Jon Moxley

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Styles Had Contract Talks with AEW

AJ Styles signed a new contract with WWE last year, but not before having some discussions with WWE's main competitor—AEW.

During his Twitch stream (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Austin Lee), The Phenomenal One confirmed that talks were had with AEW when his previous contract was set to expire: "Yeah, there were talks. Look, it's a business. My contract in WWE was going to expire, and there were talks happening."

Styles added: "The [Young] Bucks are my buddies. We never discussed money or anything, but there were talks about coming in. Again, it's all business."

During a recent appearance on Talk'n Shop with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Sai Mohan), Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks suggested that AEW was trying to sign Styles, Gallows and Anderson at the same time, with the goal of debuting them together on the first episode of AEW Dynamite.

That didn't come to fruition, as all three wrestlers re-signed with WWE. Gallows and Anderson were released by WWE in April as part of budget cuts, however, and they have since joined Impact Wrestling.

Meanwhile, Styles remains in WWE where he is among the top heels on SmackDown and is currently involved in an Intercontinental Championship feud with both Jeff Hardy and Sami Zayn.

Signing with AEW could still be a possibility for Styles one day, but the 43-year-old veteran has made it clear that he wants to retire from in-ring competition once his WWE contract expires.

Miro Talks Up AEW

Miro, who formerly competed as Rusev in WWE, made his AEW debut on last week's episode of Dynamite as Kip Sabian's best man.

The native of Bulgaria cut a passionate and heartfelt promo about his frustrations in WWE and his excitement over being able to spread his wings in AEW.

During an appearance on Busted Open Radio (h/t Lee), Miro expressed his opinion that AEW is the best wrestling promotion in the world and explained why:

"Ever since AEW formed, I started watching it and I was so fascinated by it. There are so many reasons why I was fascinated, but it didn't sink into my head until I got there and I was like, 'Wow!' It just blew my mind. I kind of have an epiphany in professional wrestling: I was just into this bubble and at the same style for ten years, and everything outside was like, 'Well, that makes no sense.' You're just pointing fingers, but now, I'm on the outside looking and I finally understand why AEW is the best. AEW gives you every single style around the world, and when they invite you to come to AEW, they don't invite you and tell you, 'Hey, come and change your style to what we want.' No, you come and show your style, doing whatever you're coming from.

"Luchadores come and they bring you lucha libre, instead of people with a strong style, they come in and do a strong style. They don't have to be a style that a certain promotion wants. The old bubble is like boxing. AEW is like MMA. We have all styles combining into one and in one show. You'll see every single thing under the sun. You're not just going to see boxing, you're going to see all the martial arts. That's why I love AEW; that's why I cannot wait to get in the ring."

It has long been said that when wrestlers sign with WWE, they have to adapt to the "WWE style" of wrestling. That has evolved over the years as the performers have gotten more athletic and the roster has gotten more diverse, but there is little doubt that the WWE style differs from others in wrestling.

WWE tends to be a bit slower paced with an emphasis on selling. That appeals to a portion of wrestling fans, while the other portion wants more fast-paced action and feats of athleticism.

AEW tends to focus on the latter more, which is akin to the independent style of wrestling. That comes as little surprise since much of AEW's roster came from the indies.

The popular narrative seems to be that AEW allows wrestlers to be themselves while WWE asks them to conform. Assuming that is true, it makes sense that Miro and some of the other performers who have come to AEW from WWE are thrilled at the prospect of doing what they want to do.

Young on Whether Moxley Impacted Her WWE Career

Renee Young departed WWE last month after eight years with the company, and she has had plenty to say about her time in WWE ever since.

During an appearance on Sunday Night's Main Event (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Ross Kelly) this week, Young specifically talked about whether her standing in WWE changed after her husband, Jon Moxley, left WWE to sign with AEW:

"I actually thought it was gonna be weirder than it was, but maybe I just had my head buried in the sand about it. When Jon and I were at WWE together, it wasn't like we were this couple that was rammed down people's throats. When we walked through the door, we went in and did our separate jobs, and then we'd meet each other in the car after and make our way to the next town.

