Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Mike Johnson: For the premiere on FITE, they're going to do a whole countdown show, and they're going to do a post screening Q&A with the cast and crew. So they're trying to build it up as virtual event that people can attend. You mentioned this was the first thing that you were offered after you left WWE. What's the timeline here? Did you make this while you were in the aftermath of finishing up a WWE? Did you make this while preparing for AEW? Did you do this before you went to New Japan? The reason I ask this is did this process, this film help you kind of shake the cobwebs off from being in the WWE mode and being miserable there to becoming mentally prepared and excited to go do something else. Was this the bridge from point A to point B, or was it something that you were producing and working on while you were doing New Japan and AEW? Where does this fit into the jigsaw puzzle of Jon Moxley's life? Where does it sit in the timeline?
Jon Moxley: Well actually, when we actually filmed it, it was winter time, so I'd already been going full bore wrestling, by that time. I was actually going back and forth to Saskatchewan to wherever Dynamite would be. So I didn't go home for quite some time. Because I'd go do Dynamite, then leave there, go back Saskatchewan, back and forth and so forth for about a month or so, and it was actually, this guy's supposed to be at giant, a Clubber Lang or Thunderlips or whatever when I was reading it. And the way they're describing character, when I first read the script too, I was like, "They know I'm not 300 pounds, right? Okay." But my plan was to change up my training, and kind of we had a plan. And the guy who kind of programs my training, I was like, "Okay, when it comes time to shoot this movie," because I have certain kind of training program for the G1 to be in the best condition to my life, and I was. I was like, "Okay, now I just want to get as big as possible in a short amount of time so I can portray this role in the movie. You know what I mean? I'm not going to look like [Dave] Bautista in a month, but let's make this..." So we were going to do a lot of heavy stuffs and stuff like that.
But then I ended up getting injured and have surgery. That's when I had staph infection, and when I had to pull out of that AEW pay per view and stuff. So then I couldn't even train at all for awhile. I barely made the window where I could even do the movie. For a minute, it looked like I was going to have to pull out of it at the 11th hour. But luckily I got in there, was able to get just healthy enough to do it, and get in at the last minute. So I wasn't in the cosmetic shape I would have liked to have been had I not had to have that surgery. And I would have probably hopefully looked a little bit... But hey, it's a movie, so maybe they can make me look better. I'm sure I look fine, but watch this.
Mike Johnson: So in AEW, we just saw you defeat Jake Hager in the No Holds Barred Empty Arena match. For what, you are the differences in putting together and working a match like that versus a big fight scene like we're going to see in the climax of Cagefighter: Worlds Collide. Obviously I would assume the Hager match is more one shot and go, but perhaps I'm wrong. How different, or how unique, or how similar are the two experiences?
Jon Moxley: Complete opposite ends of the spectrum. In the movie, it's all written out and constructed, and with the fight coordinators and guys, and go back and forth, and you rehearse it a million times, and do it a million times over and over from different angles. Doing a movie, while it's fun, it can also be very tedious because you just got to do the one little scene over and over and over from every different angle. And it can be challenging to keep your energy up and stuff like that. Especially when it's a physical scene like a fight scene.
The match with Hager was just like, we started to film three weeks worth of stuff on that day, and we had only a few hours because you got to wait until it gets dark to film at Daily's Place where they film at. So we had to figure out... And I'm choking. Right. We had figure out what we wanted to film, and how we were going to build to a title match. Because we didn't really have any plans when I got to Jacksonville. I was like, "Well this, you'll attack me, you'll choke me out. We'll do this. And then we'll just do the match."
At that time we were like only 10 people in the building. We didn't know when we were going to get to film again. Should we save it? I was like, "I don't know. Because who knows?" I was like, "Let's just get it in the can. Let's just do it right now." So we just did the whole kind of Hager angle all in one night. And that's the exact opposite where it's just like, "Yeah. I'll just see you out there." Just talk a couple of words about the finish, and me and him just wrestle for 20 minutes, which it was really fun actually. You have that nice humidity in Jacksonville outdoors. So it's getting nice and loose. And there's no audience there to pump you up. So I just put my mindset to where, all right, this is real. And for the first bit of that match, we were really kind of struggling and really making me sort of earn everything. So I was really lost in the moment. It was a really fun match to be a part of, especially the privilege to kind of be on a mat with a such a esteemed wrestler like Jake Hager, he's an All American. So it was really fun. I really wanted to kind of show some of his skills off. And we beat the absolute shit out of each other, right? Because there's no hiding nothing, there's no extra noise in a empty arena. So you got to go for it which I try to do anyway. And he hits harder than anybody I've ever been in the ring with. He's so freakishly strong. Right? You can't even believe. People take for granted how strong he is. So then we'd beat the absolute tar out of each other. So I thought that was pretty cool little piece of work.
