From Cincinnati Street Rat to World Champion: An Interview with Wrestler Jon Moxley

From his origins as a hometown brawler with the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) to being an international purveyor of violence at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) G1 Climax Tournament, Jon Moxley has been Cincinnati’s ambassador of pro wrestling for over twenty years. CityBeat met with the record-holding four-time All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Champion ahead of his upcoming title match at the Andrew J Brady Music Center on Jan. 15.

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CityBeat: Welcome home, Jon. What is it like to walk through those metaphorical curtains in the Queen City?

Jon Moxley: You always get a little bit of extra energy when you’re in your hometown. For me, it’s always extra cool because I used to work downtown at the arena when I was like 16, 17, just doing event staff stuff and I’d just stand there during Cyclones games. By that point, I was already on this nebulous journey of becoming a pro wrestler — I used to visualize walking around backstage and then walking out and the building just being full of fans, imagining the ring and creating the whole circus in my mind.

I’ve done so many shows here in every bar, community center, fucking barn and children’s birthday party, whatever the hell over the years in this town, but it always feels the same. Cincinnati is a great community and I’m proud to be part of it.

CB: How did the upcoming event at the Andrew J Brady Music Center come together? It’s a bit different than the typical wrestling venue.

JM: Two nights of AEW came together really quick, which is cool to show what a market like Cincinnati can do on kind of a short notice. It’s a great sports town and with this new building — I don’t think it’s had anything besides concerts. It’s a good vibe and it’s going to look different for wrestling. I think it’s cool if AEW starts presenting wrestling in different venues — give it a different look and different feel. We’re going to adapt to the environment of the building. Wrestling is all about the environment and the fans make the environment. The energy the fans bring? It bounces back and forth to the wrestlers. This whole crazy carnival circus of entertainment. There’s not going to be a bad seat in the house and with that setup, you’re very likely to be on TV if you come down to either of the nights.

CB: You’re a hometown boy. You went out west to the desert, lived in Vegas for a little bit, but now Cincinnati’s pugilist son has returned. What brought you back and how are you and Renee Paquette (his wife and AEW backstage interviewer) getting acclimated to the city?

JM: Oh, it was the best decision I ever made. It’s funny because you always kind of, no matter where you live, you’ve got to leave. You’ve got to go on an excursion, so to speak, because you need to go out and see the world. I’d recommend that for everybody.

Over the years, I really appreciated how cool and unique of a place Cincinnati is. I’m very much molded in the personality of Cincinnati. Renee being a Canadian, she’s from Toronto, there are a lot of similarities. Nice people and a city you can walk around in. All different types of people and restaurants, an eclectic community, cool architecture. She fell in love with it immediately. She’s a busybody, always out doing stuff, so she immediately assimilated to being part of the Cincinnati community.

When we had a kid for the first time, it was just a very natural thing to come back. There was a bit of a feeling of a triumphant return because when I left, I left here with nothing, less than nothing. I was a scourged street rat with nothing to my name and to come back with family and all the spoils of conquest. I had gone out and conquered the world. I want to bring the kind of things that I found out in the world and bring them back here so others can experience them. I wanted to bring AEW to Cincinnati. 

I’ve always felt that Cincinnati has been a little bit of an underserved market for wrestling and to bring AEW to Cincinnati and be somebody around that kids, students, young athletes, whatever they want to do — that it’s not just reserved for other people in other places. It’s for everybody. You can go out and grab it. Like he’s just that fucking dude walking down the street we see every day and he went and did it and so can I.

CB: Watching your AEW career and your New Japan Pro Wrestling appearances, it’s been like watching a man reborn. I can’t believe it’s been five years. How have those last five years been for you?

JM: It’s been an absolutely crazy Wild West five years. Unpredictable! And I’d say the next five, ten years are probably going to be just as unpredictable. With the emergence of AEW in 2019, a shift happened. The landscape of the business of pro wrestling completely changed. There are more opportunities. Guys are making more money. AEW has been very good for the wrestlers and it’s just shaken everything up at all levels in every organization.

We’re in the middle of the history books right now and we have our hands on the controls and we have the pen. We can write whatever the fuck we want and it’s very exciting.

CB: You’re the record-holding four-time World Champion of AEW, which means that you’ve got the biggest target painted on your back. When you’re at the top, what goes into your defense of the title? How is retaining different than the chase?

JM: There’s always this hunger and it’s true for any endeavor you’re chasing. Getting there is always different than staying there. You have this release of ‘oh, okay, I got here’ and then you realize you have to keep that energy up and now everybody’s trying to knock you off that hill. It takes a lot more discipline and mental strength and patience and fortitude.

I’m defending the AEW championship on Wednesday against Powerhouse Hobbs. He has the opportunity of a lifetime. He won a lottery ticket and he has absolutely nothing to lose. He’s physically bigger, physically stronger. He’s not a scared kid — he’s a mean, terrifying adult man. He can hurt you and he can knock my head off. He can change his life in three seconds. I’m going to be shot at with all the firepower in the world. So the difference in energy in being a champion on top of the hill, I have to stay calm and not get rattled by someone that’s shooting all of their artillery at you.

CB: From Blackpool Combat Club to Death Riders, an ally is both an important and precarious thing in this business. What do you look for in a team? Who earns your respect?

JM: I like to surround myself with people that are better than me or smarter than me or bring something to the table that I don’t have — knowledge that I don’t know or a skill set that I don’t have.

The power of association is a big thing. If you surround yourself with clowns, you’re going to be a clown. I surround myself with the best people and I try to learn from them and grow. The number one prerequisite is integrity.

This is a business built on carnival sideshows. We’ve got to take out a lot of this old carny business — you know, the ‘brother this, brother that’ kind of bullshit carny attitude because that attitude is how they’ve scammed fans out of money. That is not what this sport is nowadays. We grew up wanting to be wrestlers — this is all we’ve ever wanted to be. 

This is our craft. This is our life. We take it very seriously and we take pride in it. Getting rid of that attitude in the industry is a big part of what we’ve been trying to do here at AEW.

Integrity and no bullshit. I have no time for bullshit. When it’s time to work, it’s time to work. I make mistakes every single day but those are all opportunities to learn and grow and evolve. I don’t want to be the same today as I was five years ago. I want to be around people who push me every day. Anybody can be a part of my team, but just know that I expect nothing less than your best every single day.

We’re coming to give everything we have to this pursuit. Drop the ego at the door and let’s all learn and make each other better. Let’s make this a great experience for us and the fans and keep growing the whole thing so that when it comes through town, you’ve got to buy tickets to AEW because you want to be a part of it.

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AEW presents two nights of Maximum Carnage at the Andrew J Brady Music Center on Jan. 15 and 16. Moxley defends his AEW World Championship on AEW Dynamite Wednesday, Jan. 15 and AEW Collision takes over the Andrew J Brady Music Center on Thursday, Jan. 16. Tickets are available at the Andrew J Brady Music Center box office and online through allelitewrestling.com. AEW Dynamite airs live Wednesdays on TBS and MAX at 8 p.m. ET. AEW Collision airs on Saturdays on TNT at 8 p.m. ET.

[PHOTOS] Cincinnati Native Jon Moxley Steals the Show During AEW’s Visit

This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.