Jon Moxley looked forward to working with EC3.
Going down the final stretch of his run in WWE, Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose worked programs with Drew McIntyre and EC3. Moxley and EC3 worked a number of segments together and wrestled each other at house shows for nearly a month. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion was excited about working with EC3 and he shared those sentiments when he guest appeared on the Talk Is Jericho podcast. Moxley said that EC3 is a good friend of his and spoke about WWE attempting to flatten his momentum due to him deciding that he was not going to re-sign with the company. Moxley explained that the fans started to turn on EC3 because they were aware of the situation at hand and having EC3 beat him in two minute matches that did sit too well with the fans that Moxley garnered throughout his years in WWE.
?Well, after that, they do the weird press release, then they put me against EC3, debuting from NXT. Great talent, great friend of mine. Excited to work with him. They have EC3 come in as a babyface, defeat me in two minutes. I don?t know if this is before or after the press release. It?s like at the same time. The crowd does not like this because it?s transparent what?s happening, and this is not good for EC3 because now he?s gonna get the backlash. So it was an unfair position for him to be put in." Moxley explained. "So then we get to that weekend and I?m working with EC3 on house shows. Now I?m the biggest babyface on the show, and I?m a heel -- I?m thumbing him in the eye, making fun of the town, doesn?t matter. They?re violently rejecting him as a babyface and cheering the hell out of me. It has nothing to do with him, it?s an anti-WWE [thing]. So, then they go, talking to a writer through text and he?s like, ?You?re gonna work with EC3 again and he?s gonna beat you in two minutes again? and I was like, ?Fine, that?s cool.? Am I the only one that sees the inherent problem in this. Even the writer knows, ?Oh that?s making you a babyface or it looks like we?re burying you and that?s backfiring? and I?m like, ?Yup, that stuff. That?s what I?m talking about? and he?s like, ?Yep, I know?, but it?s Vince. He?s determined. So by the time we get to that Monday, from what I understand, the reports on the house shows, the producers are telling him what has happened and he?s pissed. Apparently he?s mad about this, that God forbid, so sorry that the fans who I?ve busted my ass for-for years, might be upset at the fact that you wanna bury me on my way out." He said. "Sorry dude that I?ve given my body up for [them]. Sorry that they have a shred of respect for me that [you] apparently don?t have.?
Jon Moxley talked about the specialty matches that he was placed in on his way out. He joked about the company trying to kill him figuratively and that did not work so they were literally going to kill him by having him partake in certain stunts during those aforementioned specialty matches.
?So I get to TV and they?re like, Jamie [Noble] is the producer and he goes up to me and goes, ?You?re gonna do promo with Seth. He?s a heel, you?re a babyface.? We just switched roles, no explanation. So I guess that was their solution, and then The Shield comes back and we do that whole thing and then I started working a series of matches with Drew McIntyre who we?ve had a bunch of great matches but now it?s like increasingly more DQ matches and every week, this is when they finally write me off, started putting me through tables, they put my head in a guardrail and smashed my head in, he?s kicking my head off every week, now it?s like a different gimmick match every week." He continued, "So it?s like they tried to kill me figuratively twice and that backfired so now they?re gonna kill me literally.?
EC3 indirectly responded to the comments that Jon Moxley made during his podcast appearance:
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.