Jon Moxley has kicked his wrestling career into high gear since leaving the WWE back in late April. Not only has the former WWE Champion quickly established himself as one of AEW’s top stars, but he’s also currently competing in New Japan’s annual G1 Climax month-long tournament as the reigning (and unbeaten) IWGP United States Champion.
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But based on the latest video from Game Changer Wrestling, the man formerly known as Dean Ambrose is looking to crank up the violence before his exclusive deal with AEW kicks off in October. The promotion released a video for the upcoming Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport II event on Sept. 14, booking Moxley against Barnett, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion.
For those who don’t know, the Bloodsport events are contested under a unique set of rules, having wrestlers compete in a pseudo-MMA style of matches by removing the ropes and turnbuckles from a ring and allowing matches to only be decided by knockout or submission. NXT star Matt Riddle hosted the original Bloodsport event during WrestleMania 34 weekend in April 2018, and a follow-up event took place the following April with Barnett as the headliner.
Along with competing in 43 mixed martial arts matches, Barnett kicked off his wrestling career for New Japan Pro Wrestling back in 2003. According to Cagematch, Barnett has competed in 82 pro wrestling matches, with his most recent being a draw against New Japan’s Minoru Suzuki at the 2019 Bloodsport show.
“Forget what you heard, forget what you read,” Moxley said in the video, setting up a Molotov Cocktail he’d set off by the end of episode. “If you’re looking to the past to try and predict the future, you won’t be ready. Because what happens next has never been done before.”
In a recent interview on the Store Horsemen podcast, Moxley explained his frustrations going into his first post-WWE interview with Chris Jericho where he infamously ripped into WWE for its creative process. When asked, he said there was no chance he’d return to the WWE as it currently is.
“I mean, you have to say, ‘never say never.’ And that’s the answer everybody gives, you know? ‘Never say never,’ but it’s like I cannot imagine the scenario right now,” Moxley said. “But also like 15 years from now, 10 years from now, the whole thing could be different. Who know? The WWE that I left, I could never go back to. I would rather work at a grocery store. “
