Jon Moxley On How Promos Are Produced In WWE Vs. AEW
As previously reported, Jon Moxley recently spoke with Wade Keller on The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. On the podcast, Moxley discussed AEW promos being far easier and simpler than how WWE operates promos.
"It's all kind of touch hand go," Moxley told Keller. "The past few months I've just been thinking to myself, I don't know what I'm going to be as a wrestler. I don't know what I'm going to be as a character. I don't know how fans are going to react to me. I guess I'll just figure it out as I go along. But that's usually when it's the better stuff. For instance, the difference between AEW and WWE, after Double or Nothing in the span of ten minutes I was able to record three different promo type things that were all good stuff. It was so easy. I texted Cody earlier in the day when I was hiding out, 'Hey, make sure there's a camera that follows me back after the thing, we're probably going to want like a backstage promo. Just a camera in a backstage hallway.' Cody's like 'cool.' Press record. Two minutes later. One take. Said what I wanted to say. Done and done. No writers needed. That's how it's supposed to be. Just point the camera at me and press record. I know what I'm doing.
"The Young Bucks had an idea for the thing with me and Joey Janela for a teaser. 'Maybe he's smoking a cigarette. Maybe I grab the cigarette from him'. Ninety seconds later, we have another promo. Done and Done. Like, 'Hey that's cool. That's even better.' Just that collaboration with all these cool dudes cause we know what's good. Another one, I don't know if it aired yet. It's a comedy thing. 'This is kinda funny.' I'm like 'cool'. Thirty seconds later, we have another one in the can. Within ten minutes, I accomplished more than what I had in six months of WWE."
Moxley also touched on how complicated and time consuming Vince McMahon can make filming one short promo.
"It is very institutionalized but I think it could be fixed very quickly," Moxley said. "For example, if I'm going to do a one minute backstage promo they need light, they need to find a place to do it. You got to have a lighting guy over there. You have to have a sound guy over there. You have to have lights set up. It takes a team of six guys for some reason. These guys are all pros and good at their jobs and they make you look great. But if one little thing is off, Vince will say, 'Hey, you have to redo it.' There will be times two hours ago, you did a little backstage [promo] and someone will come up to me and say, 'Hey, Vince said he saw this. He saw something in the shot he doesn't like. You have to do it again.' Now you can't go over your match cause you have to go back and do that again which is stupid."
Moxley used real sports as an example of how the process should be undertaken.
"It would be very easy to just film it however it looks," Moxley mentioned. "Like real sports. If you catch an interview with a coach at halftime in a locker room and someone might walk by in the background. You still got the interview with the coach."
Regarding WWE writers and producers, Moxley admitted that the dynamic WWE has structured within themselves is dangerous to the jobs and livelihood of WWE employees.
"Those backstage promos can get approved by one of the more top writers. But even after you're done you still have wait maybe fifteen minutes for one of those top writers to come over, watch it, and give his okay. He's only going to give his okay if he's 100% sure Vince is going to like it.
"I mentioned something on Jerichos podcast about I've never been scared of getting fired. A whole lot of the boys feel the same way. We're always pitching ideas. We are not scared of our jobs. That does not go for the writers and producers. Writers and producers can get fired at any second because someone's ass is always on the line for something.
"I've gone off script before and you know what happens? Vince chased me down the hallway in Atlanta. Literally chased me down the hallway during the show and yelled at me. And if you go off script the next week, they're more up your ass. They're making sure you don't go off script again. They're watching you which makes your job harder.
"For instance, those last few months, I could have gone off script anytime I wanted. What are they going to do? Fire me? I could have. A big part of the reason why I wouldn't have is because someones ass was on the line. If I go off script because I think I'm trying to be cool and do my thing, then the producer of the match gets fired or the writer gets fired. And he might have kids and a mortgage. I can't live with myself if I do that. Somebody's ass is always on the line for something. Writers and producers are scared of Vince. The boys are usually the ones yelling at writers and producers like, 'Can't we do it like this?' And they're like, 'I don't know.' And that's a weird dynamic."
Moxley also mentioned that WWE writers and producers aren't necessarily the ones to point the finger at as Moxley believes their jobs aren't necessary.
"Not all the writers are idiots. It's not necessarily the writers fault. It's that their job shouldn't exist. Even the best writer can't be a good writer because their job shouldn't exist. If you need a writer to write a promo for you, you f***ing suck at your job and you shouldn't be in WWE. And there's the talent out there that's good at it and could get over on his own merits and they should be here and not you. The best writers in WWE, writer guys I like that aren't idiots, they cannot write a promo for me, because they're not me.
"It's like the little backstage promo I was doing in AEW. Two minutes. One take. One camera. Easy money. I'm not gonna say this like, 'I'm so good that it was easy' but it was easy. It's not hard. I know what I want to say. Point the camera at me and hit record. If I slug a line, who cares? It's real time. It's like real sports."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.