MOX: Book Review
The art of the wrestling biography or autobiography is a delicate one. You have to find the middle ground of explaining why you’ve gone into the weird world of professional wrestling, why you love it and explain your life in it while striving to maintain your integrity and also not necessarily exposing the true hidden secrets of the sport. Some have excelled at this, such as in the case of the infinitely readable books written by Bret Hart, Mick Foley and Gary Hart. There are the ones that come close, but don’t quite get over that ledge, such as books by Jim Ross, Chris Jericho and Terry Funk. Then there are the ones that were authorized and released by WWE over the years, where they maintain kayfabe for the most part and while they may be an enjoyable light read, they amount to fluff in the end.
So where does Jon Moxley’s autobiography MOX fall? Likely somewhere between the first two categories. Moxley isn’t afraid to throw shade and pile dirt on people, nor is he afraid to share some of the seedier aspects of his life and career. You will learn an awful lot about Jonathan Goode the man, as well as what makes him, as well as his alter egos Dean Ambrose and Jon Moxley, tick. Perhaps in some cases, more than you’d care to know. But I have to give Mox credit for his brutal and upfront honesty, something so sorely lacking in professional wrestlers.
The book is written in a peculiar fashion, jumping from different parts of Mox’s life and career, usually with no rhyme or reason. One chapter can be about his childhood in Cincinnati, before moving to his thoughts on AEW’s disastrous Exploding Ring Match, then jumping to a part of his career in FCW/NXT or WWE. Despite this seemingly rapid-fire thought process, more often not it works, in no small part due to the way the book is written.
It's clear from reading that this was actually a book written by Jon Moxley himself with no ghostwriter. Whether that ends up being a good or bad thing for the reader will really come down to personal preference. While it is competently written, for the most part, there are some very odd choices made. Mox has no issues with freely cussing which helps bring his personal edge to the proceedings, but he also relies on an overabundance of “F’n” as a descriptor, which after a few inclusions definitely begins to grate on the reader. You’re freely cursing throughout the book, sometimes in tandem, so pick one or the other. In the overall scheme of things it is a minor gripe, but it can become rather annoying.
With 90% of the wrestling audience, most are reading these types of books for the wrestling dirt that they can find, and see who the author will freely bury, especially for people no longer in the employ of the big empire, WWE. Shockingly, given Mox’s take-no-prisoners attitude, there isn’t too much of that. Much of the WWE portion of the book involves the meeting and courtship with Renee Paquette. It is without question that he has an incredible love and adoration for Renee, and his recollections of how they became an item and some of the stories with her may be some of the best parts of the book. The same can be said about many of his recollections during the formation and initial run of The Shield. While we know since part of that brotherhood between them has been fractured since Mox’s WWE exit and AEW debut due to Seth Rollins somewhat burying him while defending WWE, the parts as The Shield went from an initial idea to arguably one of the best factions in WWE history are captivating and fun to read as a wrestling fan. Going back to the idea of burying other talents, a week after I’ve read the book, the only person who really gets buried outside of a few instances discussing Vince McMahon being out of touch with the fans (Thanks Captain Obvious!) is his discussion of an incident with Kevin Dunn, the head of WWE’s production. No need to go into details regarding the story as it has been greatly publicized already, but it’s still fun to read.
The book is also not lacking for emotional moments, most specifically when Mox talks about the loss of two of his close colleagues. The first and most notable would be one that shook the wrestling world at the end of 2020 when Brodie Lee passed away unexpectedly. Well, it was unexpected to the fans, as the AEW roster and his colleagues kept it a well-guarded secret, but Moxley does reveal that many of them knew that Brodie was in the hospital on life support due to issues with his liver. To my knowledge this may be the first time that anyone has actually openly discussed part of the cause of Brodie’s passing, likely putting an end to the ongoing speculation that it was COVID-related. Regardless, as Moxley discusses his friendship and history with Brodie, from the indies through NXT to the main WWE roster and finally AEW, I couldn’t help but feel emotional. It was clear the two had a strong bond and great respect for one another, with Moxley discussing how he was the one booked against Brodie Lee for his tryout match during their time in the then-FCW and wanting to do everything he could to make him look great.
There is also an emotional discussion about his friend Grant Berkland, better known to deathmatch wrestling fans as Danny Havoc. While not well known to the general population, on the underground circuit Havoc was somewhat of a legend. Moxley fondly remembers a match they had together where Moxley wanted Havoc to show he could actually wrestle and they had a straight-up match instead of all the hardcore shenanigans. Unfortunately, Havoc passed away in May of 2020, a death that Moxley attributes to a broken heart after Berkland’s wife passed away previously. Once again, the love and respect that Moxley had for his colleague is felt through the words.
Outside of these highlights, the book lets you dive into some of Moxley’s favorite movies (Point Break, something that you can find a great moment on YouTube of where a young Moxley presents a conversation between Johnny Utah and Bodhi in the voices of Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk) and albums. You also find out some of his favorite matches, such as his favorite WWE match being the Road Block main event against Triple H in 2016, a match that both men agreed to call in the ring, and stands up as an underrated classic in recent history.
Overall, sometimes you find out a bit more than you might like about Moxley, such as his affinity for sex, and open admission about his alcohol and drug abuse (he lets you know what it’s like to smack crack) which can become a bit uncomfortable as the man entered rehab treatment as the book was released, but he deserves credit for not being afraid to tear himself open and lay it all out for the reader.
In the end, MOX stands up as one of the best wrestling autobiographies in recent history. As I mentioned in the open, it’s not on the level of Bret Hart or Mick Foley’s absolute classic books, but if those books were to be placed on a tier list at the S rank, MOX would likely fall just below an A but above a B. In terms of most recent wrestling autobiographies, it’s certainly a highlight, as well as a nice and easy read. Whether or not it will stand amongst the titans of the genre, only time will tell.
Final Score – 7.5/10
MOX is now available through Permuted Press and is available in hardcover and eBook formats at retailers worldwide.
