Moose Crossing: How a DV Charge May Have Prevented Moose from Going to WWE- but Gave TNA One of Its Greatest Stars

Salutations!

I wanted to take some time out from the usual Impact episode review to put some focus on one “Face of the Franchise”. This is not to say that this week’s episode isn’t worth reviewing. I highly recommend you go check it out- especially that main event featuring the subject of this write-up. I have my criticisms of “Speedball” Mike Bailey’s matches. But when he’s in the ring with the right opponent who will slow him down a bit and allow stuff to “sink in” with the audience, he can make some magic.

And Quinn O. Ojinnaka- known to wrestling fans as Moose– can always be counted on to be somebody’s “right” opponent.

You can read his bio on Wikipedia, but I’ll give you the summary. Ojinnaka is a native of Seabrook, Maryland and a graduate of DeMatha Catholic High School where he was an offensive lineman. In his senior year, he and his team went undefeated. This led to a college football career at Syracuse where he played in 44 games with 23 starts. Selected in the 5th round of the 2006 NFL draft (139th overall pick), he found a home with the Atlanta Falcons. Michael Vick was the first person to call him “Moose”, supposedly due to his resemblence to a former teammate with the same nickname (Quinn hated the nickname at first). He was traded to the New England Patriots the following year, where he played a total of 8 games as a reserve after serving a one-game suspension. His football career came to an end in October of 2012, and this was the same year he sought out the pro wrestling training services of Curtis Hughes, professionally known as Mr. Hughes. Hughes’ career highlights include stealing the urn of the Undertaker, bodyguarding Triple H before Chynatook over duties, attacking Ken Shamrock as a stooge for Chris Jericho (before Jericho himself turned on him), and hitting Jerry “the King” Lawler in the balls in Memphis Wrestling.

Moose trained under Hughes and attended WWE training camps. In 2014, he debuted in Dragon Gate USA, serving as a bodyguard for a tag team that included the future Andre Chase of NXT’s Chase University. Moose signed with Ring of Honor in June of that year, and subsequently made his New Japan debut a year later through their relationship with ROH. Moose admitted that going from the NFL to the wrestling on the indies was a huge paycut, however, wrestling was always his childhood dream.

Some notable wins and opponents of Moose’s ROH/NJPW career:

-Defeated Mark Briscoe in a singles match
-Squashed wrestlers such as Colby Corino
-Went on an undefeated streak that ended in a loss to Cedric Alexander
-Teamed with War Machine, now known as WWE’s War Raiders, in a losing effort against Bullet Club
-Defeated Juice Robinson at Battle in the Valley
-Wrestled Kazuchkia Okada– a man who Moose called his “favorite wrestler”- at ROH’s 14th Anniversary show.

Moose left ROH in 2016, with reports linking him to both WWE and TNA. A 6’5″, 300 pound former NFL lineman who had already been through WWE training camps should have been a shoo-in for the ‘E, right?

There’s always a ‘but’.

In 2009, while still an Atlanta Falcon, Moose was arrested for domestic battery in Gwinnett County, Georgia, after allegedly striking and spitting on his then-wife during an argument over a female friend of his on Facebook. He told the police that his wife tried to stab him with a pen. The wife claimed he threw her on some stairs before tossing her out of the house. Neither Moose or his wife complained of any injuries, and they both declined medical assistance. The aforementioned one-game suspension was because of this. Moose was released on bond and was charged with a misdemeanor.

If you look at Moose’s interview with notable wrestling reporter, interviewer, and YouTuber Chris Van Vliet, you’ll see a story about Moose turning down an offer to appear on Tough Enough in his explanation of why he chose to sign with TNA. However, most hardcore wrestling pundits know that WWE has a zero tolerance policy for domestic violence. Fellow TNA star Rich Swann was suspended and subsequently released by WWE for his domestic violence arrest. So, it begs the question: did Moose turn down a WWE opportunity, or would he have ever even had a shot due to his domestic battery arrest?

In fact- it actually begs several questions. I’m sure many of you are ready to throw in names such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the late Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka” when it comes to alleged DV charges, and you may even want to bring up Vince’s ugly past with women. But face it- Moose ain’t Austin. Moose ain’t even Vince (talking about star power). Would Moose have ever had a chance to sign with WWE- let alone become a big star? Would he have gotten lost in the shuffle in the crowded WWE landscape? Would his past arrest come back to haunt him? What would his life and career have been like had he competed on Tough Enough?

For anyone reading this and feeling as if I’m downplaying domestic violence- please know that I take stuff like that very seriously, and no amount of fame or celebrity should excuse a guilty party. Men should never hit women. Women should never try to stab men with pens. I wasn’t there, and I don’t know who was telling the truth or fudging details. To my knowledge, there is no established pattern or record of Moose being a woman-beater. I hope both he and his ex-wife (who he also claimed scoffed at his plan to retire from the NFL to pursue wrestling) have found healing and peace from that situation. I also feel that we shouldn’t define people by or hold them to their past poor choices and actions (as we’ve all made them).

Moose’s decision to remain in TNA for 8 years (as of this writing)- whether due to not having any other option in North American wrestling before the birth of AEW, or legitimately opting to stay loyal to the TNA brand- is a testament to not only his loyalty, but also the fact that one can have a pretty decent career in pro wrestling without WWE. I’m not nieve; I know WWE is the biggest dance in town, and I know that many feel (be it consciously or subconsciously) that nothing you do in wrestling outside of WWE matters. But think of this: Moose has been under several branding, name, and regime changes (TNA, Impact, Global Force). No one will say with a straight face that he’s always had the perfect booking of his character. Neither will anyone mistake him for a Dwayne Johnson or a Roman Reigns. Heck, some fans in this internet age are STILL having trouble even finding what network TNA is currently airing on- and this has been under two of his world title reigns (get it together, Anthem). Moose has put in the work to establish himself as a franchise player, delivering in the ring and in promos, getting the biggest reactions from the TNA crowds (sometimes getting babyface pops when he’s supposed to be a heel), and performing in some of the most underrated matches you could ever feast your eyes on if you can find them. Moose is definitely a future first ballot TNA Hall of Famer whose name deserves to be in the same paragraphs as AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Jeff Jarrett, Team 3D, and others.

And who knows… with the partnership between NXT and TNA still happening, and the door not looking to shut on that any time soon, we can’t necessarily rule out the WWE Universe getting their chance to chant “Moose”. It would be a nice feather in the cap of a really good career.

What do you think? Could Moose have been a big star in WWE? Do you think he’ll ever show up in WWE (via NXT, the Royal Rumble, or some other event)? Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time. Peace.