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Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
. He is signed to
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
(AEW), where he performs under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth reign. He is also the leader of the Death Riders. He also makes appearances for
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
(NJPW), where he is a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and a former two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion. He became widely known for his tenure with
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
, where he performed under the ring name Dean Ambrose from 2011 to 2019. Good made his professional wrestling debut in 2004, and competed as Jon Moxley in several independent promotions such as
Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wres ...
(HWA),
Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...
(wXw),
Full Impact Pro Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is currently part of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) along with Shine Wrestling. Sal Hamaoui founded the company and serves as the president, while Trevin Adams is the ...
(FIP),
Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...
(CZW), and
Dragon Gate USA Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) is an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice Presi ...
(DGUSA). Upon signing with WWE in 2011, he was renamed Dean Ambrose and began competing in the company's developmental territories of
Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...
(FCW) and NXT, before joining the main roster in November 2012 as a member of
The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...
alongside
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
and
Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...
. Ambrose won the
WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defend ...
, his first championship in WWE, in May 2013; his 351-day reign became the longest United States Championship reign since the title came under WWE's ownership (breaking the record previously held by
Montel Vontavious Porter Hassan Hamid Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Manager (professional wrestling), manager, and sub ...
). After widespread success, The Shield split in June 2014. Ambrose went on to win the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
once, the
WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, alo ...
three times, and the
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand exte ...
twice (both times with Rollins), which made him WWE's 27th Triple Crown Champion and 16th Grand Slam Champion. He also won the
Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First performed at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate WWE Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank event w ...
in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
. Upon leaving WWE after his contract expired in April 2019, Good reverted to his Jon Moxley character and made his surprise debut the following month at Double or Nothing, AEW's inaugural event. He started wrestling for NJPW in June 2019 and won the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship in his first NJPW match, becoming the only person to have held the United States Championships in both WWE and NJPW. He would briefly vacate the championship but quickly won it back a second time, subsequently setting a record for the longest reign in the championship's history. He also won the
AEW World Championship The AEW World Championship is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on ...
in February of that year, making him the first person to hold championships in AEW and NJPW simultaneously. He won the AEW World Championship twice more in 2022, setting records for the most world championship wins and longest cumulative reigns in AEW history. He would also win the
AEW International Championship The AEW International Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All E ...
in September 2023, making him the company's first wrestler to hold both the world championship and a secondary championship. Afterwards, Good would win the
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The championship was created on March 1, 2021, by the unification of t ...
at Windy City Riot, becoming the first and thus far only wrestler to hold world titles in WWE, AEW, and NJPW. He has headlined 17 AEW pay-per-view events, the most in the company's history. In total, Good has held 15 total championships (including six world championships) between WWE, AEW, and NJPW. He won the ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' award for Most Popular Wrestler of the Year in 2014, 2015, and 2022, and was named Wrestler of the Year by ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' in 2019. He was also ranked first on the 2020 edition of ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' list of the top 500 wrestlers in the world. He has sporadically ventured into acting, most notably starring in the films '' 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown'' (2015) and '' Cagefighter: Worlds Collide'' (2020).


Early life

Jonathan David Good was born in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
on December 7, 1985. His mother worked night shifts stocking shelves at a ThriftWay store and his father worked two jobs; he first ran a machine on the shop floor of a plastics factory and was later promoted to an office job, which required him to relocate, but Good's mother did not want to move and thus raised Good and his sister alone. He grew up in Cincinnati's East End, which he later described as so deprived that shoplifting essential items was a daily occurrence for everybody he knew. He said, "Our neighborhood was just a big swath of crappy apartment buildings in varying states of decay utI honestly don't think I'd have rather grown up anywhere else. We played football in the street, rode bikes, etc. We didn't spend any time indoors. Nobody had anywhere nice to go back to anyway." An avid fan of professional wrestling who idolized
Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...
, Good used wrestling as an escape from his rough upbringing by watching videos and reading stories about wrestling's earlier days. He attended Amelia High School in nearby Batavia, but dropped out one year after beginning to train as a wrestler. He supported himself by working minimum-wage jobs in factories, restaurants, and warehouses, but was constantly getting fired because he would skip work if he was booked to wrestle a match that clashed with his job; however, he continued to do so because he knew he "could always find another minimum-wage job".''The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast'', episode:
Dean Ambrose Talks...About Wrestling Figures
(February 8, 2019). Retrieved December 1, 2019.
He often used drugs such as
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
as a teenager, during which time he was also arrested multiple times for shoplifting. He has said that he would have most likely become a
forest firefighter Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the available fuel, the local atmospheric conditions, the features of the terrain, and the size of the wildfir ...
if he did not pursue wrestling.


Professional wrestling career


Heartland Wrestling Association (2004–2011)

Good began working for Les Thatcher in the
Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wres ...
(HWA)
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
as a teenager by selling popcorn and setting up the
ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
. He began training to become a professional wrestler at the age of 18 under the teaching of Thatcher and HWA wrestler Cody Hawk. He made his debut in 2004 under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
Jon Moxley. The following year, Moxley won the HWA Tag Team Championship twice, with Jimmy Turner and Ric Byrne respectively. He captured the
HWA Heavyweight Championship The HWA Heavyweight Championship was the heavyweight Championship (professional wrestling), title contested in the Heartland Wrestling Association. Title history See also *Heartland Wrestling Association References {{reflist External linksH ...
twice in 2006 by defeating Pepper Parks on both occasions but lost the title to
Chad Collyer Chad Collyer (born December 12, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Collyer attended Manchester College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler, w ...
and Brian Jennings respectively. From mid-2007 to early 2010, Moxley continued to work in the
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
division and held the HWA tag titles once with his trainer Cody Hawk and twice with King Vu. He won the HWA Heavyweight Championship for the third time from Aaron Williams in January 2010, before losing it to Gerome Phillips six months later.


Independent circuit (2006–2011)

In September 2006, Moxley teamed with Hade Vansen to win the IWA World Tag Team Championship in the Puerto Rico-based International Wrestling Association. They lost the titles to
Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...
and Jeff Jeffrey in November, ending their reign at 69 days. Moxley wrestled a match in WWE in January 2007 losing to
Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by his ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 1998 to 20 ...
. Moxley also wrestled several dark matches for
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
(ROH) between 2007 and 2009. Moxley started working for
Dragon Gate USA Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) is an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice Presi ...
(DGUSA) in late 2009. He made his first televised appearance in March, where he defeated
Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ...
in a hardcore match taped for the Mercury Rising
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
. At the Uprising event in
Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, Moxley suffered a legitimate injury where his left nipple was nearly severed during a match with
Jimmy Jacobs Christopher Scoville (born February 17, 1984) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jimmy Jacobs. He is best known for his 12-year career in Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a List of ROH Wor ...
. His last match in DGUSA was against
Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
in January 2011, which Moxley won. At
Full Impact Pro Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is currently part of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) along with Shine Wrestling. Sal Hamaoui founded the company and serves as the president, while Trevin Adams is the ...
's (FIP) Southern Stampede event on April 17, 2010, Moxley defeated Roderick Strong to win the vacant FIP World Heavyweight Championship. He held the title for 441 days before relinquishing it in July 2011, due to his signing with WWE. Moxley also won
Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...
's CZW World Heavyweight Championship twice in 2010 by defeating B-Boy and Nick Gage, respectively.


