Interview: Jon Moxley on Debut Entrance in NJPW, His New Wrestling Attire, NJPW Match Debut

NJPW’s English website NJPW1972.com held a recent interview with Jon Moxley and some of the topics discussed included his NJPW debut entrance at the finals of Best of the Super Juniors 2019, his new wrestling attire, and his NJPW debut match against Juice Robinson.

On the topic of his entrance through the crowd at the finals of this year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament, Moxley stated that he initially had some doubts on the plans for his entrance but later felt it was the best way to make his debut in New Japan.

“That idea was presented to me and at first I did think it was leaning a little on things I’d done in the past. But thinking a bit about it, it was definitely the right thing to do. I don’t want to be ‘too cool’ and ignore the things I’ve done. It is a cool entrance, and something I helped trail-blaze. The best thing about it was that it was a mood changer. The atmosphere instantly changed and I could feel that change.

Plus, Sumo Hall is such a cool arena, so historic, and to have that view from the top of the stairs, that was a really cool sight.”

On the topic of his new wrestling attire, Moxley stated he wanted to change his appearance after leaving WWE and also wanted to be feel more comfortable in the ring for his matches.

“I wanted to change my look, for sure. When I was in WWE, I always wrestled in jeans, and there was a reason for that; everybody else had fancy tights and I wanted to be the opposite. More grungy, a street fighter type. But wrestling in jeans, honestly, it sucks. They’re hot, sweaty, hard to move in. I’m done with wrestling in jeans! It’s so much easier to wrestle in tights.

My boots situation was a nightmare before I wrestled. I had a pair I bought that I was trying to break in, but they didn’t fit right. I tried another pair, they didn’t fit, either. They were too clunky. So I just went with regular wrestling shoes.

When I looked in the mirror before I went out, I felt naked because I was so used to wrestling in jeans. So I knew then that it would cause a reaction, and be a bit of a shock.”

On the topic of his debut match against Juice Robinson, Moxley stated he loved both the match itself and the whole experience of working for a new company.

“I loved the whole thing. I love being in intense blood and guts stuff like that. It was a tooth and nail fight, and I loved that. When the crowd and the announcers are saying to each other ‘this is crazy!’ I love that. Those matches where you just go all out, everything on the line, be it for five minutes or 20 minutes. Just wild stuff. I love watching that.

The whole experience was great. I’ve been watching NJPW, and New Japan is professional wrestling. I love professional wrestling and I feel for a few years that I had been relegated to being an entertainer. So I was excited to just go in, no pre-conceived notions, no baggage of thinking about who this new Jon Moxley is. Just going out and seeing what happened.

It was all like an acid trip to be honest. With the jet lag, the new environment, the new fans, this friend I used to have now being a guy I’m fighting, this new gear that makes me feel naked… it was just madness. But I started to feel my groove. I started to get in the zone, and that felt really good.”

Other topics discussed included his thoughts on the differences in crowd atmosphere between WWE and NJPW in Japan, his thoughts on Juice Robinson’s career in NJPW, and his time with Robinson in FCW.