Jon Moxley's Career Told In Photos, Through The Years

Jon Moxley is one of the few wrestlers who reminds the fans of the good old days of the WWE Attitude Era, owing to his aggressive in-ring style and unique character. He continuously showcased the same traits during his time in WWE despite the restrictive environment, but went all guns blazing after signing with All Elite Wrestling in 2019.

He's had a decorated career so far and has racked up championships across different promotions over the years. He's still going strong, and with his renewed passion for the sport, we can see great things from Moxley in the coming days. But before all that, let's take a look at Jon Moxley's career through photos taken throughout the years.

10 Training & Debut

Being a fan who used to idolize Bret Hart during his childhood, Jon Moxley decided to follow in his footsteps and started training when he was only 18-years old. He dropped out of school and had to work various minimum wage jobs to support his training.

He started his journey in Heartland Wrestling Association, where he started working by selling popcorn and setting up the ring before he started training. He competed in the promotion throughout the early stages of his career and captured the tag team championships and also their world championship.

9 Independent Circuit

While still performing for HWA, Jon Moxley started to explore the independent circuit and appeared in various promotions like BPW, WAR, Chikara, and the International Wrestling Association.

He also made a few early WWE appearances around 2006, when he competed in WWE Heat and Velocity. He continued to perform in the indies and added more weight to his resume by winning the CZW, MPW, IPW, and FIP Heavyweight Championships. He held the FIP World Championship for an impressive 441 days and had to relinquish the title in 2011 after he signed a new deal with WWE.

8 WWE Debut

Moxley signed a developmental deal with WWE in April 2011 and got assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling under the new name Dean Ambrose. He made his debut for FCW in June 2011 and quickly went on to feud with FCW Jack Brisco 15 Champion Seth Rollins. Moxley had three shots at the title against Rollins, and while the first two matches ended in time limit draws, Seth Rollins defeated Moxley in their final bout to retain the title.

He then set his sights on the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship and went in pursuit of the title throughout his time in the developmental territory to no avail. Moxley then moved over to NXT, where he performed until late 2012 before they made his main roster debut alongside two of his colleagues.

7 The Shield

November 8, 2012, marked WWE the main roster debut of Jon Moxley alongside Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at the Survivor Series PPV. The trio introduced themselves to the WWE Universe as The Shield and established themselves as heels by attacking Ryback and helping CM Punk retain the WWE Championship.

Together, The Hounds of Justice dominated the main roster over the weeks and went on to hold championships simultaneously. While Reigns and Rollins captured the Tag Team Championships, Moxley won the United States Championship and held it for a record 351 days. The trio feuded against all the big names on the promotion and quickly established themselves as main event performers. After an eventual face turn, they even went on to feud against a newly reformed Evolution.

6 Shield Break Up & Feud With Seth Rollins

Jon Moxley gets attacked by Seth Rollins

The Shield triumphed over Evolution in a six-man tag team match at the 2014 Extreme Rules PPV and defeated them once again in a No Holds Barred elimination match at the Payback PPV. If there is one thing the fans have learned from seeing Evolution, it's that the leader Triple H always finds a way to come out on top, and he did exactly the same when he executed his Plan B, recruiting Seth Rollins to betray The Shield.

Moxley looked to get some retribution on Seth Rollins and had a lengthy feud with The Authority. Moxley was unsuccessful in winning the MITB ladder match and also failed in defeating Rollins in multiple matches, and their Hell in a Cell match at the titular PPV became their final bout in the rivalry until they rekindled it after Rollins became the WWE Champion.

5 WWE Champion

Moxley's attempts at capturing the WWE Championship from Seth Rollins proved to be futile as he failed to capture the title from Rollins at the 2015 Payback, Elimination Chamber, and Money in the Bank PPVs. He then had a short reign with the Intercontinental Championship and also tried his luck in dethroning Triple H for the WWE Championship at the 2016 Roadblock PPV and defeating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32, but fell short on both occasions.

He finally came one step closer to winning the WWE Championship after winning the 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match and cashed it in the same night against Seth Rollins to win his first WWE Championship. Following his victory in a triple threat match against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, Moxley got drafted to SmackDown in the 2016 brand split. He retained the title against Dolph Ziggler at the SummerSlam PPV but lost it to AJ Styles at Backlash to end his reign at 84 days.

4 Shield Reunions, Heel Turn & Departure

After dropping the WWE Championship, Moxley had a 152-day reign with the Intercontinental Championship. By the end of the reign, he reunited with his former Shield partner Seth Rollins and went on to capture the tag team titles with him.

The events would play out to facilitate an eventual Shield reunion, which lasted until Moxley suffered an injury, which took him out of action for nine months. Following his return, The Shield reunited once again and had a good run until Roman Reigns made his leukemia announcement.

Moxley turned heel on Rollins the same night and feuded with him over the Intercontinental Championship. The Shield had one final reunion after Reigns made his return, but this time it ended with Moxley leaving WWE in 2019.

3 AEW Debut

Following his WWE exit, Jon Moxley signed with All Elite Wrestling and made his debut on the 2019 Double or Nothing PPV, and attacked Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho after the main event match.

He made his in-ring debut for AEW at the 2019 Fyter Fest PPV, where he defeated Joey Janela. AEW booked Moxley Vs. Kenny Omega for the All Out PPV, but the match didn't take place after Moxley got diagnosed with an MRSA staph infection in his elbow and had to undergo surgery. Moxley returned in October 2019 and took on Kenny Omega in an unsanctioned Lights Out match at the Full Gear PPV, where he defeated Omega in a hard-hitting contest.

2 AEW World Champion

Following his victory over Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley directed his sights at Chris Jericho and the AEW World Championship. The storyline began with Jericho trying to recruit Moxley into the Inner Circle to no avail. Moxley became the No.1 Contender for the title after winning a tournament and went on to challenge Jericho for the title at the 2020 Revolution PPV and defeated Jericho at the event to win his first AEW World Championship.

He held the AEW World title for 277 days and defended it against the likes of Brodie Lee, Jake Hager, Darby Allin, MJF, and Eddie Kingston before dropping it to Kenny Omega on the Winter Is Coming edition of Dynamite in December 2020.

1 Hiatus, Return & Feud With Bryan Danielson

Moxley then continued to feud with various wrestlers and even defended his IWGP United States Championship in AEW. He lost the title to Lance Archer and then restarted his quest to win back the AEW World Championship.

He hit an unexpected roadblock by the end of 2021 as he had to enter a rehab program for alcoholism, which took him out of action for a while. He returned in January 2022 and started a program with Bryan Danielson. It led to a match between the two at the 2022 Revolution PPV, where Moxley defeated Danielson, which also saw the debut of William Regal.