Jon Moxley on Inspiration Behind Death Riders’ Name in AEW, His Satisfaction in Helping Others Grow & Develop in AEW, Being Proud of the Death Riders Success, His Belief He Has Yet to Hit Hit Peak In Ring, & More

A recent episode of the AEW Up Close with Renee Paquette show featured Jon Moxley as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Moxley’s thoughts about the inspiration for his Death Riders’ group name in AEW.

“I don’t think there’s anything I’ve ever done that I’m more proud of in my career than what we’ve built with the Death Riders.

Death Riders means nothing. It’s just words put together. I like it because it’s kind of that wrestling Japanglish, because there was some kind of commercial with a jacket from Goodwill that said ‘Death Riders’ that I think was like the motorcycle guys who ride around inside the big steel ball at the carnival, which I’ve never done.

So, I have no idea what it means or where it comes from, but in Japan they started calling me The Death Rider, and started calling – it’s a word that means nothing. But to me, it means something now.”

Moxley also gave his thoughts about how important the other members of the Death Riders have been to the group’s success in AEW.

“I don’t think I would be here if not for these people. I don’t know what I would be doing. I might be in jail by this point if not for this group of people.

You know, like a couple years ago, I’m looking around and I still look around to this day and I’m like, I’m surrounded by clowns everywhere. And I listen to people talk and I’m like, do you even know what you’re talking about? Are we even talking about wrestling? I don’t think you even know what you’re talking about.”

Moxley also gave his thoughts about how one of the things he gets the most satisfaction from right now is helping others in AEW grow and develop.

“To me, I get so much satisfaction seeing other people grow as they evolve in their journey in wrestling. I remember going on a crazy ride where one day I’m a nobody and next day I’m on this crazy ass ride. To be able to take other people along with me has been really gratifying.

Usually, the stuff I’m looking for is not the things others are looking for or care about. I’m always looking at little stuff other people don’t look at or pay attention to. I’m like, “f*ck yeah” when I see someone is leveling up and their understanding of this is leveling up. The work ethic is one of the key things for us. We like to be active.

The only way you get better at this is to do it a lot. I would wrestle every night if they let me. I would also step aside and let the other guys wrestle because I want them to wrestle too. We’d be in the ring every night if we could.”

Moxley also gave his thoughts about how there is nothing in his pro wrestling career that he is as more proud of than his time with The Death Riders in AEW.

“I don’t think there’s anything I’ve ever done that I’m more proud of in my career than what we’ve built with the Death Riders. This culture, this attitude, this does not represent me. I do not represent it. I’m not gonna get pulled in this direction. You can’t change people, but you can build. So I just decided I would build a culture of my own, and it started with just me. I don’t care who’s next to me. Claudio’s next to me. who I would trust with my life, who’s been my right-hand man for years. Wheeler, who is Wheeler who’s basically an adopted child of mine at this point. PAC, who’s a professional through and through. You know, these are the kinds of people that I start with.”

Moxley also gave his thoughts about his belief that he has still yet to hit his peak in regards to his in-ring ability and work.

“I am not at my peak yet. Hundreds of times, people want to write me off. Going back decades. ‘Ah, but he’ll never do that.’ But he’ll never do that. But, blah, blah, blah, blah. there’s still a whole nother level that exists that I can reach. Every time that I think I get really good, I look back on it years later and I go, actually, I sucked at that point. There’s always another door and you open and there’s a whole nother room and you didn’t even know that was there. It never stops. That’s the beauty of this, man. It’s so exciting every day because you could unlock a whole new level that you didn’t know existed every single day. So it is my duty to my team, my duty to my opponents, to leave no stone unturned.”

Moxley also gave his thoughts about his dedication to achieving mastery in pro wrestling.

“If you’re not affected physically and mentally, you’re not doing this job right. If you’re going into any matches 100%, then you’re not doing this job right. It’s just part of the game. At this point, for me, pain is just… information. It just… It gives me data. It’s largely ambivalent to it. I’m chasing mastery. This idea of mastery is not something you’re ever going to hold in your hand. If you do figure everything out, then the game’s going to evolve, and then you’re going to have to learn new things and catch up. It’s just going to keep on spinning infinitely. So there is no end, ever. The rewards of that are not external. They’re not what you get. They’re what you become. They’re the person you become in chasing mastery in whatever it is, whatever it is you’re doing.”

Moxley also gave his thoughts about Wheeler Yuta shaving his head after his and Marina Shafir’s loss to “Timeless” Toni Storm and Orange Cassidy in a Hair vs. Hair match at this past February’s AEW Grand Slam Australia 2026 show.

“You’re only as good as your word, and him and Marina and Tony and Orange, they really put it on the line. They took a big risk. You know, a lot of people would not want to risk the humiliation of being shaven in the middle of the ring on live TV, beamed across the entire world in an arena full of people. That takes guts. So I think it’s a big win for everybody. I think it shows Wheeler’s character, that he took the risk and he stepped up and he took it on the chin and every day he looks in the mirror, he can know that he took it on the chin and he stayed true to his word. I think that’s a victory.”

Transcript h/t: FWOnline.com 1 & 2, Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, & 4