During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Jon Moxley commented on when he knew he wanted a match with Yuji Nagata, thinking their paths wouldn’t cross, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On never expecting his and Nagata’s paths to cross: “I was watching Nagata kick the piss out of guys. Up until that point, I thought of Nagata as one of those guys where it felt like our paths would never cross and our timelines would never intersect. I’d have put him in a category of Kurt Angle or Bret Hart, where I would have loved to work with him but we couldn’t because we’re from two different eras. But as I was watching him, I thought to myself, ‘F—, Nagata can still go.’ It took me about two seconds to determine I wanted that match.”
On informing NJPW booker Gedo that he wanted the matchup: “Then I went back in the locker room because I had a lot of s— on my mind before wrestling Suzuki. That match was a success, and as I was heading to the bus at the end of the night, I saw Gedo, the New Japan booker. I went up to Gedo and said, ‘I’m just throwing this out there, putting it into the ether. Maybe one day, if I can get in the ring with Nagata, that would be really cool.’ I wasn’t asking for anything major. I didn’t want a blood feud where he came to my house or where I’d have to attack him. I just wanted to share the ring with him. Two hours before that, I saw him move around the ring like a cat. And Gedo looks at me and goes, ‘Ohhhhhh, I will keep that in mind.’”
Moxley vs. Nagata for the IWGP US title is set for tonight’s edition of AEW Dynamite.
