Since leaving WWE in 2019, Jon Moxley has become famous (or infamous) for his tendency to bleed during his matches, so much so that it has become a staple of his in-ring work. Speaking to Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso, Moxley gave what he referred to as his “dissertation” on why he’s a fan of blood in wrestling.
“This is a combat sport […] College wrestling is a combat sport, too. They have blood timeouts to patch it up. The lowest prelim bout of a UFC card or a boxing card, somebody might have a little blood on their eyebrow or blood coming out of their nose. But they’re not selling a blood sport. It’s not, ‘Tune in for the blood! Tune in for the gore!’ It’s part of the aesthetic. It adds realism. Sometimes when I don’t even want it to. But I only know one speed. That’s with my foot to the gas pedal. If we’re going to do something, let’s f—ing do it. That can be detrimental when it comes to negative things, like drugs or alcohol. But that’s my mindset. If I’m doing it, I’m doing it. When it comes to blood, it’s just going to happen sometimes. Like I said, it’s foot to the gas pedal. Some people say, ‘This is just a random match. Why is there blood?’ I heard that last week vs. Tomohiro Ishii. He’s one of the greatest of all time. I’m not going to let that moment slip by. I’m going foot-to-the-f—ing-gas-pedal. How can I not? Then I hear that I can’t have a good match without blood. Okay then, you made my argument for me. I’ll do it every time.”
“The point of the dissertation is that this is a combat sport. But we’re not allowed to have blood in a match unless it’s a personal grudge? We’re only allowed to have blood after a five-month grudge after someone slept with somebody’s wife or somebody ran over someone with a car? And then—and only then—are we allowed to have this dramatic crimson mask that looks the exact same every single time? For me, realism-wise, since this is a combat sport, that means there is the potential for blood in every match. Everything in wrestling is preposterous to some degree, but this helps with the suspension of disbelief. I’m actually for less blood but more often. If every single match on the card had a busted eyebrow or bloody nose, it would just be part of the sport. But some gory spectacle with blood shooting like a hose is pretty unnecessary. We’re elbowing each other in the face every single match. We’re kicking each other in the face every single match. What are these people made of if they’re not bleeding? People ask why there is blood in the ring every time I leave it. It feels unnatural to go out of my way to make sure no one is bleeding. That feels like I’m taking my foot off the gas pedal. That doesn’t interest me.”
– Jon Moxley
On New Japan Pro Wrestling Strong’s Independence Day specials over the weekend, Moxley shed plenty of blood, first in a tag match with Homicide against deathmatch legend Jun Kasai and El Desperado, and later in a Final Death Match against Desperado. The former featured a viral moment of sorts, as a bloodied Moxley was left with skewers in his head following a spot with Kasai. He is also set to compete in AEW’s yearly Blood & Guts match on the July 19 episode of Dynamite alongside members of the Blackpool Combat Club against The Elite, and fans can certainly expect the match to live up to its name with Moxley in it.
(H/T Fightful for the transcription.)
