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Tempest has read MOX, the Jon Moxley book, and it's fantastic. Here are the 10 biggest takeaways from the book.
Order MOX (US) https://amzn.to/3bSzl3J | Order MOX (UK) https://amzn.to/3obaZaT
#JonMoxley #MOX #WWE
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Tempest has read MOX, the Jon Moxley book, and it's fantastic. Here are the 10 biggest takeaways from the book.
Order MOX (US) https://amzn.to/3bSzl3J | Order MOX (UK) https://amzn.to/3obaZaT
#JonMoxley #MOX #WWE
SUBSCRIBE TO partsFUNknown: https://bit.ly/2J2Hl6q
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/partsfunknown
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/partsfunknown/
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Before we get on with our list, I feel the need to state the obvious that all of us have
00:03 Jon Moxley in our thoughts as he entered an inpatient alcohol treatment program last week.
00:08 Addiction of any kind is a disease and there is never any shame in getting help.
00:11 Go get 'em, Mox, you got this.
00:14 Mox, written by Jon Moxley, is the latest wrestling book to hit bookstore shelves, reminding
00:18 those outside the wrestling bubble that yes, we can in fact read.
00:22 There have been plenty of great wrestling books over the years and it brings me great
00:25 joy to say this one does indeed measure up with the likes of Have a Nice Day, Hitman,
00:30 and A Lion's Tale.
00:31 I don't think I've ever read a wrestling book with more of the author's personality
00:35 soaked into every page.
00:37 Make no mistake, this book is Jon Moxley through every word.
00:41 More a collection of short stories about his life than a point A to point B tale, Moxley
00:45 will often stop to share bits of information only people like me will remember.
00:49 But hey, if you're desperate to know that Moxley's favorite movie is Point Break, his
00:52 favorite cereal is Sugar Bear, and his first CD was Master of Puppets, then this book has
00:56 something for you too.
00:57 I'm Tempest hailing from PartsFunKnown and these are 10 Takeaways from Mox by Jon Moxley.
01:03 Also before we start our list, please consider subscribing to PartsFunKnown.
01:06 Adam's already come up with every creative way to ask you to subscribe, so I'm just
01:10 gonna ask politely.
01:11 Because I'm Canadian and we're oh so polite.
01:13 Please subscribe.
01:14 Please subscribe.
01:15 I said the magic word.
01:16 You have to do it now.
01:17 Number 10.
01:18 Jon Moxley really likes sandwiches.
01:21 Now this is my kind of book.
01:23 Yes, yes, don't worry yourself, the rest of this list will be about wrestlers and wrestling
01:27 matches and the like.
01:28 But I don't think I will walk away from reading this book with a bigger life lesson than the
01:32 certified Jon Moxley guide to sandwich making present within these pages.
01:36 The man included a bullet point list of components, do's and don'ts, and multiple diagrams for
01:42 how to craft and eat your perfect sandwich.
01:44 The man is a self-proclaimed sandwich connoisseur and after looking over his work, who am I
01:48 to argue otherwise?
01:49 Hey Mox, I might just have a sandwich that'll tickle your fancy.
01:53 Number 9.
01:54 Inspiration for his AEW character.
01:56 It's no surprise that Jon Moxley wanted to distance himself from the Dean Ambrose character
02:00 when he left WWE.
02:02 Something something gas mask, something something ketchup and mustard wasn't exactly what he
02:06 wanted to take with him when he stepped into his new chapter.
02:09 Sure enough, his AEW character has included none of those things, but what it has included
02:13 is inspiration from one of Moxley's favorite literary characters.
02:17 That character being Jack Reacher.
02:20 While discussing his own moral compass, Moxley writes that Reacher kills people at a breakneck
02:24 pace in unforgiving fashion, but does it because it's the right thing to do.
02:28 He has no patience for bad guys doing bad guy s***, but his moral compass is always
02:32 on point.
02:34 Taking a look at Moxley's body of work from AEW, taking on everyone from the Elite to
02:38 Chris Jericho, all while being an honorable yet sadistic babyface, you can start to see
02:42 a resemblance.
02:44 But now I just want to see Moxley fight Tom Cruise for the honor of being Jack Reacher.
02:47 Come on TK, make it happen.
02:49 Number 8.
02:50 Don't ask anyone for advice.
02:52 It is worth mentioning that while this book is not simply WWE hate porn, it does offer
02:57 a very raw look at some of the more toxic aspects of WWE behind the scenes.
03:02 There's plenty of toxicity near the top of WWE's brass, and don't worry, we'll get
03:06 to that, but toxicity also exists within the locker room and in this case with how veterans
03:11 may treat new talent.
03:13 During a house show loop in December 2011, little less than a year before the debut of
03:17 The Shield, John Dean Ambrose Moxley was working with Daniel Bryan Danielson who whispered
03:22 to him in the locker room not to ask anyone for advice.
