3 WWE matches that Jon Moxley competed in

When WWE revealed in January 2019 that Dean Ambrose will leave the company at the end of his contract in April, fans understandably questioned whether the announcement was legitimate or whether it could lead to a storyline resulting in him staying where he is.

As the weeks progressed, it became clear that the former WWE champion was indeed set to leave the company. He lost multiple matches on Raw in the build-up to WrestleMania 35 – an event that he did not even participate on – while he took part in multiple farewell matches with fellow Shield members Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.

Last week, after teaming with Reigns and Rollins to defeat Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre in a match that was promoted as ‘The Shield’s Final Chapter’, WWE finally confirmed the departure of one of its most popular modern-day Superstars when his profile page on the company’s official website was moved to the alumni section.

Now, just a few days on from his WWE exit, it looks as though Ambrose will be back in wrestling before we know it, as he broke his seven-year social media silence in the early hours of May 1 to post a cryptic video on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/a3GpFKeYVw

— Jon Moxley (@JonMoxley) May 1, 2019

The biggest talking point from the video is that the camera briefly panned towards dice showing the numbers 2 and 5 (AEW's Double or Nothing takes place on May 25), but it is also noteworthy that Ambrose will now be going by the name Jon Moxley, aka Mox, again.

The former Shield member worked under the Moxley name for several years before making it to WWE, and he even competed in three televised matches for the company as Jon Moxley between 2006-2007.

In this article, let’s take a look at who he faced and what happened during those matches.

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#3 Jon Moxley & Brad Taylor vs. Joey Mercury & Johnny Nitro

Speaking during a Shield episode of WWE Network show ‘Table for 3’, Seth Rollins mentioned how former WWE producer Joey Mercury was essentially a fourth member of the popular faction when they began to make a name for themselves in 2012-13.

“I was talking to an old mentor of ours, Joey Mercury, the other day. I miss Joey a lot too. I love him so much. Very, actually, integral part of The Shield. He should maybe be the fourth seat [at the Table For 3 dining table] because he was the behind-the-scenes Shield brother.”

Looking back through the record books, it turns out that Mercury was actually the first person to pin Jon Moxley during a televised WWE match.

Mercury, part of the MNM tag team, teamed with Johnny Nitro (w/Melina) to defeat Moxley and the unknown Brad Taylor during a tag match on Velocity in January 2006.

Interestingly, Taylor played a similar role 12 years later when he was one of three men who were decimated by The Bludgeon Brothers on an episode of SmackDown Live in August 2018.

#2 Jon Moxley & Dick Rick vs. The Big Show

Four months after his appearance on Velocity, Jon Moxley returned to WWE television when he teamed with another unknown wrestler at the time, Dick Rick, to face The Big Show in a 2-on-1 handicap match during a May 2006 taping of Heat.

Sadly, there does not appear to be any footage of the match online, but the winner of the match, needless to say, was The Big Show.

Seven years later, Moxley reinvented himself as Shield member Dean Ambrose and he went on to defeat Show, as well as Sheamus and Randy Orton, in a six-man tag in the opening match of the night at WrestleMania 29.

Sidenote: Like Moxley, the WWE fans in attendance had no idea who Dick Rick was during the Heat taping in 2006. While Moxley turned out to be a big star in WWE, Rick went on to become Impact world champion Eli Drake.

#1 Jon Moxley vs. Val Venis

The most famous pre-Shield picture of Dean Ambrose, used as the main picture in this article, comes from his match against Val Venis on an episode of Heat in January 2007.

Competing as Jon Moxley, he had long pink hair and was described by the commentary team as “a relative unknown” who “is not in Venis’ league”.

Unlike his previous WWE encounters, the match against Venis came across as less of a squash match and more of a test to see what Moxley could do against an established WWE Superstar. He lost, of course, but his performance was still surprisingly impressive for somebody who was not part of the roster.

Following his third WWE match in 12 months, Moxley went on to compete for promotions including Ring of Honor, Dragon Gate USA and CZW before signing a developmental contract with WWE in April 2011.