World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2011–2019)


Developmental territories (2011–2012)

Good signed a developmental deal with WWE in April 2011 and joined its developmental territory
Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...
(FCW) under the name Dean Ambrose. Prior to his signing, Good wrestled three try-out matches for WWE in 2006 and 2007 and jobbed alongside Dick Rick against The Big Show in a handicap match on
Heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...
in January 2006. Ambrose made his televised debut on the July 3 episode of '' FCW'', portraying a villainous character and challenging FCW Jack Brisco 15 Champion
Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...
. The following month, Ambrose and Rollins had a 20-minute non-title Iron Man match; the match ended in a draw with neither man scoring a fall. A 30-minute rematch, in which the title was on the line, took place in September which Rollins won through sudden death rules. Ambrose beat Rollins in a non-title match in the first round of a tournament to crown the new FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion. However, Ambrose was unsuccessful in the tournament final against Leo Kruger. Ambrose later cost Rollins his FCW 15 Championship by attacking Damien Sandow during his title match with Rollins, causing a disqualification in the deciding fall. Ambrose later unsuccessfully challenged Sandow for the championship. At an FCW
house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...
on October 21, Ambrose challenged WWE wrestler
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
, who was making a guest appearance, to a match in which Ambrose was defeated. Punk would later praise Ambrose after the match. Ambrose then began a
feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
with
William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the vice-president of Global Talent Development. He is also known for ...
after he targeted Regal in an unprovoked attack. They would wrestle on the November 7 episode of ''FCW'', with Regal winning. For the next year, Ambrose would obsessively request for another match with Regal. On December 7, Ambrose competed at tapings for an unaired
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
for ''
WWE NXT ''WWE NXT'', also known simply as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring wrestlers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show c ...
'' under the working title ''Full Sail Ahead'' at
Full Sail University Full Sail University is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It was formerly a recording studio in Ohio named Full Sail Productions and Full Sail Center f ...
, where he was defeated by Leo Kruger. In March 2012, Ambrose had a confrontation with veteran hardcore wrestler
Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and author. He is signed to WWE, under a Legends contract while also serving as an ambassador. Foley worked for many wrestling promotions, including the W ...
, claiming that Foley needed to be held accountable for creating a generation of imitators. Ambrose continued to antagonize Foley through
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. According to Ambrose, the
angle In Euclidean geometry, an angle can refer to a number of concepts relating to the intersection of two straight Line (geometry), lines at a Point (geometry), point. Formally, an angle is a figure lying in a Euclidean plane, plane formed by two R ...
was supposed to culminate in a match between the two, but this never came to fruition due to Foley not being medically allowed to wrestle. Instead, the rivalry was scrapped and Ambrose remained in WWE's developmental system. He competed in a dark match at the first tapings of ''NXT'' on May 17, in a loss to
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Xavier Woods and is part of The New Day and is one-half of the current World ...
. On an episode of ''FCW'' in June, Ambrose challenged Rollins for the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship but lost. Almost a year after their first match, Ambrose and Regal rematched on the final episode of ''FCW'' on July 15. The match would conclude in a no contest after Ambrose repeatedly kneed Regal's head into a ring
turnbuckle A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eye bolts, one screwed into each end of a small metal ...
, causing Regal to bleed from the ear.


The Shield (2012–2014)

On November 18, 2012, Dean Ambrose made his WWE main roster debut at the
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
pay-per-view event alongside
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
and Seth Rollins, as they delivered a triple powerbomb through an announce table to Ryback during the triple threat main event for the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
, allowing CM Punk to pin
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
and retain the title. The trio declared themselves
The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...
, vowed to rally against "injustice", and denied working for Punk; however, they routinely emerged from the crowd to attack Punk's opponents, including Ryback and the WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No ( Daniel Bryan and Kane), thus establishing themselves as villains. This led to a six-man
Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match A tables, ladders, and chairs match, often abbreviated as TLC, is a type of professional wrestling match that originated within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The TLC match is a variation of a ladder match, which is modified to c ...
being set up for the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view event on December 16, where The Shield defeated Ryback and Team Hell No in their debut match. They continued to aid Punk after TLC, both on '' Raw'' and at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 27, 2013. The night after the Royal Rumble, it was revealed that Punk and his manager
Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
had been paying The Shield to work for them all along. The Shield then quietly ended their association with Punk. At
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...
on February 17, The Shield defeated Ryback, John Cena, and
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...
. At
WrestleMania 29 WrestleMania 29, also promoted as WrestleMania NY/NJ, was a 2013 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It was the 29th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 7, 2013, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New J ...
on April 7, The Shield won their first WrestleMania match against Sheamus,
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
and
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
. Ambrose made his singles debut against
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
on the April 26 episode of ''SmackDown'', which he lost by
submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...
. On the May 13 episode of ''Raw'', The Shield's undefeated streak as a team ended in a disqualification loss against WWE Champion John Cena and Team Hell No. At Extreme Rules on May 19, Ambrose won the United States Championship by defeating
Kofi Kingston Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Kofi ...
. He would successfully defend the title in the following weeks with the help of Reigns and Rollins. On the June 14 episode of ''SmackDown'', The Shield was given their first decisive loss, against Randy Orton and Team Hell No, when Daniel Bryan made Rollins submit. Ambrose made his first pay-per-view defense of the United States Championship at Payback on June 16, where he defeated Kane by countout. The following month at Money in the Bank on July 14, he competed in the World Heavyweight Championship
Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First performed at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate WWE Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank event w ...
but failed to win despite interference from Reigns and Rollins. In August, The Shield allied themselves with
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
and joined his group The Authority. Ambrose continued to retain his United States Championship against
Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...
at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 18, Dolph Ziggler at Night of Champions on September 15, and Big E Langston at
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...
on October 27. At the
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
pay-per-view on November 24, The Shield teamed with Antonio Cesaro and
Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently performs on the independent circ ...
to take on
Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...
,
The Usos The Usos were a Samoan-American professional wrestling tag team which consisted of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are signed to WWE, where Jey performs on the WWE Raw, Raw brand while Jimmy performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), Sma ...
, Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a traditional Survivor Series match; although Ambrose was the first man eliminated, Reigns would ultimately win the match for the team. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 15, CM Punk defeated The Shield in a
handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
after Ambrose was accidentally speared by Reigns. At the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 26, 2014, Ambrose entered his first
Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...
at number 11 and eliminated three participants, before being eliminated by Reigns. The following night on ''Raw'', The Shield faced Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Sheamus in order to earn their spot in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The Shield lost after The Wyatt Family (
Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 – August 24, 2023), better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in WWE from 2009 until his death in 2023. Rotunda was a third-generati ...
, Erick Rowan, and
Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee. Huber performed under the ring name Luke Harper in WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...
) interfered, thus starting a feud between the two factions. The Shield would lose to The Wyatt Family at the
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...
pay-per-view on February 23, due to Ambrose abandoning his teammates midway through. After their feud with The Wyatt Family, The Shield moved on to a rivalry with Kane, turning into heroic characters in the process. The group defeated Kane and the
New Age Outlaws The New Age Outlaws are an American professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) made up of Brian James ("Road Dogg" Jesse James) and Monty Sopp ("Badd Ass" Billy Gunn). The duo became popular in the late 1990s as membe ...
(
Road Dogg Brian Girard James (born May 20, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as the Senior Vice President of Live Events. James was best known for his initial tenure with World Wrestling Federation (WWF, n ...
and
Billy Gunn Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to the WWE under a Legends contract and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also perfo ...
) at
WrestleMania XXX WrestleMania XXX was a 2014 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 30th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This ...
on April 6. The feud with Kane also prompted The Shield to cease working for Triple H, who reformed
Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
with himself,
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...
and Randy Orton to battle them. On April 28, Ambrose surpassed
MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...
as the longest-reigning United States Champion under the WWE banner. The Shield defeated Evolution in a six-man tag team match at Extreme Rules on May 4. The following night on ''Raw'', Triple H forced Ambrose to defend his United States Championship in a 20-man
battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...
, which saw Ambrose surviving until the final two before ultimately being eliminated by Sheamus, thus ending his title reign at 351 days. The Shield once again defeated Evolution at Payback on June 1 in a
No Holds Barred No holds barred or No Holds Barred may refer to: * ''No Holds Barred'' (1952 film), a film starring The Bowery Boys * ''No Holds Barred'' (1989 film), a film starring Hulk Hogan * ''No Holds Barred'' (Biohazard album) (1997) * ''No Holds Barred ...
elimination match Much like the Singles match (professional wrestling), singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, Hardcore wrestling, ha ...
in June. The following night on ''Raw'', Rollins betrayed Ambrose and Reigns and aligned himself with The Authority, breaking up the group.


