AEW Unrivaled Collection 6.5" Figure - Jon Moxley

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Five months after leaving Desert Hope, Moxley will perform Sunday in the main event of Forbidden Door, a joint pay-per-view event in Chicago promoted by AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. His opponent in the interim world championship match is Hiroshi Tanahashi, one of Japan's biggest wrestling stars. Moxley has taken inspiration from him and has been calling out for more than two years. When Paquette, a former WWE broadcaster and personality, told him she was pregnant in late 2020, Moxley figured it was time to curtail his alcohol intake. Over time, he started not even wanting to go to wrestle. For someone who has dedicated his life to the art, who will have physical, bloody matches on shows of all sizes worldwide, that was a dire realization. Moxley said he didn't know whether he was performing well in his matches and segments -- and didn't care.

It's hard to put into words. But it's f---ing horrible." "He's so important to AEW and to me personally," said AEW president Tony Khan of Moxley's rehab and return to the ring. "I really care about Jon a lot." All Elite Wrestling When he's drinking,] he's fun to be around. He's always in a good mood," Paquette said. "He's never the guy who you see who turns into a mean drunk or wants to get behind a wheel. He would just want to drink and fall asleep." I told her, 'He has a baby girl now, he has you -- he has to get help right away,'" Kingston said. "That was it. It was nothing like, 'Oh, he has this wrestling thing coming up, maybe he should wait.' Nah, f--- that. Get him help now." ESPN Daily podcastAt some point, Moxley said, his body became dependent on alcohol. He said he's not sure how much alcohol he consumed daily, but it was more than five drinks and "enough to kill a f---ing horse." This new version of Moxley will go into Sunday against Tanahashi in a match born out of fate. Moxley had long taken inspiration from the Japanese star, as he'd become enamored with a match between Tanahashi and Minoru Suzuki in 2012. Moxley was heavily influenced by Tanahashi, a wrestling icon and eight-time IWGP heavyweight champion in Japan, due to his technical ability and signature flair inside the ring. Since leaving WWE, where he wrestled as Dean Ambrose, in 2019, Moxley has worked for both AEW and New Japan and has wanted to wrestle Tanahashi for so long that he thought it might never happen. MOXLEY DIDN'T THINK much about his drinking until he tried to quit. He said he had been "f---ed up for the better part of 18 years," since his wrestling career began in 2004. It was social drinking, nothing he thought he had to worry about. Like many wrestlers, he said he liked hitting the bar after the show with the boys or having a few drinks on a plane to relax. Moxley said he was doing his best just to make it to the AEW pay-per-view show, Full Gear, scheduled for Nov. 13, 2021. Then he believed he could take some time off to figure things out.

At the treatment center, Moxley said his withdrawal symptoms, with the help of medication, got better within two days. Without his phone and with no television, Moxley attended group therapy, did a lot of reading and took walks. He compared the experience to being in high school, a mental hospital and jail. When it's bad, it's bad -- you can't do anything," said Moxley. "The best way I can describe it is crushing physical anxiety. It's not like you have anything to be nervous about, but your hands are shaky and twitchy. Literally, I said to her, 'Tell him I don't give a f--- what he says,'" Moxley said. Moxley has returned to AEW action with a lean and refined physique following his time spent in rehab in Las Vegas. All Elite Wrestling I was like, 'Holy s---, I've been waiting for you to get home so I can like pass the baby off to you so I can go and do my thing,'" Paquette said. "And he had to go to sleep because he wasn't feeling well, his body was sore." Moxley, who wrestled on an independent show the night before, took a cab to the airport that morning. He was aware Southwest Airlines didn't serve alcohol on board during this time due to the pandemic, so he headed to a bar near his gate and "got loaded" before the flight home to Las Vegas.For all I know, everybody is like just mad at you," Moxley said. "Fans are like 'Oh, that guy is a f--- up. What an opportunity he ruined, he's a loser.' And I'm fired and everybody hates me."

PAQUETTE REMEMBERS A morning last October when Moxley returned from a wrestling show already intoxicated from drinking on the plane ride. But he didn't hate it. Moxley said he made friends there and it was easy to talk to people going through something similar without worrying about being judged. He said he had "decent times" there, even helping his team win the treatment center's volleyball championship. If your pipes break, you should probably call a plumber," Moxley said. "You might be able to figure it out, but he'll probably do a much more efficient, proper job, because he has the proper tools and he does that for a living. Sometimes it's much more efficient to just call a professional."Khan said he was surprised when Paquette told him what was going on, but he was clear that AEW was behind Moxley and their family. Khan had to make "major" changes to his creative plans, but he said it was a small price to pay to get someone he considers a friend the help they need. At that point, Moxley said he didn't feel right without alcohol in his system. He had Googled the effects of withdrawal: seizures, cardiac arrest and death. His biggest fear was one of those things happening on a flight or on national television, so he felt like he had to continue drinking to avoid tragedy. It was a vicious cycle. JON MOXLEY WOKE up hungover the morning of Oct. 31, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa. He knew the feeling all too well. Two days later, Moxley called Paquette from a pay phone at the center. Paquette said everything was fine and that AEW fully supported him. Khan, though, wanted to know what the promotion should say about Moxley's absence. Moxley was scheduled for a match on AEW's upcoming television show and obviously would not be there.

For more than two years, the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star said he drank alcohol almost daily, often to excess. Moxley tried to quit cold turkey on several occasions, but the withdrawals were unbearable with his schedule, and attempts to wean himself off weren't working, either. Moxley said he figured if he just told AEW to announce that he was out for personal reasons, the rumors would be worse than what was happening. He saw no reason to lie and felt a burden lifted when he told Paquette that AEW could say publicly that he was in rehab. But, in Des Moines, he realized something had to give. He couldn't continue that way any longer. Moxley wanted to ensure he fulfilled that date, an Oct. 30 Iowa Street Fight match against Jimmy Jacobs, for his friend Sami Callihan's Wrestling Revolver promotion. I was f---ing terrified that I was going to like drop it," Moxley said of the child. "I don't know how to have a f---ing kid, you know? That wasn't in my plans. What do you do with it? You got to hold it? What if I drop it? Babies are terrifying."Paquette didn't know how to broach the topic of rehab with Moxley directly. Kingston, she said, was a good sounding board. To admit that he needed help -- that took more manhood than not doing it," Moxley's close friend and fellow AEW wrestler Eddie Kingston said. "To me, being vulnerable, it takes a real man to be that." Monday through Friday, host Pablo Torre brings you an inside look at the most interesting stories at ESPN, as told by the top reporters and insiders on the planet. Listen Feeling that way is untenable for anyone, but especially for one of AEW's top acts. He was expected to perform on television at least once per week, if not more. So, Moxley said he switched to beer, something with lower alcohol content, in an attempt to taper himself off. That didn't work, either. Moxley's health was visibly evident when he returned. For the first time in his career, his abs were noticeable. Paquette said he looked 10 years younger. Khan said he was "in the best shape of his life." Kingston jokes that Moxley is too skinny now.