Jon Moxley on what drew him to NJPW, former WWE co-workers encouraging him to take part in the G1 Climax Tournament

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

Jon Moxley is featured in a New Japan Pro Wrestling website interview and was asked about what drew him to to the company. “I’ve always been a fan of NJPW,” Moxley said. “I loved their wrestlers and matches. When I was in Florida I was obsessed with watching Hiroshi Tanahashi and Minoru Suzuki. To me NJPW is pro-wrestling, and I knew I needed to be here.”

Moxley also mentioned that a couple of his former WWE co-workers encouraged him to take part in the G1 Tournament. “Well, Shinsuke Nakamura is in WWE and doing very well,” he said. “I never got to wrestle him sadly, but he heard that I was likely going over to be in the G1 and he was very pleased, said it was a great life experience. Karl Anderson, who I’ve actually been friends with since I was 18, since we’re both from Cincinnati. I asked him about the G1, a few others as well, and everybody was great and said ‘yeah, go for it’.”

Moxley also spoke about the challenge of wrestling in the G1. “I’ve watched a lot of matches from it,” he said. “Lots of great matches, grueling fights. I’ve heard it’s the toughest, most grueling, most challenging tournament in all of sports. It’s a meat grinder, four weeks of hell. It’s got a hell of a reputation as being the toughest thing you can do as a professional wrestler. That’s intriguing to me as a fan, and it’s intriguing to me as a wrestler.” Read the full interview at NJPW1972.com.

Powell’s POV: Moxley went on to speak very highly of Suzuki. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for their first match, as Suzuki is not an entrant in this year’s tournament. The G1 kicks off on July 6 in Dallas, Texas. Moxley is in the tournament, but he will not be appearing on the Dallas show due to his AEW deal not allowing him to work for NJPW in the United States. However, the full tournament will be available on the New Japan World streaming service. Join me for live coverage of the G1 Opening Night as the show airs on AXS-TV a week from Saturday.

Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and Brian Fritz of the Between The Ropes podcast discussing WWE’s creative and ratings struggles, Bray Wyatt following the Firefly Funhouse, WWE Stomping Grounds, NJPW G1 Opening Night, and ROH’s issues, what would happen if AEW opted to run head-to-head with WWE Raw, and much more.