Feuds with Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt (2014–2015)

Ambrose promptly began feuding with Rollins, which included the duo interfering in each other's matches. During this period, Ambrose and Reigns amicably separated as a team, with Ambrose debuting new ring attire and new entrance music. Ambrose competed the 2014 Money in the Bank ladder match on June 29, which Rollins would win after Kane attacked Ambrose. Ambrose was scheduled to face Rollins at
Battleground A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...
on July 20, but he was ejected from the arena by Triple H after a pre-match brawl with Rollins. Rollins was later announced as the winner via
forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from '' Wonder What's Next'' * '' Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers ...
, prompting Ambrose to return to the arena and attack Rollins. Ambrose and Rollins eventually wrestled at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 17 in a lumberjack match, which Ambrose lost after Kane again interfered and Rollins hit Ambrose with his Money in the Bank briefcase. The following night on ''Raw'', Ambrose faced Rollins in a
Falls Count Anywhere match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
, which Ambrose lost by knockout after interference from Kane once again. After the match, Rollins curb stomped his head through cinder blocks, giving Ambrose
kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...
(fictional) "head and spine trauma" and causing him to take a hiatus from WWE. Ambrose returned at Night of Champions on September 21 and attacked Rollins. The duo faced off in a Hell in a Cell match the following month at
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...
on October 26, where Ambrose lost again when the returning Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked him. After consecutive losses to Wyatt at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 23 and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 14, Ambrose defeated Wyatt in a Boot Camp Match at ''Tribute to the Troops'', before losing to Wyatt yet again in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight on the December 22 episode of ''Raw''. The feud between the two concluded when Wyatt defeated Ambrose in an ambulance match on the January 5, 2015, episode of ''Raw''. At the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 25, Ambrose participated in the Royal Rumble match, but was eliminated by Big Show and Kane. Ambrose then began a feud with Intercontinental Champion Bad News Barrett. He failed to win the championship from Barrett at Fastlane on February 22 and
WrestleMania 31 WrestleMania 31 was a 2015 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 31st annual WrestleMania and took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's S ...
on March 29. Ambrose defeated Luke Harper at Extreme Rules in a Chicago Street Fight on April 26, his first singles victory on a pay-per-view event since The Shield split up. The following night on ''Raw'', Ambrose competed in the 2015 King of the Ring tournament, but was disqualified from the competition during his quarterfinal match with Sheamus, after interference from Dolph Ziggler. Ambrose returned to feud with Rollins over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, defeating him in a non-title match on the May 4 episode of ''Raw''. As a result of this, he was added to Rollins's championship defense at Payback on May 17 against Randy Orton and Roman Reigns. Rollins would retain his championship at Payback. At
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...
on May 31, Ambrose faced Rollins in a singles match for the championship. He won the match by disqualification after Rollins shoved the
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
, but did not win the title, as championships cannot change hands by disqualification. Regardless, Ambrose stole the
championship belt A championship belt is a large, extravagantly designed belt used primarily in combat sports as an award, similarly to trophies in other sports. There are several companies in the business of constructing championship belts. The first belt given ...
from him and challenged Rollins to a
ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...
for the title at Money in the Bank on June 14, which he narrowly lost. After Money in the Bank, Ambrose teamed up with Roman Reigns to defeat Wyatt and Harper at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 23. The following night on ''Raw'', Ambrose and Reigns fought Wyatt and Harper in a SummerSlam rematch, during which
Braun Strowman Adam Joseph Scherr (born September 6, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Strongman (strength athlete), strongman. As a wrestler, he is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2013 to 2025, where he performed un ...
made his WWE debut, helping Harper and Wyatt. At Night of Champions on September 20, Ambrose, Reigns and a returning
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...
were defeated by Wyatt, Harper, and Strowman in a six-man tag team match. After Rollins legitimately injured his knee on November 3, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was declared vacant; Ambrose entered a 16-man tournament to determine a new champion. After defeating Tyler Breeze in the first round, Dolph Ziggler in the quarterfinals and Kevin Owens in the semifinals, Ambrose ultimately made it to the finals at the
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
main event on November 22 but lost to Reigns.


Championship reigns (2015–2017)

In December, Ambrose won the Intercontinental Championship for the first time after defeating Owens at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. He successfully defended the title against Owens and Ziggler multiple times between December and January 2016. Ambrose competed in the 2016 Royal Rumble match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which he lost after being lastly eliminated by eventual winner Triple H. Ambrose would later lose the Intercontinental Championship back to Owens in a five-way match on the February 15 episode of ''Raw'', after Owens pinned Tyler Breeze. At Fastlane on February 21, Ambrose faced Reigns and
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...
in a triple threat match to determine the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at
WrestleMania 32 WrestleMania 32 was a 2016 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 32nd annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T ...
, but lost after he was pinned by Reigns. The following night on ''Raw'', Ambrose challenged Lesnar to a No Holds Barred street fight match at WrestleMania 32, which Paul Heyman accepted on Lesnar's behalf. He then failed to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H at the
Roadblock A roadblock is a temporary installation set up to control or block traffic along a road. The reasons for one could be: * Roadworks *Temporary road closure during special events * Police chase *Robbery * Sobriety checkpoint * Protests In peaceful ...
event in March. He was also unsuccessful in defeating Lesnar at WrestleMania 32. Following WrestleMania, Ambrose began a rivalry with Chris Jericho. He defeated Jericho at Payback, and again at Extreme Rules in an Asylum match later that month to end the feud. In May, Ambrose qualified for the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match, which he would win. Later that same night, he would cash in his Money in the Bank contract and defeat Rollins to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Ambrose made his first title defense against Rollins on the July 18 episode of ''Raw'', which ended in a draw after a double pinfall. The following night at the 2016 WWE draft, Ambrose was drafted to the SmackDown brand, being the brand's first draft pick and bringing the WWE Championship with him; that same night, he pinned Rollins to retain the championship. At
Battleground A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troop ...
, Ambrose retained his title against Reigns and Rollins after pinning Reigns. Ambrose then successfully defended the renamed "WWE World Championship" against Dolph Ziggler at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
in August. At
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
on September 11, he lost the title to
AJ Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (or A.J. Styles), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, ...
after Styles performed a low blow and ''Styles Clash'' while the referee was incapacitated. Ambrose was unsuccessful in regaining the championship at No Mercy on October 9 in a triple threat match also involving John Cena, who was pinned by Styles. The following month at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
, Ambrose made up part of Team SmackDown alongside Styles, Bray Wyatt, Randy Orton and
Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon ( ; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE. The son of Vince McMahon, he is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a ...
in a winning effort over Team Raw. He would face Styles once again in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs for the WWE title. During the match, James Ellsworth interfered and pushed Ambrose off a ladder through multiple tables, allowing Styles to retain the title. Ambrose would then fail to become the number one contender for the reverted WWE Championship in a fatal four-way elimination match involving Dolph Ziggler, Luke Harper, and
The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...
. On the January 3, 2017, episode of ''SmackDown'', Ambrose defeated The Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time. He participated in the 2017 Royal Rumble match in which he lasted almost 27 minutes before being eliminated by Brock Lesnar. On February 12, Ambrose took part in the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at the event of the same name, where he eliminated Baron Corbin with a roll-up pin only for Corbin to attack him afterward, allowing Miz to eliminate Ambrose. A match was set between Ambrose and Corbin at the
WrestleMania 33 WrestleMania 33 was a 2017 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 33rd annual WrestleMania and took place on April 2, 2017, at Camping Wo ...
pre-show on April 2, where Ambrose retained his Intercontinental Championship. Two nights later on ''SmackDown'', Ambrose wrestled in his final match for the brand, in a losing effort to Corbin in a non-title match. Following that, Ambrose was moved to the Raw brand as a result of the Superstar Shake-up. He would then continue his feud with The Miz, who was also drafted to Raw in the Superstar Shake-up, eventually losing the Intercontinental title to him at Extreme Rules in June, thus ending his reign at 152 days. Ambrose continued to feud with The Miz, leading up to a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship at Great Balls of Fire on July 9, where he lost as a result of interference by The Miztourage ( Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas).


The Shield reunion and injury (2017–2018)

On the July 10 episode of ''Raw'', Seth Rollins saved Ambrose from an attack by The Miz and The Miztourage. After Rollins failed to gain Ambrose's trust for several weeks, the two argued in the ring on the August 14 episode of ''Raw'' and eventually brawled with each other before fighting off
Cesaro and Sheamus The Bar, originally simply known as Cesaro and Sheamus, was a villainous professional wrestling tag team in WWE. They were record setting four-time Raw Tag Team Champions and former SmackDown Tag Team Champions, making their team overall ...
and reuniting the team. At
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 20, Ambrose and Rollins defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, making Ambrose both a Triple Crown and Grand Slam champion in the process. Ambrose and Rollins successfully defended the titles against Cesaro and Sheamus at No Mercy, after Ambrose pinned Sheamus. On the October 9 episode of ''Raw'', Ambrose and Rollins reunited with Roman Reigns. The newly reformed Shield was due to face the team of Braun Strowman, Cesaro, Kane, The Miz and Sheamus at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a 5-on-3 handicap Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, but Reigns was replaced by
Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...
over an illness concern. Ambrose, Rollins, and Angle would go on to win the match. Ambrose and Rollins were scheduled to face SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos in an interbrand match at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
, but lost the tag titles back to Cesaro and Sheamus on the November 6 episode of ''Raw'' after a distraction from SmackDown's The New Day (Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods), thus ending their reign at 78 days. This led to a match between The Shield and The New Day at Survivor Series two weeks later, which the former won. In December 2017, Ambrose suffered a triceps injury, reportedly rendering him out of action for nine months.


