Jon Moxley says there's one more mountain to climb, and it's time.
At NJPW Battle in the Valley, AEW star Jon Moxley defeated Shingo Takagi in a No Disqualification match. After the bout, he called out IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito, and NJPW confirmed that they would clash at NJPW Windy City Riot.
In Moxley's post-match comments, he made it clear that 2023 was a difficult year, and he was determined to bounce back in 2024. He recalled how people have been trying to put him in a box and tell him who he was for years. Moxley then stated that NJPW was the place to go if you wanted to prove yourself as a wrestler.
"I said in Tokyo that the year 2023 basically sucked, and that was for a multitude of reasons. I said 2024 was gonna be the year of Jon fucking Moxley. This was gonna be my year. Well, I think of the last four or five years, I think of all the limitations that people have tried to put on me, tried to tell me who I am, what I do, what I’m capable of. Five years ago, I was pronounced dead and buried, and I rose from the grave and defied expectations one time after another. Still, people want to put me in a little box and tell me exactly who I am, exactly what I’m capable of, exactly what I can achieve. You all act like you know me. Y’all don’t fucking know me at all. If you’re gonna be the absolute best in professional wrestling, if you’re truly gonna prove to the world and to yourself who you are, there’s only one place to do it, and it’s in New Japan Pro-Wrestling," Moxley said.
Moxley then stated that he had been waiting for the right time for four years, and that time had finally come. He turned his attention to Tetsuya Naito and promised he would not say anything bad about him out of respect for the fans in Japan. Moxley simply stated that Naito was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"I’ve been waiting like a wharf in the brush for four years, waiting for the right time. I look up at the stars tonight, I know it’s time. Naito, fans in Japan, fans I love and respect, love you like a member of their family. So out of respect to them, I will not say anything negative about you, about what you stand for, about what kind of wrestler you are, what kind of person you are. I don’t need to. Naito is just the wrong guy at the wrong place at the wrong time. There’s only one more mountain left to climb, and the time has come," Moxley said.
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy recently reflected on his feud with Jon Moxley. Click here to see what he had to say.
Will Ospreay has teased that a "war" is coming for Moxley. Check out his comments here.
Click here to catch up on our coverage of NJPW Battle in the Valley.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
