Jon Moxley believes blood plays an important role in modern wrestling.
On the heels of Final Death and Doomsday No Disqualification matches in Korakuen Hall this week, Moxley told Sports Illustrated that he feels blood adds realism to matches.
“I have a whole dissertation on my theory about blood in modern wrestling,” says Moxley. “Do we have time for that?”
“This is a combat sport,” Moxley continued. “College wrestling is a combat sport, too. They have blood timeouts to patch it up. The lowest prelim bout of a UFC card or a boxing card, somebody might have a little blood on their eyebrow or blood coming out of their nose. But they’re not selling a blood sport. It’s not, ‘Tune in for the blood! Tune in for the gore!’ It’s part of the aesthetic. It adds realism.”
Moxley specifically mentioned criticism of blood being used when he wrestled Tomohiro Ishii on the 6/28 Dynamite from Hamilton.
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“Some people say, ‘This is just a random match. Why is there blood?’ I heard that last week vs. Tomohiro Ishii. He’s one of the greatest of all time. I’m not going to let that moment slip by. I’m going foot-to-the-f—ing-gas-pedal. How can I not? Then I hear that I can’t have a good match without blood. O.K., then, you made my argument for me. I’ll do it every time.”
Moxley and Ishii had a five-star match against each other in the G1 Climax in 2019. The two have also dominated the "Best Brawler" Wrestling Observer Newsletter Award since 2014. Ishii won the award each year from 2014 until 2019. Moxley has since won it in 2020, 2021, and 2022. He was also voted Wrestler of the Year in 2020 & 2022.
Moxley continued:
“The point of the dissertation is that this is a combat sport,” Moxley continued. “But we’re not allowed to have blood in a match unless it’s a personal grudge? We’re only allowed to have blood after a five-month grudge after someone slept with somebody’s wife or somebody ran over someone with a car? And then—and only then—are we allowed to have this dramatic crimson mask that looks the exact same every single time? For me, realism-wise, since this is a combat sport, that means there is the potential for blood in every match. Everything in wrestling is preposterous to some degree, but this helps with the suspension of disbelief.
“I’m actually for less blood but more often. If every single match on the card had a busted eyebrow or bloody nose, it would just be part of the sport. But some gory spectacle with blood shooting like a hose is pretty unnecessary. We’re elbowing each other in the face every single match. We’re kicking each other in the face every single match. What are these people made of if they’re not bleeding?
“People ask why there is blood in the ring every time I leave it. It feels unnatural to go out of my way to make sure no one is bleeding. That feels like I’m taking my foot off the gas pedal. That doesn’t interest me.”
Some of Moxley's most highly-regarded performances have been in deathmatches. His Texas deathmatch against Hangman Page at Revolution in February received a five-star rating from our own Dave Meltzer. The 2022 Blood & Guts match received a rating of four and three-quarter stars. His Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match vs. Kenny Omega in 2021 received a four-and-one-half star rating after likely being hurt due to the disappointing ring explosion.
Moxley teamed with Homicide on Tuesday's show against El Desperado & Jun Kasai in a Doomsday No Disqualification match. It was 48-year-old Kasai's first match in NJPW. Moxley then defeated Desperado in a Final Death match on Wednesday. He's also scheduled to wrestle in his second straight Blood & Guts match on the July 19 AEW Dynamite from Boston.