Tony Khan Says Jon Moxley Is AEW’s Version of Ric Flair

Jon Moxley is considered by many as the backbone of AEW, and that’s why it’s not a surprise that AEW President Tony Khan has called Moxley AEW’s version of Ric Flair.

While speaking on 1035 KISSFM, Tony Khan was asked who in AEW plays the same role that Ric Flair did for the NWA and he said Jon Moxley. Khan explained that Moxley is similar to Flair because he can be both the top hero and the top heel. He has proven himself in both roles and is known for bleeding buckets in his matches.

While Moxley and Flair have very different approaches, with Moxley being the ultimate blue-collar wrestler and Flair the ultimate white-collar wrestler, they both have that hard-hitting mentality.

“Jon Moxley. He’s somebody who could be the top hero, the top fan favorite. He’s somebody who could be the top villain, as he’s proven. He bleeds buckets. They have very different mentalities in terms of, uh, they are very different. Jon Moxley is the ultimate blue-collar wrestler. Ric Flair is the ultimate white-collar wrestler. But they have this hard-hitting mentality.”

Advertising

Advertising

Khan also pointed out that Moxley was the last world champion in wrestling to work a schedule of 200 to 250 days a year. This was about ten years ago, before wrestling became more of a television-focused business, and it reflects the same mindset Flair had during his prime.

On top of that, Khan said Moxley is the most decorated world champion of this era. He is the only person ever to hold the AEW World Championship, the WWE World Championship, and the IWGP World Championship in New Japan. Moxley is also the only four-time AEW World Champion.

“Jon Moxley was actually the last 200, 250-day-a-year world champion in wrestling. Wrestling became much more of a television-focused business in the past decade. But about, you know, ten years ago, nine years ago, Jon Moxley was the last person to do 200, 250 days a year as the world champion. Fact. And that is very much the Ric Flair mentality.

Also, Jon Moxley is the most decorated world champion. It’s a lot like Ric Flair because Jon Moxley is the only person ever to hold the AEW World Championship, the WWE World Championship, and the IWGP World Championship in New Japan. And Jon Moxley is the only four-time AEW World Champion.”

Khan added that there are other ways to compare them, like Flair’s white-collar style or his reputation as a pure heel. Even though Flair did show he could be a hero at times and did it very well, his overall image was quite different from Jon Moxley’s.

“Now, there’s other aspects of Ric Flair. You say the white-collar profile. I think the mentality, you could go another way and say, is a pure villain. We’ve never seen now the versatility of Ric Flair to be a hero. We’ve seen a bit of him as a hero, and he’s done very, very well.”

Jon Moxley previously inked a multi-year deal with AEW back in 2022, ensuring he’ll remain with the company until at least 2027. It’s clear Tony Khan has a very high opinion of the Purveyor of Violence and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.