Tiffany: Jon Moxley & The Issue of Outside Dates

Jon Moxley is out of All Out, but is his stint in Japan, and AEW’s policy of allowing outside dates, to blame? Resident Mox Fangirl Tiffany is on the case!

On Friday night, Jon Moxley tweeted out that, due a return of the MRSA infection that nearly took his life in 2018, he was having to pull out of his dream match with Kenny Omega at AEW’s All Out Pay Per View event after having to modify his matches at the Prison Break event last weekend. This is a pretty serious blow to the fledgling AEW, Kenny Omega vs Jon Moxley was the event’s marquee match, but everyone was in agreement that the health and safety of Moxley was more important, especially given his nasty bout with MRSA back in 2018.

After the news dropped, a narrative began online blaming Moxley’s stint in Japan for what happened and saying that AEW needed to crack down on their superstars doing outside dates with the logic that if Mox hadn’t gone to Japan for the G1 Climax tournament, this wouldn’t have happened, but is that fair to everyone involved? Let’s start with the facts.

MRSA or, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, is a NASTY superbug that is resistant to most common forms of antibiotics, which makes it tough to treat.  MRSA is very contagious and can be transmitted through carriers that may or may not have symptoms, usually skin infections. In Moxley’s case, it seems he initially contracted it during his triceps surgery in December 2017.

I'm absolutely gutted to have to deliver this news but I'd rather it come directly from me. In a nightmare scenario, a serious case of MRSA has returned in my elbow. The timing couldn't be worse. In this circumstance I am forced to pull out of the fight 8/31 vs Omega at All Out .

— Jon Moxley (@JonMoxley) August 23, 2019

Going by Moxley’s own tweets, the MRSA infection is in the same elbow it had originated in back in 2017/18 and that he was having the Bursa Sac (a sac of fluids in muscles and joints to ease friction) removed to end the problem once and for all. This debunks part of the ‘He got it in Japan’ narrative. If he’d gotten it in his lungs or on his skin, that would be a compelling argument, but the facts don’t support it. This was something that was already happening.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a doctor or a nurse, but I do have friends that are and according to a nurse friend, who has also gone to bat for Roman Reigns when Dave Meltzer was claiming that Reigns’ cancer diagnosis was a fake, the fact that the MRSA was occurring in the same injured elbow points to a very different situation: The MRSA was never really gone. It was dormant, but with repeated trauma to the elbow, it likely started growing again. What that means is that this probably would’ve happened, even if Moxley had stayed in WWE with the same result: Mox having to have another surgery and miss time on TV.

So back to the original question: Is Mox’s trip to Japan to blame and should AEW stop their guys from doing outside dates? In my opinion, the answer is ‘No’ on both counts. Yes, this sucks, but AEW already has a backup match in place in the form of Pac (FKA Neville from WWE) vs Kenny Omega and Mox is promising that he will be at AEW’s TNT premiere, he is also still scheduled for the Starrcast event prior to All Out. However, this is not something that can be laid at the feet of New Japan Pro Wrestling or at AEW’s policy of letting their guys do outside dates before the show gets going. The outside dates are helping AEW promote their brand, telling their guys not to do them because of something that was no one’s fault is like banning people from driving because someone died in a car accident.

An athlete having to take time off for an injury always sucks and never happens at a convenient time, but this narrative of blaming Moxley’s stint in the G1 Climax or on AEW’s outside dates policy is nonsense. This isn’t something that could’ve been prevented by Moxley staying in the States and not doing outside dates. Most guys in AEW can’t afford to do that, so why ask them to give up paying gigs because of something that couldn’t be prevented, especially when AEW needs them to promote the brand at these gigs? Let’s focus on praying for Mox’s successful surgery and recovery and prepare for All Out instead of placing blame.