03:25 The reason behind this being if you were given a piece of bad advice, everyone would be watching
03:29 you to see if you did what you were advised to do, and if you didn't, you'd get heat.
03:34 Perhaps we don't need to be so sensitive there, lads.
03:36 Moxley does say that asking veterans if they'd seen his match was not his style, but noted
03:40 that Bryan's words gave him better insight into how Machiavellian the WWE main roster
03:45 could be.
03:46 #7.
03:47 Ups and Downs in FCW If you ever looked at the presentation of
03:51 NXT and thought, "You know, there's just too much life in this building," well then
03:54 let's wind back the clock and take a look at some FCW.
03:58 My word, what a drab looking venue.
04:00 John Moxley spent a significant amount of time in FCW after signing with WWE in 2011,
04:05 a time he has said he both loved and hated.
04:07 His first day, William Regal spotlighted him during a promo showcase, allowing Mox to flex
04:12 his verbal muscles and make a good first impression on WWE's higher-ups in attendance.
04:16 That's good.
04:17 But Moxley also detailed how he hated Wednesday promo class because he refused to try.
04:21 Two reasons for this.
04:22 The first was he did not want to mess about with a goofy character like THE BEEKEEPER
04:26 out of fear someone would actually see it and like it, and come to think of it, it does
04:31 seem like something that would come out of NXT 2.0, but I digress.
04:35 The second was he didn't want to cut any good promos for WWE creative folk to take
04:39 and give to somebody else.
04:41 That's bad.
04:42 But overall, Moxley does say that he loved his time there, putting over his series with
04:46 Seth Rollins for the Jack Briscoe 15 championship, as well as his rivalry with William Regal,
04:51 which he and Regal both say is some of the best work of either of their careers.
04:54 That's good.
04:55 Number six, he thinks the Mick Foley feud would have killed his WWE run.
04:59 I deserve 8 hour sleeps, Dredd deserves a sequel, and Mick Foley deserves a better last
05:04 match than the goddamn 2012 Royal Rumble.
05:07 It's common knowledge that Mick Foley and Dean Ambrose were set to feud in 2012, with
05:11 the angle actually starting before the plug was pulled due to Foley's health.
05:14 It's a big WWE what-if moment, as this is something of a dream match, and Ambrose's
05:19 involvement surely would have meant no shield.
05:21 But Jon Moxley wrote that the feud would have killed his WWE run dead.
05:26 Filled with edgy promo material at the time, Moxley knows that he would have reacted poorly
05:30 to being given a script, had difficult to work with shaved into his hair, and pushed
05:34 right out the door.
05:35 Having watched the last decade of WWE programming, it's hard to argue with his logic.
05:40 Number five, tone it down.
05:42 A few excerpts from this book have made the rounds on Twitter over the last week, with
05:45 this frustrating little nugget being one of them.
05:48 Jon Moxley was routinely someone that WWE management had to tell to, quote, "tone
05:52 it down."
05:53 Moxley uses a dark match against Ted DiBiase Jr. as an example, where the match was really
05:57 good with a kick-ass promo beforehand and a hot crowd, but when he got to the back,
06:02 "You gotta tone it down, pal."
06:04 He'd then follow up this performance the next night with the exact same match, but
06:08 just less good.
06:10 And sure enough, that was exactly what Vince was looking for.
06:13 It's so odd.
06:14 WWE has been twisted into a place where they only want you to get a C+ on your paper, and
06:19 if you get an A, you're trying too hard.
06:22 When you see how much better the work has been from former WWE stars like Bryan Danielson
06:26 and Ruby Soho immediately after leaving, it is truly baffling to hear that it is absolutely
06:32 by design and WWE does not want their performers to perform to the highest level possible.
06:38 #4.
06:39 The Triple H Match Made Them Both Feel Like Wrestlers Again
06:41 Jon Moxley's match with Triple H at WWE Roadblock is one of the best singles matches
06:46 of either man's career, and I will die on that hill.
06:49 Not because I was there, but because it is goddamn true.
06:52 An old-school wrestling match with two guys allowed to go to the ring with no plan and
06:56 wrestle the old-fashioned way.
06:58 Moxley waxes poetic about the match as he should, it's bloody brilliant, but the real
07:02 takeaway is the reaction of everyone else, as Triple H, the COO of the company, was described
07:07 as having a look of pride on his face and a twinkle in his eye having reconnected with
07:12 the part of himself that just wanted to be a wrestler.
07:15 Triple H may be more corporate machine than wrestling man now, but it is genuinely very
07:20 heartwarming that the novelty of a truly great performance can still put a smile on that
07:24 man's face after over 20 years in WWE.
