Former AEW Champion Jon Moxley has previewed his Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match at AEW Revolution with a warning – “If you want Jon Moxley at level ten, then make sure that’s what you really want.”
In an exclusive interview with Inside The Ropes‘ Lead Writer Gary Cassidy, the former AEW Champion revealed how the main event of AEW Revolution may not be for everyone, saying the good thing about AEW is that there truly is something for everyone tomorrow night at Revolution, where the legendary Sting will also compete for the first time in six years. Moxley would proclaim, “That’s f***ing Sting!” while praising the impact of The Icon backstage in All Elite Wrestling, before revealing that you “can’t really sugarcoat” the match he’ll be involved in following the WCW legend’s comeback.
“It’s the good thing about AEW, we’ve got a little something for everybody, but there’s really no way to sugarcoat an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match, you know, so if you don’t want to see it, then don’t watch. If you think your kid is going to be a little bit too young to watch it, a little bit too violent for them, don’t watch it.”
Don’t expect to get off lightly if you’re planning on watching, and Jon Moxley promised the match will not be “watered down” – taking aim at the recent change in presentation when it comes to “extreme” match stipulations, and their failure to deliver. The 35-year-old even compared some matches to “playing f***ing Pattycake” and eliminating the element of unpredictability.
“Things, over the last decade or so, have just got so… No matter what you advertise, you can put whatever you want on a poster and make it seem like you’re going to see something super-violent or whatever, but at the end of the day, these extreme kind of matches have been watered down and they’re just safe and, you know, the same old, same old and we look like we’re playing f***ing Pattycake, and I think we’re going to bring back a real element of actual unpredictability and actual danger.”
Moxley admitted that he doesn’t know what to expect, and claims his opponent – AEW World Champion Kenny Omega – is in the same boat, making the colossal clash a complete enigma for the AEW faithful at Daily’s Place and watching via B/R Live and Fite TV too. However, for those planning NOT to watch, Moxley added that missing the Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match was at the fans’ peril, stating that it’s something professional wrestling has been missing for years – with the undeniable element of danger the match presents.
“I think it’s something wrestling has been missing lately. I think it’s something wrestling has been missing in the last several years, or maybe a decade or more, or whatever, is the element of actual danger. An element of… You know, that feeling of, when it’s main event time, when the bell rings and the ring announcer walks down the aisle, this is the moment where all the marbles are on the line and there’s not an element of danger, that element of the Mike Tyson fight or, ‘Well, somebody could really…’ We’re really risking our lives. These gentlemen are doing something extraordinary here and really putting their body on the line.”
The former AEW Champion would dismiss claims that the match stipulation was his idea, saying he “had no idea” where it came from, but admits the moment he heard the match, he knew he simply couldn’t say no having never imagined it would be possible to have such a match on mainstream television..
“I’m looking forward to it. I never would have imagined that I’d get the opportunity to do one of these, and especially not in AEW or on a mainstream American pay-per-view, so I’m super-excited about it. It’s almost too good to be true. I’m like, ‘Really, we can do that? Are you serious? I’m in!’ Yeah, what an opportunity creatively, what an opportunity, an experience to have. You know, you can’t turn down that stuff, when it comes, to do something really, unique like that and to really live life to the fullest.”
While Jon Moxley’s idea of “living life to the fullest” may differ from many of our conceptions of that idea, the former AEW Champion couldn’t contain his excitement, saying he has a “good feeling” about Revolution.
“I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve got a really good feeling about this emotional place I’m at right now. I’ve got a good feeling about March 7th, I feel like it’s going to be a pretty wild night in Jacksonville.”
Mox would add how he’s had a lot of “unscrupulous individuals” try to end his career over the years, but did credit Kenny Omega as being the first man to “try and explode him” as the pair clash in a match never witnessed before in All Elite Wrestling.
I’ve had a lot of unscrupulous individuals, a lot of rogue guys, who do evil deeds, who have tried to take me out over the years by throwing me off of cages or putting me through tables and chairs. It’s the first time they’ve actually tried to explode me!”
The 35-year-old, though, welcomes the violence, comparing himself to “Wile E. Coyote” for his ability to come back.
“They’re trying to destroy me like Wile E. Coyote. I keep coming back somehow, but this might be the end of this thing where I finally get destroyed. So, if nothing else, you know, you might see me finally, finally get blown up on March the 7th, on pay-per-view.“
While Moxley aims to destroy Kenny Omega and reclaim the AEW World Championship at Revolution, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestler of the Year would praise the Best Bout Machine for his outlook on wrestling, saying the pair are actually more similar than they are different due to their drive.
“The way I look at things, the way Kenny Omega looks at things and our kind of drive to take things to a certain level – you put us in these situations, we have a similarity in that we can’t just go out there and… I’ve seen Kenny Omega’s drive to excel in these scenarios up close and personal, and the combination of the two of us, I think, going to make for something unique and special.”
As far as restrictions go? Well, Jon Moxley reiterates his earlier warning – there are none, for better or for worse.
There’s no restrictions as far as what could happen in AEW and I can’t thank AEW, Tony Khan, and everybody enough that the fact that, when they put me in these situations, I make it very clear, ‘Don’t put me in these situations if you don’t want… Be careful what you wish for. If you want Jon Moxley at level ten, then make sure that’s what you really want.’ I don’t want to get yelled at by sponsors, and TNT, and Bleacher Report, and everybody, after the fact, so make sure this is what you really want and that’s what we’re doing – and that’s what we’re going to get on March 7th. It’ll be unlike anything you’ve seen, definitely any time recently.”
Jon Moxley challenges Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship in an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match at AEW Revolution on March 7th via Fite TV for viewers outside the United States.