Final storylines and departure (2018–2019)

On the August 13, 2018, episode of ''Raw'', Ambrose returned with a new look consisting of short hair, a full beard, and a more muscular physique. He assisted Rollins against an attack from
Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began ...
and Dolph Ziggler. Six days later, he assisted Rollins in winning the Intercontinental Championship from Ziggler at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
. The following night on ''Raw'', Ambrose and Rollins aided Universal Champion Roman Reigns in attacking Braun Strowman when the latter attempted to cash-in his Money in the Bank contract, once again reuniting The Shield. At
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...
, Ambrose and Rollins were unsuccessful in defeating Ziggler and McIntyre for the Raw Tag Team Championship. In October, The Shield defeated Ziggler, McIntyre, and Strowman at Super Show-Down. Two nights later on ''Raw'', they were defeated by the same trio in a rematch. After the match, a frustrated Ambrose walked away from his teammates. On the October 22 episode of ''Raw'', after Reigns announced the return of his real-life
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
and relinquished the Universal Championship, Ambrose and Rollins defeated Ziggler and McIntyre to capture the Raw Tag Team Championship for the second time. However, Ambrose immediately attacked Rollins after the match, turning heel for the first time since 2014. Two weeks later on ''Raw'', Ambrose attacked Rollins again, after Rollins lost the tag titles in a handicap match against AOP ( Akam and Rezar). The following week, Ambrose burned his Shield vest and explained that being part of the group had made him weak. He would continue to taunt Rollins over the following weeks by stalking him, getting
vaccinated A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...
against what he perceived to be Rollins's "illness", and ordering his own personal
SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
team to attack Rollins, subsequently christening himself the "Moral Compass of WWE". Ambrose defeated Rollins at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December to win the Intercontinental Championship, beginning his third reign with the title. Throughout the following weeks, he successfully defended his title against Tyler Breeze, Apollo Crews, and Rollins, before losing the championship to
Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team C ...
on the January 14, 2019, episode of ''Raw'', in a triple threat match also involving Rollins, ending his reign at 29 days. Ambrose entered the 2019 Royal Rumble match at number 14, but was eliminated by Aleister Black. The following night on ''Raw'', he interrupted Royal Rumble winner Rollins and Triple H, proclaiming that Rollins never defeated him clean without interference and provoking Triple H into booking them in a match, which Ambrose subsequently lost. A few hours after ''Raw'' went off the air, it was reported that Ambrose had informed WWE officials that he would not be renewing his contract and would be leaving WWE shortly after
WrestleMania 35 WrestleMania 35 was a 2019 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 35th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 7, 2019, at MetLife ...
. WWE subsequently confirmed his decision in a statement. It was reported that he had been offered an improved contract by WWE, which he turned down due to long-standing frustration with the creative direction of his character and a particular dislike of the " hokey" material he had been given. After weeks of teasing a reunion, Ambrose reunited with Rollins and the recently returned Reigns on the March 4 episode of ''Raw'', after they assisted Ambrose from an attack by Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and
Elias Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated tradit ...
the previous week, turning Ambrose face once again. At Fastlane on March 10, The Shield defeated the team of McIntyre, Lashley, and Corbin. In his final singles matches in WWE, Ambrose would lose to McIntyre several times on ''Raw''. On the April 8 episode of ''Raw'', Ambrose was scheduled to face Bobby Lashley in what was billed as Ambrose's last match on ''Raw''. However, the match never took place as Lashley insulted Ambrose's wife, Renee Young, resulting in a brawl that ended with Ambrose being slammed through the announce table. After ''Raw'' went off the air, Ambrose joined Rollins and Reigns to address the fans, thank them for their support, and comment on his past accomplishments before celebrating with his Shield teammates. The following week on ''Raw'', he made another appearance after the show went off the air. His final contractual match occurred at a special event called The Shield's Final Chapter on April 21, where he, Reigns, and Rollins defeated the team of Corbin, Lashley, and McIntyre. He revealed that he was paid only $500 for wrestling in the match which is the minimum WWE could pay him for the event. His contract expired on April 30. On Chris Jericho's ''Talk is Jericho'' podcast in May 2019, Good recounted his departure from WWE, though he began by saying he was grateful for his time there, and cited achieving success. He decided to leave WWE after
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...
made him give a
promo PROMO (Promoting Missouri) is a Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territ ...
on ''Raw'' where his character would get inoculated from various diseases out of fear of catching a virus from the fans. Good felt after this segment that his character was irreparably damaged. He left WWE citing the cause as mental and emotional exhaustion after six years of explaining to McMahon how his ideas for Good's character were "stupid". Due to McMahon's control over WWE, Good had to follow McMahon's writing, which left him unhappy. Good came to dread promos, which were previously his favorite part of performing as a wrestler, to the point of feeling physically ill. His experience was corroborated by both Jericho and various anonymous WWE wrestlers and staff.


All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)


Feud with Kenny Omega and AEW World Champion (2019–2021)

On May 1, Good—having reverted to his former Jon Moxley gimmick and name—posted a video on his Twitter account to promote the gimmick's return, which showed him breaking out of a prison. The video was created by wrestler-turned-filmmaker Nick Mondo. On May 25, Moxley made his unannounced debut for
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
(AEW) during Double or Nothing, AEW's inaugural event, attacking Chris Jericho,
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...
, and the referee after Jericho and Omega's main event match, thus establishing himself as an
antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...
character. Shortly after, it was announced that Moxley had signed a multi-year contract. Moxley had his AEW debut match at the Fyter Fest event in June, where he defeated Joey Janela in an unsanctioned match. After the match, Moxley was attacked by Omega in retaliation for his previous assault. A match between the two was scheduled for All Out on August 31. However, a week before All Out, Moxley was forced to pull out after being diagnosed with a
MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...
staph infection in his elbow, and would undergo surgery to remove it. AEW subsequently revealed
Pac Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...
as Moxley's replacement, and the match was rescheduled for the Full Gear event. Moxley made his return on October 2, during the premiere episode of ''
Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...
'', taking out Omega during the latter's main event match. In the main event of Full Gear on November 9, Moxley defeated Omega in an unsanctioned Lights Out match. After Full Gear, Moxley indicated his intentions to challenge for the
AEW World Championship The AEW World Championship is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on ...
. Chris Jericho, who held the championship, attempted to bribe Moxley into joining his group, The Inner Circle. On the January 8, 2020, episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley initially accepted the proposal and seemingly joined the group, before revealing it was a ploy and turning on them moments later. Moxley was entered into a tournament to determine the number one contender for the championship, defeating Sammy Guevara and Pac to win. Moxley faced Jericho for the AEW World Championship at
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
on February 29, where he won the championship, becoming the first person to hold titles in AEW and NJPW simultaneously. Moxley made his first defense of the championship on the April 15 episode of ''Dynamite'', defeating Jake Hager in an Empty Arena No Holds Barred match. Moxley then made further successful title defenses against Mr. Brodie Lee at Double or Nothing on May 23,
Brian Cage Brian Christopher Joseph ButtonFight for the Fallen on July 15, and
Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is a former two-time AEW TNT Championship, AEW TNT Champion and a former AEW Wo ...
on the August 5 episode of ''Dynamite''. Moxley then moved onto a feud with MJF, who began a Presidential-style campaign against Moxley's championship reign and decreed that fans deserved a better champion. The two faced at All Out on September 5, where Moxley emerged victorious. Later that month, Moxley began a highly acclaimed rivalry with former friend Eddie Kingston, who was jealous of Moxley's success. He defended the championship against Kingston on the September 23 episode of ''Dynamite'', which he won by making Kingston pass out to a chokehold. After retaining the championship against
Lance Archer Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977), better known by his ring name Lance Archer, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where is a member of The Don Callis Family and one-half of The Murder Machines w ...
on the October 14 episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley was attacked by Kingston, who protested that Moxley had never made him submit. At Full Gear on November 7, Moxley defeated Kingston in an "I quit" match to retain the championship. Following this, Moxley rekindled his feud with Kenny Omega. At Winter Is Coming on December 2, Moxley lost the championship to Omega, thus ending his record-setting reign at 277 days, and giving Moxley his first singles loss in AEW. After taking an absence, Moxley returned at the New Year's Smash event on January 6, 2021, but he was attacked by Omega and his allies
The Good Brothers The Good Brothers are a Canadian country, bluegrass and folk music group originating from Richmond Hill, Ontario. The band's core members are Brian Good (guitar), his twin brother Bruce Good (autoharp) and younger brother Larry Good (banjo). ...
(
Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980) known by the ring name Karl Anderson , is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is primarily performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for his time in WWE. Ander ...
and
Doc Gallows Andrew William Hankinson (born December 22, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Doc Gallows. He is best known for his three tenures in WWE, where he performed under ...
). Moxley challenged Omega for the championship at
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
on March 7, in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, but lost. After losing to Omega, Moxley began an alliance with his erstwhile rival Eddie Kingston, who came to Moxley's rescue after the match at Revolution. Over the following weeks, Moxley and Kingston would continue to feud with Omega and his allies, particularly focusing on Omega's friends
The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Matthew Massie and Nicholas Massie, who perform under the ring names Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson. , they are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), whe ...
(Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). At the Double or Nothing event in May, Moxley and Kingston challenged The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, but they were defeated. On September 5 at All Out, Moxley defeated
Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former two-time MLW World Heavyweight Championship, MLW World Heavyweight Champion and former one half of the MLW W ...
. On the October 6 episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley competed in a Casino Ladder Match for an opportunity at the AEW World Championship, but the match was won by
Adam Page Stephen Blake Woltz (born July 27, 1991), better known by his ring name "Hangman" Adam Page, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW ...
. Also that month, he was inserted into a tournament to determine the next challenger for the world championship. Moxley defeated Preston "10" Vance to advance to the semi-finals, but he was withdrawn from the tournament after it was revealed that he had entered a rehabilitation program for alcoholism. Miro was subsequently unveiled as his replacement.


