Jon Moxley has never been shy about keeping it real—and now the four-time AEW World Champion is opening up about what really keeps him up at night. And no, it’s not bloodied matches or championship pressure—it’s the fear that some of AEW’s future stars may never reach their potential.
In a raw interview with The Knockturnal, Mox laid it all out. “I can easily hide in the locker room or go back to the hotel and hide. I don’t have to be here, right? So, shoot your shot, man, I’m giving you the chance,” Moxley said, emphasizing how he stays accessible for the younger talent. But that opportunity, he fears, might not be enough.
“The kind of sh*t that keeps me up at night is the thought of guys and girls at All Elite Wrestling that, a few years pass and whatever, and you realize they never saw the potential in themselves,” he admitted. For Mox, it’s not always the company or the system at fault—sometimes it starts with the individual. “First, you have to see it, and you have to see everything that you have inside of you and everything that you’re capable of.”
Moxley didn’t hold back when talking about the modern world and its effect on wrestlers. “I feel like a lot of people in this world now are waiting for everybody else to tell them who they are and what they can do… and they’re spend a lot of time reading sh*t other people type on their phone and taking pictures that aren’t real, and looking at pictures that aren’t real,” he said, reflecting on how warped expectations can cloud ambition.
What truly weighs on him is knowing AEW, being a young company, is bound to have some talent “slip through the cracks.” He summed it up with a heavy truth: “It sucks. Not everybody’s gonna make it, right? Everyone does their best to mitigate that and to create as much opportunity for as much success as possible.”
As AEW builds toward its next major show, Dynasty, Moxley’s mindset couldn’t be more relevant. Swerve Strickland is stepping up next, looking to dethrone whoever holds the top title. Mox knows what it takes to make it—but he also knows not everyone will.
Do you think AEW is doing enough to nurture its next generation of stars? Or is Moxley right to be concerned about talent slipping through the cracks? Drop your thoughts below—we’re listening.