A Valpo Life in the Spotlight: Joshua Moon

Growing up with pro wrestling heroes like John Cena, Joshua Moon always dreamed of a life competing in the ring. What started as just a dream turned into a reality when his father pushed him to pursue it.

Moon grew up in Valparaiso. When he became old enough, his father encouraged him to join the wrestling team in middle school. Moon had been a fan of WWE’s Monday Night Raw and never missed a show, so the idea that he could learn some wrestling techniques of his own drew him to the sport.

“My father suggested, when I was a bit younger, that I do wrestling when I get to be the right age,” Moon said. “It didn’t interest me at the time, until I got to that age, and I was like, ‘Oh wow! Okay, I want to do that.’ I started wrestling for the schools, and I wasn’t all that great at it. I wasn’t competitive enough, but I learned the body mechanics and how to do everything.”

When Moon entered the world of professional wrestling as an adult with Adrenaline Ringside Wrestling (ARWPRO), the techniques he learned helped him be competitive in a new way. While wrestling on the mat didn’t feel like the exact right fit, he knew as soon as he started competing in pro wrestling that he had the right skills to put on a performance and captivate an audience.

Moon is an independent pro wrestler, which means he travels and is available for different wrestling events. While he had initially considered attending a school in Iowa, he decided on a path as an independent contractor in the world of wrestling to build his career and professional reputation. There was local training available so that Moon wouldn’t have to relocate, and he ultimately decided that this was the best option for himself.

“They really appreciated that I knew how to actually wrestle and I wasn’t going to need a ground-up style of training. They didn’t have to completely train my brain; I was already conscious of what I was doing,” Moon said.

The sport requires more than just a knowledge of moves and techniques; it is also about showmanship, coordinated planning, and rigorous choreography. Moon had always known that breaking into the sport would not come easy, but he found motivation to keep going when things got tough.

“When you’re in the ring, you’re trained to zone out everything in the crowd,” Moon said. “You talk to them and you treat them as if they’re there, but you also have to tune them out in a sense because you have to be present in the moment with the opponent and the referee. You have to know what’s going on at all times. At the same time, I can’t help but think of me wearing John Cena’s shirt as a kid, watching those guys on TV, and having that little dream.”

Moon’s mother and his sister are also very supportive of his wrestling career, frequently attending his matches and helping sell some of his merchandise at every event.

For the kids in the crowd wearing Moon’s shirts, or for anyone who has the same dream he’s had of competing professionally, Moon encourages people to overcome doubt and simply go for it without giving up.

“I beat myself up a lot, too. At times, I feel like I’m not doing enough. If there’s a kid out there who wants to try it, whether you succeed or not, you’ll always have the memory of trying to do it and having fun while you’re doing it,” Moon said. You’re still living out that childhood dream. I would recommend anybody who wants to get into wrestling to just put that foot forward and try it out.”

Moon’s character was inspired by his love of comic books, especially Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Batman, Daredevil, and, of course, Moon Knight. He believes that these characters are often inspirational to a lot of people – especially kids – and that’s the kind of influence he strives to have in his career.

For updates on upcoming events featuring Joshua Moon and other local independent wrestlers, you can visit the ARWPRO Facebook page.