Blackpool Combat Club (2022–2024)

Following rehab, Moxley returned in January 2022 with a healthier and cleaner look. He began a storyline with Bryan Danielson, who offered to team up with him, but Moxley stated that he would only consider teaming up with Danielson if they wrestled each other first. Moxley defeated Danielson at
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
in March, but the two began brawling after their match; William Regal, once a mentor to both men on separate occasions, made his surprise debut to break up the fight and force them to shake hands. With Regal as their manager, they formed a team which would later be named the
Blackpool Combat Club The Death Riders are a Heel (professional wrestling), villainous professional wrestling stable that performs in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Ring of Honor (ROH). The stable consists of the leader Jon Moxley, Cla ...
(BCC) in reference to Regal's career beginnings in the English town of
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
. The group would begin a storyline with
Wheeler Yuta Paul Soren Gruber (born October 26, 1996) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Wheeler Yuta and is a member of the Death Riders, formerly known as the Blackpool C ...
, who would aim to join the group. After first losing to Danielson, Yuta was defeated by Moxley in a critically acclaimed match on the April 8 episode of ''Rampage'', earning the faction's respect, and joining them. At Double or Nothing on May 29, Moxley and Danielson teamed with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz to face the Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Angelo Parker, and
Matt Menard Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
) in an Anarchy in the Arena match, but lost. On the June 3 episode of ''Rampage'', AEW World Champion CM Punk announced he would not be able to defend his championship against scheduled challenger
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and Podcast, podcaster. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as the president and representative director of the promotion, and is also an active wrestler. Widel ...
on June 26 at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door due to injury. On the June 8 episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley defeated
Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Richard Thomas Greenwood (born March 1, 1987), better known by his ring name Kyle O'Reilly, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Paragon (professio ...
, the winner of a Casino Battle Royale in the show's opener, to earn the chance to face for the
interim championship An interim championship is an alternate title that is awarded by the sanctioning bodies of professional boxing, and in other combat sports such as kickboxing, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts. Occasionally, the champion of a particul ...
at the event. On June 12 at
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
's Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall event, Tanahashi defeated Hirooki Goto to be confirmed as Moxley's opponent at Forbidden Door. At the event, Moxley defeated Tanahashi to win the interim AEW World Championship. Also that month, the debuting
Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli ( ; born 27 December 1980) is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW World Trios Championship, AEW World Trios Champion. He also per ...
would join the Blackpool Combat Club as its newest member. At the Quake by the Lake special episode of ''Dynamite'' on August 10, the lineal AEW World Champion CM Punk returned and confronted Moxley, entering into a title dispute. A match to determine the undisputed AEW World Champion was then scheduled at All Out, however, due to heated confrontations between the two, it was announced that the match would instead take place on the August 24 episode of ''Dynamite'', in which Moxley quickly defeated Punk to win his record-setting second AEW World Championship, becoming the undisputed AEW World Champion in the process. The following week on ''Dynamite'', Moxley laid out an open challenge for anyone to face him at All Out, which was accepted by Punk. At All Out on September 4, Moxley was defeated by Punk, losing the undisputed championship and ending his reign at 11 days. Shortly following the event, Punk was suspended by AEW after getting into a legitimate backstage altercation with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. As a result, the AEW World Championship was vacated, and Moxley was then inserted into a
tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
to crown a new champion. At Grand Slam on September 21, Moxley defeated Bryan Danielson in the tournament final to win the vacant title and become the first ever three-time AEW World Champion. On October 7, it was announced via press release that Moxley had signed a five-year exclusive contract extension with AEW that will see him take on mentorship and coaching roles, as well as continue to perform for the promotion as an in-ring wrestler. On the October 18 episode of ''Dynamite'': Title Tuesday, Moxley retained the AEW World Championship against Adam Page, in a match in which the latter suffered a legitimate injury after landing off a clothesline, causing a match stoppage. At Full Gear on November 19, Moxley lost the championship to MJF, after he was betrayed by Regal. Moxley started a feud in late November with the returning Adam Page, who defeated him on the January 11, 2023 episode of ''Dynamite''. Moxley defeated Page in a rematch on the February 1 episode of ''Dynamite''. The two faced each other again in a Texas Deathmatch at
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
on March 5, which Moxley lost by submission. On the March 8 episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley, Castagnoli, and Yuta beat down Page and his allies in The Dark Order following a match, turning heel. The BCC would then target Page and his allies Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, who would reform The Elite to challenge them. The two groups faced off in an Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing on May 28, which the BCC won after assistance by
Don Callis Donald Callis (born October 13, 1963) is a Canadian professional wrestling manager (wrestling), manager, color commentator, actor, and former professional wrestler and business executive. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works a ...
and
Konosuke Takeshita is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to American Wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Don Callis Family and one-half of the tag team Protoshita with Kyle Fletcher. He is a former AEW ...
, who attacked Omega during the final moments of the match. At the
Forbidden Door Forbidden Door or ''The Forbidden Door'' may refer to: * ''The Forbidden Door'', professional wrestling term referring to working agreement between promotions * AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, professional wrestling joint events: ** Forbidden Door ( ...
event on June 25, Moxley, Castagnoli and Yuta teamed with Takeshita and Shota Umino to take on The Young Bucks, Page, Eddie Kingston and Tomohiro Ishii in a ten-man tag team match, but were defeated. At Blood and Guts, Moxley, Castagnoli and Yuta teamed with Takeshita and
Pac Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...
to face The Elite and Kota Ibushi in a Blood and Guts match, losing after Yuta forfeited. At the All In event on August 27, the BCC teamed with Santana and Ortiz to face Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo and Best Friends (
Orange Cassidy James Cipperly (born May 4, 1984), better known by his ring name Orange Cassidy, is an American professional wrestler and Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, wrestling trainer. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is ...
, Trent and Chuck Taylor) in a
Stadium Stampede match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
, but lost. The following week at All Out, Moxley defeated Orange Cassidy to win the
AEW International Championship The AEW International Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All E ...
. However, he lost the title 17 days later to
Rey Fénix Rey Fénix (born December 30, 1990) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler). He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. He is also known for his tenure in Mexican promotions Lucha Libre AAA , ...
at ''Dynamite'': Grand Slam on September 20. During this match, he suffered a legitimate concussion that led to the scripted result of the match being changed to have Fénix win instead. Due to his injury, Moxley took an absence from wrestling but remained active on AEW programming, including providing commentary at WrestleDream on October 1. He was scheduled to return and face Fénix for the International Championship on the October 10 episode of ''Dynamite'', but was removed from the match due to not being medically cleared and was replaced by Cassidy, who defeated Fénix to win the championship. Cassidy defeated Moxley to retain the championship at Full Gear on November 18. Following this, Moxley competed in the Continental Classic tournament, but lost to Eddie Kingston in the finals at Worlds End on December 30. The BCC would feud with FTR (
Dax Harwood David Michael Harwood (born June 30, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Dax Harwood. Teamed with Cash Wheeler as FTR, Harwood is a two-time AEW World Tag Team Champion. H ...
and Cash Wheeler), with Moxley and Castagnoli defeating FTR at the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
event on March 3, 2024.


