"This old man" - When Dean Ambrose confirmed the Vince McMahon idea that forced him out of WWE

Dean Ambrose is a one-time WWE Champion who is now known as Jon Moxley of AEW. The wrestling veteran left his former employer in April 2019 after letting his contract expire. Moxley later opened up on why he left WWE and revealed some very interesting interactions he had with Vince McMahon toward the end of his tenure.

The Purveyor of Violence debuted for AEW at its inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per-view, less than one month after his eight-year tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment ended. Shortly after debuting, the former Shield member spoke with another former WWE Champion who signed with Tony Khan, Chris Jericho, on his Talk Is Jericho podcast.

Moxley noted that leaving WWE for AEW felt like "the weight of the world" was lifted from his shoulders after months of unhappiness, largely due to creative plans for his character. These creative issues boiled to the surface in November 2018 when he turned on Seth Rollins during RAW.

Moxley recalled cutting six promos that night and not liking the majority of the content, only to receive a note from McMahon that warned him to read his promos verbatim and not re-write them. Moxley was especially disgusted by a line about Roman Reigns' real-life leukemia battle.

Later on, he made another trip to McMahon's office to talk him out of a bad idea, and this time, it was related to the Ambrose character insulting the "disgusting" people of Los Angeles while wearing a surgical mask. These interactions with the WWE co-founder had become somewhat regular and were taking a toll.

"I remember leaning on a road case and just feeling actual exhaustion. Just like emotional, physical, mental exhaustion. Not so much because of that day, but because of six of years of this. Six years of having to go into this man's office, this old man, and trying to explain to him why wearing a surgical mask is a stupid idea, why carrying a little red wagon to the ring is a stupid idea, why maiming a mannequin in the ring is a stupid idea. I was done," Jon Moxley said.

The former Moral Compass of WWE revealed the promo that confirmed, to him, that he'd be leaving. Ambrose was to get "vaccinated" to prevent catching diseases from fans, and this made Moxley excited to turn down the contract in the works. He was so eager to leave that he decided to tell officials during Royal Rumble Weekend. He recalled a conversation with former Talent Relations head Mark Carrano, which got back to Vince and may have brought on questionable booking.

"I said, 'This is not a decision I came to fast or lightly; this has been a long time coming. I'm not going to change my mind. This is not about any one particular thing. This is not an emotional decision. This is happening. I'm leaving, and it's OK.' There's literally no number they could put on a piece of paper that would get me to stay," Jon Moxley said.

The Death Riders' leader went on to become AEW's second-ever World Champion, dethroning Chris Jericho in February 2020. Moxley is currently in his record-setting fourth reign as World Champion. He has also had multiple title reigns with GCW and NJPW since leaving WWE.

Jon Moxley reveals pay for final WWE match

Jon Moxley wrestled his final WWE match on April 21, 2019, just nine days before his contract expired. The former Dean Ambrose teamed with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to defeat Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre at a special live event: The Shield's Final Chapter.

Moxley received just $500 to work his last bout for World Wrestling Entertainment. The pay was revealed in his viral post-AEW debut interview with Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho. It was noted that this is equal to what is paid to talents who show up but aren't used or extras.

Moxley held the WWE Championship and the United States Championship on one occasion each. He also held the Intercontinental Championship three times and the RAW Tag Team Championship twice with Rollins.