07:27 Also Vince and Stephanie both loved it, but they're not wholesome, so I'm moving on.
07:31 Number 3 - People Complained About The Shield Being Stiff
07:34 A famous tale is that CM Punk told the shield head of their debut that guys might be instructed
07:38 to make them look weak, so be stiff.
07:41 Considering it was Ryback in the ring, maybe there were some ulterior motives behind that
07:44 advice.
07:45 The advice was confirmed and elaborated on by Moxley, who wrote that a number of WWE
07:50 higher-ups gave the shield their private blessing to be as physical as necessary after their
07:54 debut.
07:55 However, this came with a lot of complaints amidst a series of busted lips, black eyes,
07:59 and bruises.
08:00 It's not specified who it was who complained about the shield's aggression, but look through
08:03 their list of opponents from their first few months and you can take a guess.
08:06 Moxley also shares a story about how The Rock began coughing up blood after his shield beat
08:11 down, with every living soul present backstage clutching their pearls fearing they'd just
08:15 killed Luke goddamn Hobbs.
08:17 Thankfully, The Rock was fine and this had to do with cold air and blood vessels in his
08:20 lungs, which sounds like a much more complicated problem than a wrestling beatdown.
08:24 God, sort it out, Dwayne.
08:26 2.
08:27 His Confidence Was Gone After WWE
08:30 After over six years on the WWE main roster, the man formerly known as Dean Ambrose was
08:34 spent.
08:35 In body and in spirit.
08:37 Moxley notes multiple times throughout the book that his confidence was completely shot
08:41 after he left WWE in 2019.
08:43 Not surprising, I wouldn't know who I was either if I was on TV getting flu shots in
08:47 my ass six months prior.
08:49 He was unsure about how he would be received by the New Japan fans and wrestlers when he
08:53 arrived in the promotion at the Best of the Super Junior Final in June 2019.
08:57 But the same is true tenfold for his AEW debut at Double or Nothing 2019.
09:01 He even goes so far as to say his fear at the time was that he had been booked into
09:04 oblivion to the point that he would be blackballed from wrestling, damaged goods only to be seen
09:09 as goofball Dean Ambrose with an exploding TV in his hand.
09:13 During his first meeting with Tony Khan, Moxley admits to wanting to warn Khan not to sign
09:17 him out of fear that he might ruin his company before it even got off the ground.
09:22 Clearly none of this happened with Moxley becoming a top star in New Japan and AEW on
09:26 his first night in each promotion, but it goes to show just how damaging his time in
09:30 WWE was for his psyche.
09:32 Also side note, the Uber driver who drove TK to Mox's house was a wrestling fan paid
09:37 $200 to stay quiet.
09:39 He didn't spoil the surprise.
09:40 What a good lad.
09:41 And number one, f*** Kevin Dunn.
09:44 It has been quite some time since we've had someone take Kevin Dunn to task for his
09:47 crimes against wrestling, but this book fills that void very nicely.
09:51 For those unaware, Kevin Dunn is WWE's head of television production and the reason WWE
09:55 has the worst camera work of any form of entertainment outside of World Star Fight videos, although
10:00 I'm sure those videos somehow have less shaky cam.
10:02 He's not considered a popular fellow and sure enough, Jon Moxley did not have good
10:06 things to say about him.
10:07 After winning the US title at Extreme Rules 2013, Mox was told he was in trouble with
10:11 the man in the truck.
10:12 Upon being shown he'd said "give me my f***ing belt" on camera, a big no-no as
10:17 far as PG WWE is concerned, Moxley gave what he thought was a very sincere apology and
10:22 thanked Dunn for bringing it up, thinking Dunn was looking out for him and catching
10:26 an easily correctable mistake.
10:28 What a positive experience.
10:29 An hour later, Michael Hayes told him he didn't give the right kind of apology and oh do I
10:34 never want to work for this company for as long as I live.
10:37 On one hand, this is incredibly childish and petty, but on the other, Moxley points out
10:41 just how damaging it is for someone with so much power over people's careers to be acting
10:46 in such a manner.
10:47 He ends the chapter by saying "I've heard all kinds of stories about that guy messing
10:51 with people's careers, but this isn't that kind of book.
10:54 Suffice to say, that dude is a f***bag.
10:57 Maybe this is that kind of book.
10:58 No, no, but for real, don't even get me started on, no, this is not that kind of book.
11:04 F*** Kevin Dunn."
11:05 And if you ever needed a reminder that this is indeed written by Jon Moxley, that should
11:10 be all the proof you need.
11:12 And that's our list.
11:13 Make sure you let us know what your favorite part of Mox is in the comments, make sure
11:16 to like and share this video around, and subscribe to PartsFunKnown for more fun wrestling content
11:21 just like this.
11:22 LIW for life.
11:24 Peace.