On the February 25, 2026, episode of AEW Dynamite, Marina Shafir finally explained why she slaps Jon Moxley before his matches.
Shafir’s partnership with Moxley goes back to her WWE release in 2021. After leaving the company, she reached out to him and sent footage of her Bloodsport matches to prove how serious she was about her craft. That helped build trust between them.
Now, the slap has become a clear signal that Moxley is about to bring chaos.
Marina Shafir Says There Is “Only Joy” in the Pre-Match Ritual
Shafir once again slapped Moxley before his match against El Clon at the Mission Ballroom. She made it clear that the slap isn’t a sign of anger or tension.
Shafir described it as a ritual. In the Death Riders group, the slap is meant to wake Moxley up and lock him in mentally before a fight.
As Renee Paquette asked her about the pre-match ritual at ringside, Shafir gave a poetic explanation. “There is no peace for great men. And there is no pain in that slap, only joy,” Shafir said.
Shafir has become Moxley’s main ally at ringside during his strong run in AEW.
"There is no peace for great men"
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) February 26, 2026
Marina Shafir sets the stage as Jon Moxley kicks off #AEWDynamite against El Clon LIVE on TBS and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/okErAbi7dC
Moxley’s match against El Clon showed exactly what that slap prepares him for.
They started with technical wrestling, headlocks, wristlocks, and counters. Then things got rough. Moxley hit hard strikes and even mocked his opponent.
The fight went outside the ring. Moxley smashed Clon’s face into the announce desk and threw punches near the barricade. Back in the ring, Moxley hit a lariat and a piledriver and tried submissions. However, Clon managed to stay alive in the match.
El Clon tried to make a comeback. He hit Moxley with some elbows and a diving double stomp. It looked like he might turn the match around. But Moxley fought back and finished Clon off with the Paradigm Shift.
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