Death Riders (2024–present)

Moxley returned after a hiatus on the August 28 episode of ''Dynamite'' with his "Death Rider" music from NJPW, calling out Darby Allin and stating cryptically "This EWis not your company anymore" to
Tony Schiavone Noah Anthony Schiavone ( ; born November 7, 1957) is an American sports announcer, professional wrestling commentator and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he serves as the play-by-play commentator for ''Collision'', ...
. Later that episode, he allied himself with Marina Shafir. At the All Out event on September 7, Moxley was joined by Castagnoli, Shafir and
Pac Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...
in viciously attacking Danielson after his defence of the AEW World Championship, assuming leadership of the BCC with Pac and Shafir as the newest additions. Having become a villainous character, Moxley defeated Allin at the Grand Slam event on September 25 to earn the right to challenge Danielson for the AEW World Championship at WrestleDream. At WrestleDream on October 12, Moxley defeated Danielson to win the AEW World Championship for a record-setting fourth time. Afterwards, Yuta would join Moxley's side by brutalizing Danielson and suffocating him with a plastic bag. After winning the championship, he would put the championship title in a briefcase with Shafir carrying it around. In November 2024, the BCC rebranded to the "Death Riders", a nod to Moxley's nickname in NJPW. On November 23 at Full Gear, Moxley successfully defended his title against Orange Cassidy. On December 28 at Worlds End, Moxley successfully defended his title against Cassidy, Adam Page, and Jay White in a four-way match. After the match, Moxley was confronted by FTR and a returning
Cope A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...
. On January 15 at AEW Maximum Carnage, Moxley successfully defended his title against
Powerhouse Hobbs William Hobson (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Powerhouse Hobbs and is a member of The Opps. He is one-third of the current AEW World ...
. At
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
on March 9, Moxley successfully defended his title against Cope and
Christian Cage William Jason Reso (born November 30, 1973) is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Christian Cage and is the leader of The Patriarch ...
in a three-way match with the latter cashing in his contract during the match. On the March 19 episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley defeated Cope in a rematch for the title in a street fight. On April 6 at
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
, Moxley successfully defended his title against Swerve Strickland after interference from The Young Bucks. On April 16 at ''Dynamite'': Spring BreakThru, Moxley filled in for the injured Pac to team with Castagnoli and Yuta to defend the
AEW World Trios Championship The AEW World Trios Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It is a specialized tag team ...
against
Powerhouse Hobbs William Hobson (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Powerhouse Hobbs and is a member of The Opps. He is one-third of the current AEW World ...
and The Opps (
Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Opps, and is one-third of the AEW Worl ...
and Katsuyori Shibata), but the trio lost the match and the titles. On May 14 at ''Dynamite'': Beach Break, Moxley successfully defended his title against Samoa Joe in a
steel cage match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
after interference from the Death Riders and Gabe Kidd. On May 25 at Double or Nothing, the Death Riders teamed with The Young Bucks, losing to Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland,
Willow Nightingale Danielle Paultre (born January 25, 1994), better known by the ring name Willow Nightingale, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a current member of The Conglomeration and a former AEW T ...
, and
The Opps Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Opps, and is one-third of the AEW World ...
(
Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Opps, and is one-third of the AEW Worl ...
, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Katsuyori Shibata) in an Anarchy in the Arena match.


New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2019–present)


IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion (2019–2021)

After weeks of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) airing videos of a mystery man targeting IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion
Juice Robinson Joseph Ryan Robinson (born April 10, 1989), better known by his ring name Juice Robinson, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Bang Bang Gang stable. He also wrestles in Ne ...
, Moxley was revealed as the culprit in May 2019, challenging Robinson for a title match at the final night of the Best of the Super Juniors 26 tournament on June 5. At the event, he defeated Robinson in his NJPW in-ring debut to win the championship, making him the first wrestler to hold both IWGP and WWE United States Championships. Following Moxley's original challenge, AEW CEO Tony Khan stated that Moxley would be able to take independent and international bookings during the summer before AEW's television deal started in the fall of that year. However, during an interview with ''
Nikkan Sports is the first-launched Japanese daily sports newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background ...
'', Good clarified that he would continue to appear for NJPW while being signed to AEW. At Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall on June 9, Moxley defeated Shota Umino before declaring himself as an entrant in the
2019 G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually – and currently – held as a round-robin ...
tournament. From July to August, Moxley competed in the B Block of the G1 Climax, defeating Taichi in his first tournament match. He then went undefeated in the tournament with wins over Jeff Cobb, Tomohiro Ishii,
Shingo Takagi (born 21 November 1982), known by the ring name Shingo Takagi (鷹木信悟, ''Takagi Shingo''), is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former member of the ''Los Ingob ...
, and
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his 20-year run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he served as the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' stable, and was a multi-time world champion. ...
, before suffering his first loss to
Toru Yano is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2020 and the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2021. He is one of the ...
. He then lost his next three matches to Jay White, Hirooki Goto, and Juice Robinson, failing to advance to the tournament finals with a final standing of 10 points (five wins and four losses). On October 13, after he was unable to defend the United States Heavyweight Championship in a scheduled match against Robinson due to travel issues stemming from Typhoon Hagibis, Moxley agreed to vacate the championship. He was replaced in the match by Lance Archer, who defeated Robinson to win the championship. On December 9, Moxley returned and interrupted Archer after his final match in the 2019 World Tag League tournament, attacking both Archer and
Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, known for his tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Intercontinental Ch ...
before challenging the former to a Texas Deathmatch for the United States Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in January 2020. During the first night of the event, he defeated Archer by
knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...
to capture the championship for the second time, and subsequently successfully retained the championship against Robinson the following night, ending their long-running feud. After the match, he was confronted and beaten down by Suzuki. Moxley successfully defended the championship against Suzuki at The New Beginning in Osaka in February. This would be Moxley's final match in NJPW for over a year, due to travelling issues relating to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On August 1, Moxley surpassed Kenny Omega as the longest reigning United States Heavyweight Champion. On the January 29, 2021, episode of ''
Strong Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United ...
'', Moxley returned after an eleven-month absence and attacked
Kenta Kenta (廉侍) is a masculine Japanese given name. (written: , , , or in katakana). Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese film director *, Japanese kickboxer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japane ...
, who had earned a future United States Heavyweight Championship match the previous year by winning the New Japan Cup USA. The match took place at The New Beginning USA on February 26, where Moxley defeated Kenta to retain the championship. Through NJPW's partnership with AEW, Moxley successfully defended the United States Heavyweight Championship against
Yuji Nagata is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Considered one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers ...
on the May 12 episode of AEW's television show ''Dynamite'', marking the first time a NJPW championship was defended at an AEW event. At AEW's Fyter Fest event on July 14, Moxley again successfully defended the title against Karl Anderson. However, on the second night of Fyter Fest the following week, Moxley lost the championship to Lance Archer in a Texas Deathmatch, ending his record-breaking reign at 564 days with five successful defenses. At the Resurgence event on August 14, Moxley teamed with Nagata to face The Good Brothers, but they were defeated.


Sporadic appearances and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion (2021–present)

On the November 27 episode of ''Strong'', Moxley teamed with Eddie Kingston to face Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer in a Philadelphia Street Fight, which the latter team won. Moxley returned to the promotion to face
Will Ospreay William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former two-time AEW International Champion. He is also known for his eight year tenure with New Japa ...
at the Windy City Riot event on April 16, 2022, where he was victorious in the main event. At the Capital Collision event on May 14, Moxley challenged for the United States Heavyweight Championship in a fatal four-way match including Ospreay, Juice Robinson, and Hiroshi Tanahashi, which Robinson won. He would return to NJPW in 2023 and 2024,wrestling for the newly created IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 18 in a triple thraead match which was won by David Finlay. Moxley would won the
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The championship was created on March 1, 2021, by the unification of t ...
after he defeated
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his 20-year run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he served as the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' stable, and was a multi-time world champion. ...
at Windy City Riot, becoming the first wrestler to become a world champion in WWE, AEW, and NJPW. Moxley defended the championship at AEW events, including the April 24 episode of ''Dynamite'', where he defeated
Powerhouse Hobbs William Hobson (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Powerhouse Hobbs and is a member of The Opps. He is one-third of the current AEW World ...
. He also defeated Konosuke Takeshita in an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship eliminator match at AEW Double or Nothing on May 26. On May 4, Moxley successfully defended his title against Narita on night 2 of Wrestling Dontaku. On May 11 at Resurgence, Moxley successfully defended the title against Umino. Post-match, Moxley and Umino were attacked by
Evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...
, who declared himself to be the next challenger. The match was later made official for Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, where Moxley defeated Evil to retain the title. After the match, Moxley was confronted by previous champion Tetsuya Naito, who challenged Moxley to a rematch at
Forbidden Door Forbidden Door or ''The Forbidden Door'' may refer to: * ''The Forbidden Door'', professional wrestling term referring to working agreement between promotions * AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, professional wrestling joint events: ** Forbidden Door ( ...
and Moxley accepted. At Forbidden Door on June 30, Moxley lost the title back to Naito, ending his reign at 79 days.


