Jon Moxley had a topsy-turvy 2021. He became a father in the summer, and later in the year, admitted himself into an inpatient alcohol treatment program.
In a recent interview with his hometown Cincinnati Inquirer, Moxley openly admitted he was afraid of dying in the ring.
“Over a year ago, I was afraid of dying of a seizure in the ring,” Moxley said. “I had that on my mind every day. It was all (messed) up, and going through an absolute personal hell for a long time that nobody else even knew about.
“When you’re scared for your actual life, to make the decision to go to rehab and (stuff) was basically – I had to basically assume I’m giving everything away. I was like, OK, I’m either going to live a long, happy life and raise my kid and be a person, or I can wrestle. But I can’t have both.”
Jon Moxley’s Rise Back to Prominence
Moxley returned from rehab a new man, both in and outside of the ring. With renewed focus, he became a 3-time AEW World Champion.
Initially, Moxley was wondering if the AEW fan base would be disappointed or upset with him for taking time off. He would soon learn that wasn’t the case.
“But when I got out, it turned out that nobody was mad at me at all,” Moxley stated. “Everybody was very happy. I was welcomed back by AEW and by the fans, and it was just like, go and get back to it. And when you’ve already lost everything, all you fear for is your life, literally and figuratively.
“If I had taken another step in the wrong direction, I could have been on the verge of losing my family if I had gone that way. If I had kept going in another direction, I could have died on live television. I could have literally lost everything. So to make that choice, I had to completely give away everything.
“I’ll never wrestle in this arena again, I’ll never get to wrestle in front of these fans again, I’ll never get to be on TV again, I’ll never win a championship again, I’ll never make any money again, I’ll go back and get my old job at the arena – I don’t know. I had to give it all away.”
Upon CM Punk’s initial departure from AEW in June due to injury, Moxley was crowned world champion and admirably held the belt all summer long without missing a beat. Then, he retained the belt against Punk in a very quick match on Dynamite upon Punk’s return, only to lose it to Punk at AEW’s All Out PPV. And we all know what happened after that.
Regaining the title for a third-time following Punk’s second departure from the company, Moxley continues to be the heart, soul and flag bearer for the promotion.
Jon Moxley will defend his AEW World championship vs. MJF at Full Gear on Saturday, November 19th. SEScoops will have full coverage of the PPV and all of the events leading up to it, so make sure you keep it tuned here.