Mike Johnson: So I was there in Chicago the night you won the AEW title at Revolution. You did the post-match scrum bleeding and talking about how you believed you got a concussion. At one point you mentioned you were seeing triple to us in the room. I wanted to ask, how are you feeling physically these days? Because one thing that we've seen you really up the ante on since leaving WWE and going into New Japan and AEW is putting yourself through a lot more physicality in the pursuit of bringing pro wrestling back, as you said that night in Chicago. So, what's the end result of that after a year of it? How are you feeling physically day to day? And obviously right now, you've had some time off, which is great, not what you want, but you've gotten it. How are you feeling physically having dived back in so hard and heavy when it comes to the physicality and the grit of pro wrestling?
Jon Moxley: Good actually. I've had a obviously some time off like everybody has recently. And had time kind of to slowly over time rehab various injuries. My lower back have screwed up for a really long time. I had, what do you call it, a pinched nerve in my neck between my C6 and 7. It was making my left arm go numb, and that was really horrible and painful, and so forth. And obviously I had all this mess with my elbow that hopefully is over forever nowBut all in all, pretty good. I was able to kind of after leaving WWE kind of figure out the things that were wrong and kind of fix them over time. And I had time to do that and to train properly and rehab things properly and stuff. Because really for me, what ran my body down in the grounds over time was the travel, because it's that and getting put there two tables on house shows five nights a week for years straight. But it's like, I go through the table, but then you got to jump in a car and drive 300 miles, or get on a plane, or get on a charter, or do this. And I went so hard for so long, and wrestled so many matches so consistently. And once I had gone a couple of years straight without missing a day, and everybody else at one point had been hurt, or had taken a vacation or whatever, and I realized kind of the mark I was getting for consistency and kind of being the iron man, then I kind of started to take pride in that. I was like, oh, okay.
So even when I started getting rundown, I should have taken some time off, or I should have been like, I'm injured, I shouldn't do this, or whatever, I just kept pushing through. Foolishly, I might add because there was no gold star for that. I didn't make any more money for that other than the fact than the more shows you do or whatever, I guess you get paid more. So it's not like I got a trophy that said you're the iron man or whatever. You know what I mean? All it did was just kill my body and my brain and so forth, but also that did lead to opportunities. Because all this stuff I got and I kind of figured my opportunities will come because I'm the guy who's here. Because I'm the guy who was over, and when they need somebody to fill in for somebody who falls down, or it didn't work out, I'm the guy that steps up or fills in or whatever. And that's how I'll get all my opportunities and stuff. It kind of did work out like that. For me though, my body now is I feel like it's good. And I want to wrestle as long as I possibly can. I look at two guys who've had, some of their biggest moments this year, Chris Jericho and Minoru Suzuki. I'm 34. I could have another good 15 years in me. So I'm looking at whatever I can do to elongate my career, whether that's go a little more wrestling, and not doing anything super dangerous or anything like that. Because at this point I'm like I got nothing to prove by taking some horrible bump off a roof or anything like that...and just being aware of my neck or my back or injuries, I got to keep healthy. And now, I have the experience and the knowledge to know that, all right, if I'm hurt, take a week off, take it month or whatever. I'm not going to wrestle hurt unless it's a dire situation and I feel like I need to. I'm going to prioritize my health kind of thing...and even if that means in the future, it means take six months off here, or take a year off here. Jericho's taken lengthy absences from the ring, and that I think has probably helped extend his career. And it keeps you fresher. So I'm going to take the opposite approach that I took in WWE where it was just pedal to the metal, and kind of try to really be smart about the risks I take and stuff like that. But that being said, when I get in the ring, if I'm getting in the ring, I'm going full bore. So I'm going for it, especially in TV, a pay-per-view, or New Japan, I'm not going to go out there and half ass nothing.
Interview continues on Page 3!
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
