EXCLUSIVE: AEW star Jon Moxley reveals New Japan plans and lists wrestlers he wants to face
Jon Moxley admits there is no timeline for a New Japan return due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 34-year-old’s contract with All Elite Wrestling allows him to wrestle in Japan, something he has done for the past year, which included defeating Juice Robinson for IGWP United States Championship.
Jon Moxley is one of AEW’s biggest stars
But with the virus killing more than 250,000 people worldwide and a travel ban imposed by United States president Donald Trump, Moxley does not know when he will wrestle in Japan again.
The AEW world champion told talkSPORT: “As far as Japan goes, there is zero timetable for that. I have no idea when I’d be able to go back over there again.
“I don’t even know what the travel restrictions are, I don’t know when it’ll be safe. I can’t even begin to speculate a timetable to return there. I don’t know when it’ll be legal, so who knows?
“One day these crazy times will end and we’ll have fans back in buildings and be blowing the roof off arenas every week on AEW Dynamite.
“Things will be back to normal. But for now, it’s all speculation.”
Since leaving WWE last April, Moxley had memorable matches with Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki and Tetsuya Naito in New Japan.
Give COVID-19 the red card
The quicker we work together to stop coronavirus spreading, the sooner we can get back into the pubs, the gyms and stadiums and arenas to see live sport again…
STAY AT HOME. Only leave for the following purposes:
- to shop for basic essentials – only when you really need to
- to do one form of exercise a day – such as a run, walk or cycle, alone or with other people you live with
- for any medical need – for example, to visit a pharmacy or deliver essential supplies to a vulnerable person
- to travel to and from work – but only where this is absolutely necessary
For more info and tips, visit the NHS website.
The government has also issued further detail on what we can do during lockdown.
Everyone should do what they can to stop coronavirus spreading.
Moxley insists he will be ‘big-game hunting’ when he returns to Japan – and is keen to get one over on Zack Sabre Junior.
He said: “If I’m going to Japan, I’m big-game hunting. I’m looking for big matches, big opponents, cool stuff. There is so many, I mean, how do you pick just one?
“There’s so much talent over there that I haven’t got to work with. I got to work with Naito in the G1, who’s their top guy right now. That could be a thing we revisit because I got a win over him.
“How do I go my career without ever getting in the ring with [Kazuchika] Okada? I’ve teamed with him, but never gone head-to-head with him. Or how do I go my whole career without ever getting in the ring with [Hiroshi] Tanahashi? One of the greatest of all time.
“Suzuki was high on my list of dream matches and a guy I never thought I’d ever get the opportunity to wrestle. I did everything I could to facilitate that.
“He went over to me, and as soon as it was presented to me I jumped all over it. It was a dream match for fans for whatever reason, because of our personalities. That’s what I mean by big-game hunting, I wanted Suzuki and I went out and got it.
“And then Zack Sabre Junior, the last time I was in Japan, he left me laying unconscious in the ring.
“I’m the kind of guy who can hold a bit of a grudge. I can chill and hang out in my backyard and not be mad about it, but still, I owe you one buddy!”
Moxley is starring in Cagefighter, a film which pits a wrestler against a mixed martial arts fighter.
When asked if he took inspiration from Warrior, a mixed martial arts film from 2011 with Tom Hardy, Moxley revealed he used lines directly from the movie during his feud with his former Shield brother Seth Rollins in WWE.
Jon Moxley’s feud with Seth Rollins in late 2018 was one of his last in WWE
He added: “It’s funny you mention Warrior because I actually stole something from that movie, for something I did in WWE, back when we were doing the big storyline where me and Seth finally got back together after all those years.
“We’re like brothers. That movie is about brothers who had this feud, but they’re still brothers, they still love each other.
“But they’ve got all this baggage they’ve got to get out, and they’ve got to get it out in the ring in that movie.
“So we had a segment where we’re talking back and forth. I stole some lines that were pretty directly from that movie for that promo in the ring with Seth.
“From the scene where they meet on the beach and start talking it out. I can’t remember exactly what the line was, but I stole in directly from Warrior, because it was kind of the same story. So that’s a kind of funny side piece.”
Cagefighter is available on FITE on May 16 in the UK with Moxley starring as one of the lead characters in a film where mixed martial arts meets professional wrestling
No comments:
Post a Comment