Exclusive: Jon Moxley Gives Advice To Independent Pro Wrestlers Who Are Working Through A Pandemic
After defeating Eddie Kingston last night in an "I Quit" Match for his AEW World Championship, Jon Moxley did an AEW Full Gear post-show media call. Recently, AEW President Tony Khan has restricted indie talent from bookings due to COVID-19 to avoid having to make booking changes within his own comapny. During the media call, Wrestling Inc. Managing Editor Nick Hausman asked Moxley if he had any advice for those indie talents who are trying to get noticed during a pandemic.
"Yeah, that's a tough question, because indie talents were hit really, really, really hard with all of this," Moxley responded. "It's another reason I did [GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 3] the other week. Felt like I really had a responsibility ? I'd been booked for it twice. Josh Barnett hit me up ? and he's one of the smartest guys I know ? so he's not going to be running some two-bit operation. Everybody on Bloodsport was tested, as far as I knew. All that group was separate, I took extra steps, myself. I stayed in my own hotel. Made sure I had my own space, do everything I can.
"I guess that's the thing I can tell people, as far as staying safe, not just in wrestling, but for anything. If you're going to do anything ? go to the grocery store, try to attend an event, or come to an AEW show. We can make the show as safe as possible, and put all the rules into place, but if you don't follow them, what can we do? You have to take personal responsibility you do the things you need to do, social distance. I do everything possible, I try to stay in my own bubble as much as possible everywhere in life. As far as getting noticed, I'd say just ? that's a tough question. Take every opportunity, if you gotta drive 15 hours, or got a dark match at NXT or AEW, or wherever it's gonna be. You just gotta keep your nose to the grindstone.
"This is a tough time for an independent wrestler, but do everything you can, as safely as possible ? now you're gonna have to work twice as hard because the way the world is now, it sucks, but it is what it is. You see a guy like Eddie Kingston, 18 years grinding, almost quit, but if he had quit after 17 and a half years, he was like less than a year away from main eventing a PPV. If it takes 11 years to make it, you can't quit on the tenth year, no matter how tough it is. You can't win in the eleventh hour if you quit in the tenth hour."
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The full audio from the AEW Full Gear scrums was included as part of a recent episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon by clicking here.