Even before Dean Ambrose left WWE in April 2019 — reverting to his old ring name, Jon Moxley — to join AEW , rumors were swirling regarding the reasons why he decided to reject a lucrative contract extension offer and leave the company where he first became a household name. Although Moxley’s unhappiness with his creative direction in WWE has been well-documented since then, one of his former colleagues — Hall of Famer Kurt Angle — said in a recent interview that he expects the former Shield member to return to WWE at some point in the future.
Earlier this week, Angle spoke to Give Me Sport in an exclusive interview, where he mainly talked about Moxley’s move to AEW. After admitting that he “[gets] wind” of what’s going on in the rival promotion despite not following it closely, the former Olympic gold medalist discussed why he believes Moxley decided to leave WWE.
“Dean wanted a change and an adjustment. Maybe he felt he wanted to work less and felt that he wasn’t being appreciated,” Angle said, consistently referring to Moxley by his former ring name throughout the interview. “He made the decision for himself and if he feels it’s the right decision I’m happy for him.”
Regarding the chances of Moxley returning to WWE, Angle said that the company is the “biggest” in the wrestling business, which is why he believes the 34-year-old grappler “will be back” eventually. He also predicted that The Shield — which also featured Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns — will one day be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as one of the promotion’s greatest factions of all time.
. @JonMoxley wasn’t taking a chance ? pic.twitter.com/dGamqFuxSS
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) January 11, 2020
Although Angle was clearly optimistic about Moxley’s chances of coming back to WWE for another run with the company, the former “Lunatic Fringe” has been very open about how dissatisfied he was with his creative direction toward the end of his stint. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , Moxley appeared on AEW colleague Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast in May, where he told his fellow WWE alumnus that he didn’t like having his promos scripted. He also admitted feeling especially uncomfortable about allegedly having to deliver a tasteless insult while cutting a promo against Reigns.
In addition, Moxley notably called WWE owner Vince McMahon an “old man” on Jericho’s podcast, telling the inaugural AEW World Champion that he left the company because he was tired of arguing with his former boss over creative matters.
At this point in AEW’s short history, none of the former WWE superstars on its roster have been rumored to be considering rejoining their old promotion. However, as proven by Angle himself when he came back in 2017 as an authority figure and occasional wrestler, it is possible for WWE talents to return after several years away from the company.