In November it was announced that Jon Moxley had checked into an inpatient alcohol treatment program. Moxley was a regular on AEW television and competing in the AEW World Title eliminator tournament at the time he entered the program.
Moxley returned on the January 19 episode of AEW Dynamite and stepped back in the ring on the subsequent episode of AEW Dynamite.
Speaking on her Throwing Down radio show, Moxley's wife Renee Paquette talked about his return.
"He looked so good. His music hit and I honestly got a little teary-eyed, 'look at him.' He's just doing his thing and he's so damn good at it and he loves it. I love seeing him do that. I wasn't sure what he was going to say or what he was going to do. We kind of talked about it at home before he left to go on the road, 'what are you going to say?' 'I don't know,'" Renee recalled.
Moxley addressed his absence and demons, saying he doesn't run from them, he beats the shit out of them.
"It definitely got me a bit emotional, watching him do this, talking about the things. A lot of the stuff that went on was obviously, incredibly personal, and a bunch of people know what happened, they don't really know anything about it. To see him out there and doing his thing and to know how much the words that he had to say touched so many people. My Twitter was blowing up with so many people that could relate and have been where he's been or been where I've been. It was really cool to see that and have that vulnerability. The guy is a special guy and has such a way with words. He's obviously an incredible wrestler, but he's an incredible person and incredible man. I could not be more proud of him or love this guy anymore. To see him out there doing that was so great," said Renee.
Not everyone was satisfied with Moxley's return promo as Busted Open Radio host Bully Ray said that he thought Moxley should apologize to fans for missing time in the middle of his run.
Paquette addressed the situation by saying, "I hate even having to talk about this because it's stupid and annoying. I don't even want to pay it any more attention. The whole thing with Bully Ray, I saw it all over my Twitter and was like, 'do I even want to address this?' It's that thing with, people can talk shit about me all day long and whatever, it's fine. You talk shit about my husband, my family, that become more personal to me and bothers me more. It also bothers me because Bully is somebody who I've always really enjoyed and had a good relationship with him, despite other people not having a good relationship with him or him having burned bridges other places and leaving a bad taste in other people's mouths. I've never had that situation with him. To be on the receiving end of it, sucks. I have not talked to him since this has all gone down. He certainly has my phone number and my husband's phone number. He was at Northeast Wrestling over the weekend with [Moxley]. It sucks."
Paquette noted that Bully Ray's comments were not something she and Moxley talk about during their home life.
"There could not be a more bullshit, trash take, than that. He took time off to take care of himself. Him being there and having longevity in this business is plenty. The guy put his body through the ring with the job that he does and the style of wrestling he works. He loves wrestling and loves this business. For Bully to think he also needs to apologize on top of that...my first reaction to it was like, I thought it was some shock jock shit where he doesn't actually think that. There's no way he actually believes that Jon needs to apologize for taking time off to better himself. Three months is also nothing, in the scope of what wrestling is and the scope of his life. Three months is nothing. For him to go and do the things he needed to do for himself and our family and our daughter, that's for us and not anybody else. I could not be more proud of him for doing that, in a business that is notorious with addiction issues, we've seen the untimely passing of so many wrestlers, it's been a thing that has affected the business for a long time and it's a stigma that comes with the business. The fact that Jon is one of those guys, in the spot that he's in and he's going against the grain and doing the things he needs to do speaks volumes to the fans. Not just the fans, but people inside the business, the boys and girls in the back, who might be going through a similar thing. It happens to so many people and is unfortunately so common. He went and did what he had to do. No apologies necessary," she said.
Paquette also said, "I don't need Bully to apologize for it. I assure you, Jon couldn't give a shit."
When asked by her co-host Miesha Tate if there was some sort of payoff, Renee said, "There's no payoff. This isn't an angle. There is no payoff with a match or anything like that. It's just a shitty take. He's just being a shit head."
Moxley and Bully Ray both competed on the Northeast Wrestling card on Saturday, January 22. Moxley would defend his GCW World Title against Homicide the next night at The WRLD on GCW. At the beginning of the match, a "Fuck Bully Ray" chant broke out at Hammerstein.
Renee also said that Jon would not want her fighting his battles, but she has a platform and wanted to address the situation. She also said the comments caught her off guard since Moxley is so beloved before closing by saying, "Now we don't have to talk about it ever again. Thank God."
Moxley had a successful weekend in the ring, defeating Ethan Page on AEW Rampage, Channing Thomas at NEW Wrestlefest, and Homicide at The WRLD on GCW.
If you missed anything from The WRLD on GCW, check out Fightful's full report on the show by clicking here.
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