Jon Moxley stunned the wrestling world when he showed up at AEW Double or Nothing 2019, just weeks after his WWE contract had expired. Moxley appeared at the end of the pay-per-view, attacking Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, standing tall on a poker chip prop to close the show.
Fans treated Moxley like a hero for his debut, but Moxley was worried he would be seen as Dean Ambrose to the audience.
"Double or Nothing was three weeks after my contract was going to be up. And it was in Vegas. Something about it being in Vegas made it a sign. I didn't even find that show, that show found me," Moxley said on AEW Unrestricted. "I was like, 'Alright, I guess we're doing this.' I didn't know if people would cheer, boo, or not make any noise at all. I feel like my reputation had been tarnished so bad that I had to start from scratch. Once you get popped in the ass with a syringe on TV....I remember one time standing in the ring in a bear suit and I can't explain to you why. I DDT'd The Miz and took off the bear hat. You get the Pavlovian response of 'yeah!' but I remember thinking, 'This is so stupid. This is not funny or entertaining.' I remember standing in the ring thinking, 'I've hit rock bottom. I'm just done. This sucks. What have I become in the bear suit?' I had many moments like that. I was scared fans outside of WWE, they want an alternative. I was scared that I was so synonymous with WWE crap that I'd walk out and they'd be like 'Oh God, the idiot from WWE. What are you gonna do, hit someone with a hot dog?' I was scared of that. I never explained my gratitude toward the people that were in the building that night for embracing and accepting me as myself and not putting any of WWE's crap onto me. Then it's off the to races. I thought it was going to be a long rehabilitation process, but it came back so quickly. Like I had been asleep for years and I woke up out of a nap. It was like a guy who was in jail. 'Oh, Jon is out of jail.' Cool. He's back."
Moxley went on to say that he believes the video where he re-introduced Jon Moxley by escaping the jail went a long way in helping tell the audience that he was entering a fresh start. Moxley is now one of the top stars in AEW and is set to challenge Chris Jericho for the AEW World Title at AEW Revolution.
You can watch Fightful's exclusive interview with Moxley in the video below.