‘I can’t even watch you’

[Cannibal Man]

Have to give Moxley a pass for giving us this

[organizedkaos]

I think possibly everythings a bit fatigued with Moxley in AEW (i'd say that and i've not seen any of his WWE run). Convinced a friend who used (attitude era) to be into wrestling to watch All In. I tried to explain a little of the main event backstory, his opinions of that match were that even if you didn't understand who everyone was it did a good job of selling you on the feud and stakes and he "found the heel more impressive". Now without Hangman's build up I do kind of see that, I think Moxley is a very dynamic performer (and you can argue All In is his best performance ever, there are quite the few layers in it) and if you see his fake tough guy act as a heel blowing their own trumpet it can land (problem is in the Deathriders it's part of the act but it's also his face schtick  ) 

(obviously this is a single perspective although it's from a friend who's always very engaged, thoughtful and responsive to whatever they happen to watch)

I'd argue even as someone who's a bit tired of him he's still putting on fantastic performances (see Speed, Jet) and I do see how things might start to grate, he's been very front and centre of AEW for a while. However it does also mean you're missing out on some good wrestling.

I guess that's the same with any of these, it's not that they're necessarily bad it's just you can't bear to engage with the thing they put out. 

[kieranjennings]

My problem with Moxley has always been he just looks like an amateur dramatics version of a hard man. The slightly rolled shoulder, the big nasal breaths, pacing around etc. aren't matched by any real air of threat and menace. Just comes across like someone on a show like Eastenders trying to look hard! 

That's not to say he doesn't put himself through an awful lot in his matches but that just seems like over compensating for genuine physical charisma. 

[Merzbow]

It didn't help when he started making obvious nods towards American History X and Romper Stomper, the fucking edgelord idiot.

[LaGoosh]

8 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

He definitely overdoes the blood-and-guts, but I can’t say I’ve noticed any unwillingness on his part to lose, he seems pretty willing to put people over and make them look good. 

I can't say I've ever heard a bad word said about the man. By all accounts he's a lovely bloke outside the ring who loads of people credit with helping them. The only time I've heard someone moan about him was CM Punk but if that toxic miserable twat moans about you it's basically a seal of approval at this point. 

Stone Cold and Mox did a follow up podcast after he left where they discuss how badly the  first one went. Basically Mox was miserable and depressed because he hated WWE so much and beforehand he asked the producers that they didn't talk about his childhood or difficult teenage years, Austin asked him a bunch of questions about it anyway and it really pissed him off.

Haters going to hate. Mox had two excellent matches with Daniel Garcia in the past two weeks and the world keeps turning.

Moving on - not an individual but The League of Nations as a whole. Just the worst group ever who never did anything remotely entertaining. Instant channel changers and a creative low for the company. 

[BomberPat]

I would add that "all Moxley does is bleed" is a really dated criticism, too. For the majority of the Death Riders angle he barely bled at all, and largely saved it for the big blow-off matches.

[LaGoosh]

He definitely went through an uncomfortable period where he seemed almost addicted to bleeding and did it every week but thankfully has put that behind him. I think he's only got colour 2-3 times in the past year and he saved it for big main events.

[organizedkaos]

Also wrestling has a lot of big am dram play to the crowd acting (particularly anything outside of where they're conveying things through moves). Most everyone is kind of OTT. That's fine but I recon it makes it easier for someone you don't click with to irk (it's maybe an interesting nature of the sport/art/spart). Everything is turned up to 11 but you don't notice the volume of music until it's something that you don't like.

I fucking love Will Osprey but there's a lot of pantomime to his act. It works because he feels genuine and wrestling's vocabulary is these big "do you see what i'm conveying" moments. I could probably say the same with Mox but can really see that if he doesn't "feel" genuine to you his big moments feel overly affected.

The big i love you kicks emotional moment in Danielson/Swerve is brilliant but works because you know the characters and believe in them so you don't notice that it's also very over the top and somewhat corny. I watched the Royal Rumble where Sami Zayn stands up to Roman with non wrestling friends and they found one of the big moments in one of the best stories in wrestling to be ham firsted and again very amateur dramatics. Without the connection to the idea of the characters and storyline it just seems a lot. With the connection is exhilarating and exciting

Obviously some people do some really good subtle stuff. Hangman in particular. 

Edited September 10, 2025 by organizedkaos
Samba de Coco Raízes de Arcoverde - Ê Boi (Maga Bo Remix) (Mr. PC Edit)

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

Pantomime and Am Dram are two very different things. Good wrestling is like good Panto, everyone knows their role, keep it entertaining, and the hero triumphs in the end and if Mox ever wants to give his Twankey a run out I'll definitely watch that. 

Am Dram tends to be badly acted and under prepared with paper thin characterisation. I've seen  lot of wrestling over the years that has definitely strayed into that territory. 

[LaGoosh]

There's also a third type of acting seen often in wrestling. I think of it as "porno acting" because it feels like your watching the talking before the fucking in a Brazzers scene. It's what they teach down at NXT.

[organizedkaos]

Yeah I guess there differing levels of polish, you could see the three on a scale of non subtle acting with pantomime feeling maybe better than the other two (because pantomime actors tend to know how to sell the OTT stuff whereas porn/amdram is more just people being bad). I'll still posit that with someone like Moxley it's less about how he does it and more about whether you believe in him, I don't think his acting is necessarily better or worse than others as much as he's doing wrestling acting and that's what most wrestling acting kinda is (again, All In he did a pretty amazing job of nailing the subtleties, particularly in that last moment)

[Slapnut]

I can’t wrap my head around the am dram version of a hard man criticism. I think Moxley is one of the most believable “hard” looking men in wrestling. He absolutely fucking terrifies me.

[King Mal the Glorious]

I also find the Motley hate baffling. The only naff match I can remember him having in the last couple of years is against Cope (unsurprisingly) and his promos are always spot on for me.

On topic, it's Adam Cole. The run as buds with MJF was fun but even going back to NXT I've always found him terribly bland. He's the worst of the Undisputed trio. Kyle and Strong both have the ring work and goofy charisma to back them up but Cole is just adequate at best at both.

Nothing tunes me out more than "Who's ready for story time with Adam Cole bay bay?"

[LaGoosh]

8 hours ago, King Mal the Glorious said:

Nothing tunes me out more than "Who's ready for story time with Adam Cole bay bay?"

I hate any kind of promo opening line like that. So corny and basically just telling you you're in for a tedious scripted monologue. "My name is Randy Orton", "So what do you wanna talk about?" Etc.

[JakeRobertsParoleOfficer]

On 9/10/2025 at 12:24 AM, Devon Malcolm said:

Very generous.

He manages that fascinating achievement of boring the absolute arse off me while also making me unreasonably angry. With his shit cod tough guy promos and his piss weak offence when he's not using some daft weapon. A total mard arse when he has to lose against someone he doesn't like and has one idea, and that is to bleed all the time. Also came across as a total fucking idiot when he did some interview with Sports Illustrated that I can't be arsed finding because it's late and I suppose I should try and sleep. Far and away one of the shitest wrestlers I've ever seen and William Regal should be regarded as one of the geniuses of our time that he made him look somewhat interesting during their FCW feud. He's probably the main reason I never persevere with AEW when I try it for a fortnight once a year and that's even with The Young Bucks on it.

You've been generous there!!

The guy wouldn't even have a job as a jobber in the 80s or 90s!!

The literal definition of  nothing somehow getting the rub!!!

Looks and wrestlers like a less than half arsed CAW from the 'Here comes the pain' on the ps2