NJPW released Part Two of an interview with Jon Moxle. Here are the highlights.
There’s a lot of wrestlers in NJPW that are roughly the same age as you. Okada, Naito, SANADA, Ibushi. Are there any of those wrestlers that you’re interested in?
Moxley: “All of those guys are amazing in their own ways. NJPW is one of the most stacked rosters you can find anywhere. I love being here, just as a fan. At Dominion, I was in the ring in the first match, so to be able to spend the rest of the night just as a fan, that was pretty cool.”
A lot of former WWE wrestlers, like Jericho and Cody have gone on to wrestle in NJPW. Did that factor into your decision to come here? Did you follow them?
Moxley: “I tried to follow along with them. When you travel in WWE, you’re kind of in a bubble and it’s difficult to follow along, but I did watch what I could. Then when I knew I was leaving, Japan in general was definitely on my bucket list. I wanted to have a good run in Japan, and of course NJPW was the goal. So when I got the call from them, I was just like ‘let’s go, put me on the airplane’.”
Some wrestlers have gone the other way from NJPW to WWE. Did you talk to any of them about New Japan?
Moxley: “Well, Shinsuke Nakamura is in WWE and doing very well. I never got to wrestle him sadly, but he heard that I was likely going over to be in the G1 and he was very pleased, said it was a great life experience. Karl Anderson, who I’ve actually been friends with since I was 18, since we’re both from Cincinnati. I asked him about the G1, a few others as well, and everybody was great and said ‘yeah, go for it’.”
What are your thoughts on Nakamura, as somebody who was a top wrestler that made a big change, much like you have done?
Moxley: “I think he’s doing great there. Fans love him. It’s a different style, but he fits in well because he is charismatic, he is flamboyant. He can go, so whether it’s a New Japan ring or a WWE one he can do well anywhere.”
