CLEVELAND — Anytime Jon Moxley sees a “Welcome to Ohio” sign, there is a certain nostalgic feeling that stirs up pride and comfort from being in his home state.
A Cincinnati, Ohio native, Moxley has made quite the name for himself in the world of professional wrestling and is very much looking forward to bringing an upstart league, All Elite Wrestling, to his home state when its weekly program, “Dynamite,” makes its Cleveland debut at the Wolstein Center tonight.
“We are in the great state of Ohio, my home state, and I’m very excited to be a part of bringing the AEW ‘Dynamite’ action to Cleveland for the very first time,” Moxley told WKYC.com.
“I started here in the Midwest, and it’s kind of like Superman flying close to the surface of the sun. There’s something about being in Ohio. Even though I’m from Cincinnati, we’re all the way at the bottom next to a river, you’re all the way to the top up here by a lake, we’re still in ‘The Buckeye State.’
“There’s something about seeing the Ohio license plates that just gives you that sense of home, that sense of accomplishment, that sense of returning here to prove a point, that AEW is the best wrestling show in the world right now.”
In a career that has spanned nearly two decades and featured multiple championship reigns in various organizations around the world, Moxley wanted to be part of something special, something fresh and different.
When the opportunity presented itself to join All Elite Wrestling and rediscover his love for the business after fulfilling obligations to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. last spring, Moxley jumped at the chance and embraced the freedom afforded to the talent by management.
That is something Moxley said has improved his love for the business “1000 percent.”
“I feel like I’m 18 again,” Moxley said. “Every time I show up in the building at AEW, I have an excitement that I haven’t had in a really long time. I’ve been at the top of this industry, and I’ve been around so much young, hungry talent who are now getting to make their mark on the national stage for the first time, great veterans who are so motivated by blending the old school and the new school.
“We have so many different elements on our roster, and when you walk in a building that has so much opportunity in front of you as a wrestler, different types of opponents, different types of matches, it’s incredibly invigorating.”
Moxley believes that kind of openness and creative freedom not only inspires the competitors, but also, leaves the fans with memories that make them want to return the next time AEW comes into town.
“We’re not coming just to bring the Barnum and Bailey Circus through town and you’re going to see the same old elephants, the same old monkeys and trapezes you see every month,” Moxley said. “We’re coming to tear the house down. We’re coming to blow the roof off.
“We’re coming to make sure that everybody who comes to the building on Wednesday night, when they leave, they are going to say, ‘I cannot wait until AEW comes back to Cleveland. Where are they going next? Is it close? Can I drive?’ We’re going to leave no stone unturned as far as pleasing the fans and give them every, single thing they want to see.”