Return to the independent circuit (2019–present)

Starting in June 2019, Moxley made sporadic appearances for several
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
promotions such as
Northeast Wrestling Northeast Wrestling (NEW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States and has promoted events since 1996. It is currently owned and operated by promoter Mike Lombardi and is one of the top indepen ...
(NEW) and Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW). He was also set to wrestle matches for
Over the Top Wrestling Over the Top Wrestling (OTT) is an Irish professional wrestling promotion founded by Joe Carberry in 2014. It is headquartered in Dublin and opened a UK base in Wolverhampton in 2022, in addition to hosting events throughout Ireland, the UK, Ital ...
(OTT) and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), but the scheduled events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 11, 2020, Moxley defeated Chris Dickinson at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 3. He then defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr. in the main event of Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 5 on February 20, 2021, before losing to Josh Barnett at Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 6 on April 8. At GCW's The Art of War Games pay-per-view in September 2021, Moxley defeated
Matt Cardona Matthew Brett Cardona (born May 14, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is a freelancer who competes on the independent circuit as well as making in ring appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Al ...
as a surprise opponent to win the GCW World Championship. On January 23, 2022, Moxley retained the GCW World Championship against Homicide at The Wrld on GCW event. At Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8 in March, Moxley defeated Biff Busick. At GCW's
Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel ''Fight Club (novel), Fight Club'' by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays The Narrator (F ...
event on October 8, Moxley lost the GCW World Championship to Nick Gage in a title vs. career match, ending his reign at 399 days.


Ring of Honor (2023)

On March 31, 2023, Moxley made his debut for AEW's sister promotion
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
(ROH) at Supercard of Honor, accompanying
Wheeler Yuta Paul Soren Gruber (born October 26, 1996) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Wheeler Yuta and is a member of the Death Riders, formerly known as the Blackpool C ...
to the ring for his match against Katsuyori Shibata. On December 16 at Final Battle, Moxley made his ROH in-ring debut, teaming with Blackpool Combat Members Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli in a losing effort against FTR ( Cash Wheeler and
Dax Harwood David Michael Harwood (born June 30, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Dax Harwood. Teamed with Cash Wheeler as FTR, Harwood is a two-time AEW World Tag Team Champion. H ...
) and Mark Briscoe.


Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2024)

On March 29, 2024, at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, Moxley made his
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...
(CMLL) debut, teaming with Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, and
Matt Sydal Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his tenure with WWE from 2008 to 2014 under the ring nam ...
in a losing effort against Volador Jr., Blue Panther,
Místico Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde (born December 22, 1982), better known by his ring name Místico (Spanish for "Mystic"), is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL ...
, and Último Guerrero.


Professional wrestling style, persona, and reception

Good was given the Jon Moxley ring name shortly before his first match by a fellow wrestler, who had misheard the name of
James Van Der Beek James David Van Der Beek (; born March 8, 1977) is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery on The WB's ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), he also played a fictionalized version of himself on the cult ABC sitcom '' Don't Trus ...
's character Jonathan Moxon in the 1999 film '' Varsity Blues''. He later said, "I'd probably been thinking about names for years and years, but I had no ideas. ... So, right before I'm about to go out the ring announcer said, 'What's the name?' I didn't have one. ... This other wrestler guy was just like, 'It's like the ''Varsity Blues'' guy. He's like the guy from ''Varsity Blues''. Jonathan Moxley.' They're like, 'That's cool.' I was too nervous to say yes or no. ... Actually, in the movie, it's Moxon. So the guy screwed up the name a little bit. It wasn't my idea at all, it was just foisted upon me." After debuting on WWE television as Dean Ambrose with The Shield, Good utilized a headlock driver, the ''Dirty Deeds'', as a finishing move. Soon after The Shield's initial split in 2014, he did not feel comfortable using a headlock driver on some wrestlers, so the ''Dirty Deeds'' was changed to a double underhook DDT. Upon his departure from WWE, he changed his finisher to a lifted underhook DDT or a double underhook brainbuster, the ''Paradigm Shift'' (in AEW) or the ''Death Rider'' (in NJPW and later in AEW). During his tenure in WWE's FCW territory, he used William Regal's finishing moves the ''Knee Trembler'' (a running knee lift) and the ''Regal Stretch'' (a cross-legged arm trap STF) to mock Regal during their feud. Referred to as the "Lunatic Fringe" since his time in The Shield after the nickname of Cincinnati radio station WEBN (which itself got it from the song of the same name by Red Rider), Ambrose's WWE gimmick saw him characterized as a mentally unstable and unpredictable wildcard. His gimmick has been compared to
Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...
's Joker from the 2008 film ''
The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...
''. After becoming a villain in late 2018, Ambrose began proclaiming himself the "Moral Compass of WWE", and this revamped character—with his use of gas masks, fur-lined coats, military attire, and a SWAT-like team to do his bidding—invited comparisons to Tom Hardy's Bane from the 2012 sequel ''
The Dark Knight Rises ''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the final instal ...
''. Ambrose's booking during his feuds with Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt in 2014 was criticized by commentators, including James Caldwell of the ''Pro Wrestling Torch'', who stated that although "he's a utility main eventer", his lack of victories indicated that he was not "a guy" that WWE was positioning "for a 2-3 year sustained run on top". Ambrose's post-Shield run as a heroic character gained significant popularity, with him being cheered over fellow heroic character Roman Reigns when they faced off in three world title matches (Payback and Survivor Series in 2015 and Fastlane in 2016). Ambrose was voted as the Most Popular Wrestler of the Year by ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' readers in 2014 and 2015. Good's reversion to his Jon Moxley gimmick and subsequent debut at AEW's Double or Nothing after leaving WWE in 2019 was widely praised, with Phillip Martinez of ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' commenting that Good had caused "the wrestling world to erupt" after his surprise appearance. Justin Barrasso of ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' opined that Moxley was "the cornerstone of AEW", and fellow AEW wrestler and on-screen rival
Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name , is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the current AEW International Champion in his first reign. He also works as an ...
referred to Moxley as the "MVP of AEW" in May 2023. '' Variety'' also attributed Moxley as one of AEW's biggest ratings attractions for their weekly broadcast. Moxley uses a version of the song " Wild Thing" by X as his entrance theme, as tribute to Japanese wrestler
Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing the hardcore wrestling, deathmatch style of professional wrestling t ...
, who utilized the same song. Moxley's match with Tomohiro Ishii during the G1 Climax in July 2019 was met with critical acclaim. ''
Deadspin ''Deadspin'' is a sports blog owned by Lineup Publishing. Founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and originally based in Chicago, it was then sold to Gawker Media, Univision Communications and G/O Media. Lineup Publishing acquired it in March 2024, t ...
''s Luis Paez-Pumar noted how the tournament offered an excellent platform for Moxley to shine following his departure from WWE and notably singled out his match against Ishii, calling it "almost certainly Moxley's best singles match ever, under any name, but it felt significant in another sense... it was good, brutal fun to watch, but it also pointed a way forward for Moxley not just as an attraction, but rather as a brilliant and brilliantly violent wrestler". The match was also awarded five stars by wrestling journalist
Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...
of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', with Meltzer remarking, "I think this was the first time I ever saw a match where at the 17 second mark I already felt it was going to be a four star match... this is a four star match already, right now, and they're building from there."


