Jon Moxley defeated Chris Jericho to become the AEW champion at Revolution 2020 (Credit: Wrestling World)
Jon Moxley reached the pinnacle of his new promotion by becoming the AEW Champion at Revolution 2020.
This was a bloody affair against the legend Chris Jericho. The former WWE stars brought the house down in this PPV and Moxley came out on top after a gruelling bout.
Moxley, who was known as Dean Ambrose during his WWE days, carried off a great act throughout the clash.
His eye had been injured by Jericho in the past and he sold that extremely well. However, towards the end of the clash, Moxley showed that he was feigning injury and was able to hit the Paradigm Shift to pick up the title.
This match felt like an old school brawl from the Attitude era with a lot of interference from the Inner Circle.
It was incredible seeing the AEW version on Ambrose, Jon Moxley, fend off all challengers and still come out on top.
The 34-year-old is one of the few to have won the top title in WWE and now at AEW, something that Jericho has done too, but has he really proved that he is the top dog now?
Ambrose/Moxley was one of the top wrestlers in WWE but he felt a little underused by the company.
Of course, there is also the requirement to keep things PG in WWE, and that didn’t seem to sit well with the former member of The Shield.
Further, Moxley was often looked like the third wheel of the act. Look at what Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have become.
Reigns is seen as the top dog on SmackDown and is always near about a title fight. The same goes for Rollins too and even when he isn’t fighting for top honours, the Monday Night Messiah is one of the main stories in the WWE.
That was far from the case for Ambrose and moving to AEW made sense. He came here to make a name for himself, and AEW have given him that and much more.
Although Renee Young, Moxley’s wife, isn’t always pleased with her husband being involved in bloody battles, we have seen the best of the former Shield member.
It could be the fact that experienced wrestlers such as Jericho, Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes running AEW has helped see the best of Moxley.
The 34-year-old has always been a great performer but putting him alongside top talents from around the world, and not limited to WWE, seems to be working like a charm.
He has been excellent during his trips to Japan too. The matches during the PPVs are proof that he can bring the house down.
Moxley openly criticised the creative process of WWE and that was one of the reasons he left:
“If there’s one thing I want to do [now], I want to prove that your creative process — the WWE’s creative process, sucks,” Moxley said to Jericho during a podcast.
“It does not work. It’s absolutely terrible. … It’s killing the company and I think Vince is the problem. Not so much Vince, but Vince and whatever structure he started building around himself.”
Moxley also highlighted that he didn’t care about the money being offered by WWE when he left and he got along with AEW’s Tony Khan better:
“Nothing I do [now] is motivated by money.
“Everything I do, whether it’s a show I do, a wrestling show I do, a match I have — anything I do, any project that I’m involved in, I’m chasing and directed by passion, creativity, artistic satisfaction and fun. That’s what I’m chasing. And I think the rewards, be they monetary or otherwise, will come.”
That seems to be the mantra for Moxley now. Money doesn’t matter but the product does. Promos matter which are under his control, and we are seeing the best of him.
He might not be making the millions that WWE offered him but that was never the plan.
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Leaving WWE for a new promotion is always a risky move. However, going out of that comfort zone seems to have invigorated Moxley.
The AEW Champion has a lot going for him and no one can question his decision to leave WWE.
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