Jon Moxley Getting His Rightful AEW Title Run

The date was February 29, 2020, Jox Moxley had just won the AEW World Championship from Chris Jericho at AEW Revolution. It was the culmination of a great storyline and feud between two guys that were perfect for each other. Fans in attendance were going nuts for Moxley. Moxley cuts a great promo about how he would defend the championship against anybody, anytime, and anyplace! Who would have thought that was going to be the last PPV crowd Jon Moxley would wrestle in front of for close to a year and a half.

For three weeks the world was shocked by the COVID-19 pandemic. Jon Moxley the AEW World Champion had crowds for only a couple of weeks. From there he was known as the pandemic champion. However, that did not matter to Moxley. He carried that title with the highest regard and had excellent matches in front of zero crowds in the building. But the fans were entertained on their television. Months later Moxley dropped the title to Kenny Omega.

From there Moxley continued to have great matches and did not need the title. Though he took time off for alcohol issues, Moxley came back with a Vengeance as part of the Blackpool Combat Club. Fans did not forget who Moxley was. The leaner, sleeker Jon Moxley was ready for what was next in his career.

Jon Moxley Back in the Spotlight

CM Punk had just won the AEW World Championship from Hangman Adam Page at Double or Nothing. The Summer of Punk 2022 was here. As AEW rolled to Forbidden Door in Chicago, Punk was looking to defend the title against Hiroshi Tanahashi. Unfortunately for Punk and the company, the champion got injured. Therefore he could not compete. Even though Punk wanted to hand the title back to Tony Khan, Khan did not like that idea thus creating the Interim AEW World Championship.

Jon Moxley was given a birth into the semifinals and faced the winner of the Casino Battle Royal. That man was Kyle O ‘Reilly. Those two put on a great wrestling match with Moxley being the winner. All signs pointed to Tanahashi. Moxley and Tanahashi were to clase before the pandemic for the IWGP US Title in New Japan Pro Wrestling. That did not happen. But now the time was right for the clash.

At AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door, Moxley won the AEW World Title for a second time. Although this was the interim, Moxley was still the man in AEW. But this time Moxley had crowds to perform in front being champion. Something he did not have the luxury the first time. Not to mention, Tony Khan has always been high on Moxley. Khan believes Moxley never lost the title fair and square, so that is why he was put in this position.

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A big reason why Moxley is in this position is because of who he is as a worker. And as previously mentioned his first reign was ruined by COVID. This is the run he should have gotten with fans. Moxley is on TV every week as champion. Most of the time on Dynamite, but sometimes on Rampage. He has already defended the title on multiple occasions. Most recently against Chris Jericho on Dynamite. This was the rematch from 2020 AEW Revolution just two years later.

Moxley is one of the most over guys not just in the company but in the industry. That is why it is truly unknown what direction AEW goes in at ALL OUT. With Punk returning a unification match is coming down the road between Moxley and Punk. And frankly, Moxley does not care if he is the bad guy in that matchup. One thing is for sure Moxley is going to continue to have banger matches until Tony Khan decides it is time to make the switch back to Punk.

Outside of Omega and Jericho, Moxley has been one of the highest TV rated champions for AEW. Even despite going through a pandemic, Moxley carried the company on his back. And for that he was rewarded in a time when the company needed him most with so many injuries to top-end talent. Now, Moxley finally gets to bask in the sunlight that is being AEW World champion in front of fans.