Jon Moxley has been a staple on AEW television since its inception. The Cincinnati native is the only man to hold the AEW World Heavyweight Championship four times. He has also won the International Championship. Moxley co-founded the Blackpool Combat Club and later assumed sole leadership, transitioning the group to the Death Riders. Both those factions have been dominant forces in the promotion. While his résumé speaks for itself, recent events may have put his position of leadership in jeopardy.
Moxley’s championship history certainly shows that he can win “the big one.” Lately, though, he has lost a series of matches that have begun to erode his standing in the group that he founded. It all started in July at All In, where Moxley lost the world title to “Hangman” Adam Page. Then, at WrestleDream in October, he lost an “I Quit” match to Darby Allin. Now, in November, he has been submitted twice by Kyle O’Reilly. The first submission came in a five-on-five Blood and Guts match on Dynamite. The second came ten days later in a one-on-one No Holds Barred match at Full Gear.
The Death Riders have no problem with losing a battle to win a war, but the losses are piling up. The faction was founded on exerting dominance and instilling fear. They are currently doing neither, and this is a direct reflection on the group’s leadership. Moxley lost the world title. The group lost the AEW World Trios belts when Moxley filled in for an injured Pac. No one in the Death Riders currently holds gold in AEW or Ring of Honor. The dominance, fear, mystique, and respect are all gone.
All the groundwork has been laid for one of two things to happen. The group may simply abandon Moxley and cease to exist. More likely, though, is the possibility that Moxley is going to end up with a plastic bag over his head in the middle of the ring. When the faction felt that BCC co-founder Bryan Danielson was weak and needed to be put down, that was their course of action. Danielson was the world champion at the time. Moxley was the one who took that title from Danielson. Now that it is gone, so may be his position of power.
Wheeler Yuta has been the group’s whipping boy since he joined due to all the times he has taken the loss for the group. Daniel Garcia joined the Death Riders recently because he was tired of losing to them and wanted to be associated with winners. Castagnoli has been the group’s enforcer. He and Pac do not tolerate losing. Clearly, something has to give. It is just a matter of time before Moxley is out.
I think it is only a matter of time before Pac is running the Death Riders (perhaps under a new name). I can see Tony Khan writing Moxley off the show for a while to sell a brutal attack, only to have him return as an antihero seeking revenge. It remains to be seen if Marina Shafir stays loyal to the faction or its ousted leader. It would make for a good story either way. It is also possible that AEW is ready to start booking Shafir on her own. No matter what they choose for her, it should not affect Moxley’s booking much. He is the weak link in the Death Riders’ chain, and that chain will get broken.
Another twist in the Moxley story may well come in an unexpected ally in his battle for revenge against his former faction. Khan has laid the foundation for Allin to eventually side with the Death Riders’ ousted leader. During his months-long feud with the Death Riders, Allin spoke of his respect for Moxley. Allin mentioned that he even considered joining the Death Riders at one point, but eventually decided to try to destroy them instead. That means that he and Moxley have a common goal and a common enemy. It would not be the first time that Khan has had mortal enemies team up (Page/Swerve Strickland and MJF/Adam Cole come to mind).
Khan has set all this up for months. Now he just has to decide when he wants to pull the trigger. It could all start as soon as this Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. Whenever it starts, get ready for more carnage…
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