"So, I didn't think there would be any real effects because I figured I was valued for my own skill aside from him being there. I do think that I was, but once he left, it was, 'Are people gonna treat me different? Are people gonna start being weird towards me?' I really didn't feel that way, and I don't know if it was more like a slow burn of feeling that happen. It wasn't an overnight thing, and it might have been nothing."

Moxley wrestled as Dean Ambrose in WWE and was one of the company's most popular stars. He was one-third of The Shield and later went on to become WWE champion.

He played his cards close to the vest upon leaving WWE, but he made a surprise debut for AEW last year and has now been the reigning AEW World champion for more than 200 days.

It is unclear if Moxley's choice had any impact on Young, but Renee felt it was time to leave WWE regardless as she had accomplished essentially everything possible, including being the first full-time female member of the commentary team on Raw.

Young is a multitalented performer with the ability to thrive on any number of platforms, but with her husband being a top guy in AEW, there will always be speculation about Renee potentially showing up there at some point.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Young Talks Possible Future in AEW

Shortly after departing WWE, Renee Young left the door open for doing more work in the professional wrestling business in the future.

Young appeared on the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch last week to discuss several subjects, including whether she would ever consider working for AEW.

During the interview (h/t WrestlingInc.com's Austin Lee), Young revealed that she has a one-year non-compete clause in wrestling after leaving WWE but wants to have some involvement in the wrestling business moving forward:

"I've accumulated a mass of wrestling knowledge over the last eight years that it would be kind of dumb to just throw that away. It seems like doing that would be kind of a waste of the last almost 10 years. I don't even know if I'm legally allowed to say how long my non-compete clause is, but it's in and around [one year]. I don't know—I'm just a girl that likes to talk about wrestling. I'm not into the legal jargon."

Young also discussed her desired role should she do some work with AEW one day:

"I think if that was something that ever were to come up [working with AEW], I don't think that putting me on commentary is the right move. Even when I started doing commentary, I was stoked to do that, but it was never a goal of mine. My dreams are not dashed by not being on commentary. I tried to pitch to the head writers of SmackDown to use me like UFC uses Megan Olivi, and she feels like an important part of the broadcast. I think that roaming reporter type of role would be awesome with any wrestling company."

Young worked for WWE from 2012 until her final appearance with the company on the Kickoff Show for SummerSlam last month.

She served in a variety of roles, including Kickoff Show host, backstage interviewer and announcer. In fact, she became the first full-time female announcer in WWE history when she was named part of the Raw announce team alongside Michael Cole and Corey Graves in 2018.

While Young has pretty much done it all in the wrestling business at this point, observers naturally link her to AEW since her husband, Jon Moxley, is the reigning AEW World champion.

Young is multitalented and capable of excelling outside the wrestling world, but she is also a well-respected name within it, so it is difficult to imagine her leaving that realm for good even if her WWE career is over for now.

Owens Cuts Fiery Promo on Raw Talk

After battling Aleister Black on Raw Underground and getting laid out by Dabba-Kato, Kevin Owens aired his grievances on Raw Talk:

Owens said that he has been trying to do things "the right way" after taking shortcuts earlier in his WWE career but expressed frustration with "no-names trying to make a name for themselves" at his expense.

At the end of the promo, KO addressed Dabba-Kato directly and said he will "come after" the gargantuan Superstar.

Owens is currently embroiled in a feud with Black, who laid Owens out with Black Mass a couple of weeks ago during an appearance on the KO Show. That led to them doing battle in a multisegment fight on Raw Underground.

There was no decisive winner since both men got in plenty of offense, but their fight was put to a stop by Dabba-Kato, who laid out both Superstars with massive chokeslams.

Dabba-Kato was previously known as Babatunde in NXT and was rarely seen on NXT programming, but he has become a force on Raw Underground under the Dabba-Kato name.

If Owens truly does go after Dabba-Kato, it would mark Dabba-Kato's first true feud of any kind during his time in WWE.

Most would likely view that as a step down for Owens, but since he is still involved with Black as well, perhaps WWE's plan is to have KO fight battles on multiple fronts.

