Jimmy Korderas Questions Whether Jon Moxley Has Re-Invented Himself In AEW, What NXT Should Change
When Jon Moxley joined AEW, we were promised a character different than the Dean Ambrose one we saw in WWE. But some think that hasn't quite been the case including former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas.
Korderas talked about what he's seen from Moxley thus far when he joined The Wrestling Inc. Daily.
"It's almost like he's gone back to what brought him to the dance before he became part of The Shield ? and he's doing all of that stuff again ? by coming through the crowd and that kind of stuff. He's just being a little bit of his old self, at least to me that's how it's coming across," Korderas said of Moxley who he sees as a cross to his pre-WWE days and his Shield days.
Taz joined AEW last month as a part of their broadcasting team and thus far he's filled in on many commentary roles. But Korderas wants one specific role for him with AEW and that's on the Dynamite commentary desk.
"It's not a knock against Excalibur, but if you want a credible voice there, let's face it ? people know who Taz is. He's a credible analyst and he can break it down from a guy who's been in the ring point of view," stated Korderas. "JR is your play-by-play guy and Tony Schiavone can be your third wheel commentary guy. It's not knocking Excalibur it's just that Taz lends credibility.
"We know that Excalibur was a former worker but he's not Taz. And Taz just has a way of speaking. When he was on commentary back in the day with Michael Cole and JR, he excelled. He would lend a lot of credibility to their product."
AEW has maintained its ratings lead over NXT through 2020 and many are wondering what NXT can do to counter. Korderas pointed to the presentation of the product as one way NXT can do better.
"I don't know what they can do that's better. From a pure in-ring wrestling stand point, I think their show is just as good if not at times better," admitted Korderas. "AEW ? their big advantage is that they have young stars over with the diehard audience. Their presentation looks more big-time than NXT does."
He added that NXT at Full Sail still looks like the third, developmental brand when compared to Raw and SmackDown. He also noted that the same 300-400 people show up every week at Full Sail and that can be a detriment.
"We saw at the TakeOver in Portland ? in front of a fresh set of eyes ? how different the audience was and it looked big-time. From a presentation stand point, that would be the first thing I would look at possibly changing," said Korderas.
Speaking of NXT and their Superstars, it seems as they were pushed heavily around Survivor Series but that then cooled off around Royal Rumble. Korderas was asked why he thinks that was the case.
"If I had to guess, my guess would be that, 'Hey, we presented them at Survivor Series as an equal brand so our job is done.' On big PPVs like the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, we'll put a few guys in there," said Korderas who then acknowledged that the push for the brand mirrors the push that many of the NXT Superstars get after coming to the main roster.
"It feels like, 'Hey, we're gonna push these guys to the moon and then after that? here you go. You've got your Wednesday night spot. Have at it,” said Korderas."
You can follow Korderas on Twitter @JimmyKorderas. Korderas' full interview with Wrestling Inc aired as part of Wednesday's episode of our podcast, The Wrestling Inc. Daily. Subscribe to get the latest episodes as soon as it's released Monday – Friday afternoon: by clicking here. The full interview can be heard via the embedded audio player below: