and be quite unique to each other.

And if you really like wrestling and hate sleep, NJPW is running a show that day, too…

Backstage promos in AEW

As part of Moxley’s interview with Jericho, he spoke about the difficulties of cutting backstage promos in WWE and how it’s pretty much impossible for a wrestler to be themselves in those promos. While Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch, The New Day and many other wrestlers have excelled by making the most out of these promos, there’s plenty of truth to what Moxley says. WWE rehearse everything meticulously, Vince McMahon makes changes on the fly, and trying to get things approved can take months. If someone gets in the way of a shot, it’s redone. If a producer or writer doesn’t like something, it’s scrapped.

But the way Moxley describes AEW, the ball is in the wrestler’s court. He spoke about how he was able to quickly get promos approved and cut the way he was satisfied with and it seemed like the executives at AEW were more supportive of him putting those promos out there.

That makes me intrigued for the types of impromptu, cutting-edge backstage promos we could see in AEW. I’m not just talking about promos from Moxley either, as fabulous as those will be.

A guy like MJF, who was probably the promotion’s MVP at Double or Nothing, could absolutely blow up with a series of off-the-cuff promos that put him in the driver’s seat as a character.

AEW could afford to do a better job of using social media and a huge key will be engaging fans digitally. Double or Nothing’s wrestling was excellent, specifically the women’s matches and Cody vs. Dustin, but new fans complained about not getting a chance to know the characters.

While that will come with time, such as when AEW rolls out its weekly television, they could help bridge that knowledge gap by testing out some creative promo ideas and video packages online. Not only will this engage fans and build characters, but it will also help AEW starting working with its talent creatively before they really hit the ground running in the summer and fall.

Either way, wrestling fans should be excited for the types of story-telling that AEW will have, and they could strike a balance where they let the backstage promos have the “fun” in wrestling and let the shows focus more on the serious spirit of competition itself.