Other media

As Dean Ambrose, Good made his acting debut in the WWE produced
action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...
film '' 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown'' (2015), in which he starred as detective John Shaw. He also made an uncredited cameo in the WWE film '' Countdown'' (2016). Under his real name, he appeared in the sports action film '' Cagefighter: Worlds Collide'' (2020) as Randy Stone, a professional wrestler who crosses over to
MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...
and fights the film's protagonist. Good, as Dean Ambrose, appears as a playable character in the video games ''
WWE 2K14 ''WWE 2K14'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released on October 29, 2013, in North America, October 30, 2013, in Japan, October 31, 2013, i ...
'', ''
WWE 2K15 ''WWE 2K15'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to ''WWE 2K14'', and was succeeded by ''WWE 2 ...
'', ''
WWE 2K16 ''WWE 2K16'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is the sequel to ''WWE 2K15'', and was succeeded by '' WWE 2K17''. It w ...
'', ''
WWE 2K17 ''WWE 2K17'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It is the eighteenth game in the ''WWE'' game series (fourth under the '' ...
'', ''
WWE 2K18 ''WWE 2K18'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is the nineteenth instalment in the WWE 2K, WWE game series (fifth under the ''WWE 2K'' banner) and a follow-up to ''WWE 2K17''. It wa ...
'', and ''
WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth game in the ''WWE'' series, th ...
''. He also appears in '' AEW Fight Forever'', as Jon Moxley. In 2011, Smart Mark Video released ''Stories From the Streets: The Jon Moxley Story'', a DVD featuring several of Good's matches in CZW, HWA, and IPW, as well as a two-and-a-half hour shoot interview with Good. He has also spoken on several podcasts such as
Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same ...
's ''Art of Wrestling'' in December 2014, Chris Jericho's ''Talk is Jericho'' in May 2019 (in which he talked about his departure from WWE), and AEW's ''Unrestricted'' podcast in February 2020 (for which he was the inaugural guest). Good's
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
''Mox'' was released on November 2, 2021.


Filmography


Submission grappling

Good began learning
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
in 2019 for his role in the film '' Cagefighter: Worlds Collide'' (2020). After he finished filming, he continued training in MMA at
Xtreme Couture Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts is an American mixed martial arts training organization headed by former Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC Champion and former co-founder of Team Quest, Randy Couture. Xtreme Couture was founded with the flags ...
, which included training with
Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...
himself. Good competed at the NAGA Cincinnati Grappling Championships on July 15, 2023, winning the men's no-gi beginner/ super-heavyweight/30+ age division by beating Chris Sailor, the only other competitor in that bracket. At the same event, he competed in the men's no-gi beginner/ absolute weight division, beating Sailor again in the first round before losing by submission in the second round. Good returned to competition at Twisted Tournament: Cincinnati on August 19, entering two white belt divisions again but losing all of his matches. Good competed in amateur grappling again in March 2024, losing via submission to a choke.


Personal life

In 2013, Good began dating Canadian interviewer Renee Paquette. They lived near
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, where they were married in an impromptu ceremony at their home in the early hours of April 9, 2017. Their daughter was born on June 13, 2021. In order to be closer to both his family in his hometown of
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
and Paquette's family in her hometown of
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, they soon relocated to the Mount Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati. They are fans of the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
. Good has referred to himself as a
loner A loner is a person described as not seeking out, actively avoiding, or failing to maintain interpersonal relationships. There are many potential causes for this solitude. Intentional causes include introversion, mysticism, spirituality, reli ...
, which he has often incorporated into his onscreen character. He has also called himself a
minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
, revealing that he drove to WWE's training center in his rundown car with only a bag of clothes and the money in his pocket upon accepting their contract offer. He was roommates with fellow wrestler Big Cass during this time; when he moved out after being promoted to WWE's main roster, he left behind thousands of dollars worth of merchandise the company had sent him as a goodwill gesture and told Cass to "give it to charity or something". He then moved into his new apartment, which he left primarily unfurnished because he reasoned that he would be traveling most of the time. Good is a notably private person who avoids
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
, which has been seen as rare in the era of wrestlers using it to advance storylines. He refused to use the
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
profile WWE created for him in 2012, and said in 2014 that he does not "feel the need to open imselfup to the opinion of everybody in the world with a phone or computer". He began using Twitter and
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
in 2019, but had stopped updating the former by 2022 and the latter by 2024. He said of social media in 2021, "Everybody just seems to hate it ..so then why are we using it?" When asked in 2024 why he did not delete his abandoned profiles, he said, "I don't want anybody to steal it and start pretending to be me, so I keep it, but ..my advice to the entire world would be oget off that thing. Take it off your phone. Throw it in the garbage." To be closer to the recommended doctors during his recovery from an injured arm in 2018, Good briefly lived in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
, where he contracted an
MRSA Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) is a group of gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of ''Staphylococcus aureus''. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. ...
infection in his arm that he later said nearly killed him. In November 2021, at Good's request, Tony Khan announced that Good had checked himself into rehab for alcoholism. He returned to wrestling three months later.


Championships and accomplishments


Professional wrestling

*
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
**
AEW World Championship The AEW World Championship is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on ...
( 4 times, current) ** AEW Interim World Championship ( 1 time) **
AEW International Championship The AEW International Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion All E ...
( 1 time) ** AEW World Championship #1 Contender Tournament (
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
) ** AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator Series (
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
) ** AEW Grand Slam Tournament of Champions (
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
) *
Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the p ...
** CZW World Heavyweight Championship ( 2 times) *
Full Impact Pro Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is currently part of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) along with Shine Wrestling. Sal Hamaoui founded the company and serves as the president, while Trevin Adams is the ...
** FIP World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * Game Changer Wrestling ** GCW World Championship ( 1 time) *
Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wres ...
**
HWA Heavyweight Championship The HWA Heavyweight Championship was the heavyweight Championship (professional wrestling), title contested in the Heartland Wrestling Association. Title history See also *Heartland Wrestling Association References {{reflist External linksH ...
( 3 times) ** HWA Tag Team Championship ( 5 times) – with Jimmy Turner (1), Ric Byrne (1), Cody Hawk (1) and King Vu (2) ** Drake Younger Invitational Tournament (2009) * Mad-Pro Wrestling ** MPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** MPW Tag Team Championship (1 times) – with Dustin Rayz * Insanity Pro Wrestling ** IPW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) ** IPW Mid-American Championship (1 time) * International Wrestling Association ** IWA Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Hade Vansen *
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
**
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The championship was created on March 1, 2021, by the unification of t ...
( 1 time) ** IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship ( 2 times) * ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
'' ** Male Wrestler of the Year (2022) * ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' ** Feud of the Year (2014) ** Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2014, 2015, 2022) ** Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2022) ** Wrestler of the Year (2020) ** Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' in 2020 * ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ** Best Briefly Resuscitated Storyline (2015) ** Most Likeable Loose Cannon (2014) * ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' ** Male Wrestler of the Year (2019) ** Ranked No. 2 of the top 10 wrestlers in 2022 *
Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...
** wXw World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with
Sami Callihan Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987), better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and promoter. He is signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestlin ...
** wXw World Tag Team Title Tournament (2009) with Sami Callihan * ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' ** Best Brawler (2020–2023) ** Best Pro Wrestling Book (2021) ** Feud of the Year (2020) ** Shad Gaspard/Jon Huber Memorial Award (2021) ** United States/Canada MVP (2020, 2022) ** Wrestler of the Year (2020, 2022) ** Worst Feud of the Year (2013) – *
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
**
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
( 1 time) **
WWE Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, alo ...
( 3 times) **
WWE United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defend ...
( 1 time) **
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand exte ...
( 2 times) – with Seth Rollins ** 27th Triple Crown Champion ** Eighth Grand Slam Champion ( under current format; 16th overall) ** Money in the Bank (
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
) ** Slammy Award (5 times) *** Breakout Star of the Year (
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
,
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
) – *** Faction of the Year (2013, 2014) – *** Trending Now (Hashtag) of the Year (2013) – **
WWE Year-End Award The WWE Year-End Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers at the end of the year who have performed on Raw and SmackDown. Introduced in 2018, there have been two ...
s (2 times) *** Best Reunion (2018) – *** Return of the Year (2018)


Submission grappling

*North American Grappling Association **NAGA Cincinnati Grappling Championship Gold Medalist - Men No-Gi / Beginner / 225 - 249.9 (Super Heavy Weight / Master (30+))


Bibliography

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Notes


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moxley, Jon 1985 births 21st-century American male actors 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers AEW World Champions AEW International Champions All Elite Wrestling personnel American male film actors American male professional wrestlers CZW World Heavyweight Champions American expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan FIP World Heavyweight Champions GCW World Champions IWGP United States Champions IWGP World Heavyweight champions Living people Male actors from Cincinnati Money in the Bank winners NWA/WCW/WWE United States Heavyweight Champions Professional wrestlers from Ohio The Authority (professional wrestling) members WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions WWE Champions WWE Grand Slam champions World Tag Team Champions (WWE) WXw Unified World Wrestling Champions Professional wrestlers from Cincinnati