WWE Provides Injury Update on Ivar

After Ivar of The Viking Raiders suffered an apparent injury on Monday's episode of Raw, WWE gave an update on his status.

According to WWE.com, Ivar suffered a cervical injury, which resulted in him being transported to the hospital, but he is expected to make a full recovery.

At the conclusion of an eight-man tag team match pitting the Hurt Business against Ricochet, Apollo Crews and The Viking Raiders, the announce team noted that Ivar appeared to be injured after doing a dive outside the ring.

Ivar wasn't shown on camera so it was difficult to say how much distress he was in, but WWE confirmed that he did indeed suffer an injury.

If Ivar is forced to miss a significant amount of time, it would be a major blow to the Raw tag team division, which is already fairly thin.

The Street Profits are the Raw Tag Team champions and hugely popular, but beyond them there is a lack of established teams. The Viking Raiders are likely second in line; however, that may not be the case given Ivar's status.

An injury to Ivar could result in Erik being taken off television as well, although it could also create a singles opportunity for him, which has been the case for Big E and Jey Uso on SmackDown.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

Jon Moxley and MJF faced multiple foes (besides each other) in their quest to have a show-stealing match to close AEW's All Out.

It had been a long, hot night in North Florida, with the temperature still hovering near 80 degrees at 11:30 p.m. and the humidity lingering in the same ballpark. The show, entering its fourth hour, had gone off the rails when Matt Hardy suffered a real-life injury during an undercard match. Everyone and everything seemed off, the feel-good flow that has become the company's trademark all but missing.

But being in the main event means transcending those troubles, ignoring the noise, the staggeringly heavy air, the dead crowd and delivering a match that makes fans forget everything that had come before it.

While he wasn't talking about these particular challenges, Moxley had laid out for his challenger what it meant to be a star in this business in a prescient promo on TNT.

"All that crap goes away and it's just me and you," Moxley said. "And there's only one question left to answer—are you ready to kill or be killed?"

In his first pay-per-view main event, the pressure was surely on the 24-year-old Maxwell Jacob Friedman. If the match didn't deliver, the blame certainly wouldn't fall on Moxley, an experienced veteran with high profile bouts on the biggest, brightest stages. It would fall on the shoulders of the new guy with the tiny, American-flag themed trunks who some were already suggested talked a better game than he wrestled.

It was up to MJF to prove he belonged in the ring and the conversation about the here and now, not some nebulous discussions about a young talent who might make it sometime in an undefined, potentially distant future that might never come.

The general consensus is that Friedman is strongest when he has a microphone in his hand. Holding up his end of a classic match has always been the question. But, more and more, it's starting to feel like one that has been asked and successfully answered.

First, there was a technical exhibition against Jungle Boy at Double or Nothing in May, a match that defied expectations and opened a lot of eyes. It's one thing to deliver a stylish, world-class match with modern-day masters like Kenny Omega or A.J. Styles who can take just about anyone by the hand and make them look amazing. Doing so with Jungle Boy, like MJF a relatively inexperienced wrestler, indicated Friedman wasn't just capable of being carried to something special—he could hold up his end of a well-constructed, well-executed match.

At All Out, that promise became more than theoretical—it was realized right before our eyes.

The match with Moxley began with MJF's cocky proclamation that "sorry, you're getting wrestling tonight." But this was no old-school borefest. Instead, it was a multi-faceted display of professional wrestling prowess, math work, dripping blood and cutting-edge high spots blending into something that felt both modern and nostalgic at the very same time.

The brilliant finish, with MJF's personal goon Wardlow accidentally creating the opening for Moxley to hit his banned finisher behind the referee's back, was a clever bit of business. It saves face for MJF, makes Moxley look smart, and leaves the opening for both a future rematch and an MJF feud with Wardlow.

Everyone, even Moxley, has been clear that MJF is the future of AEW. At All Out, he proved that was both true and false, as he proved pretty convincingly that the future is now.

Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report and is the author of Shamrock: The World's Most Dangerous Man.