Why Jon Moxley Should Defeat CM Punk For The AEW World Championship
AEW World Champion CM Punk made his surprising return to save interim champion Jon Moxley from an attack from the Jericho Appreciation Society at Dynamite Quake By The Lake on August 10. Moxley had just survived a bloody war with Chris Jericho to defend his interim championship and was assaulted by Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager. Members of the Blackpool Combat Club and the rest of the JAS followed, and it became a full-fledged brawl. As Jericho was setting up to clock Moxley with the AEW World Championship belt, Cult of Personality hit, the crowd exploded and Punk proceeded to take out each member of JAS until it was just he and Moxley in the ring.
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They stood face-to-face, Moxley gave Punk the finger, and bumped his shoulder walking out of the ring. The AEW World Championship unification match is imminent...and Jon Moxley should be the victor.
Jon Moxley Has Carried AEW For The Better Part Of The Last 2.5 Years
We all know the story: Jon Moxley defeated Jericho to become the second AEW World Champion at Revolution 2020. And in a matter of weeks the world was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Mox never got the chance to shine as champ in front of fans. He had excellent title defenses against the likes of Mr. Brodie Lee, Darby Allin, MJF and Eddie Kingston before dropping the title to Kenny Omega in December 2020. It's been a slow climb back to the top ever since.
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Moxley spent the first half of 2021 largely tagging with friend and former rival Eddie Kingston, including an outstanding tag title match against the Young Bucks at Double or Nothing 2021. He was also still New Japan's IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Champion, and he defended it in AEW against NJPW legend Yuji Nagata and Karl Anderson, before dropping it to Lance Archer in an excellent Texas Death Match. He then made his intentions known that he wanted a match with NJPW's Hiroshi Tanahashi, but that Tana was ducking him. So, Mox gave an open challenge to anyone in NJPW to face him at All Out -- where he defeated Satoshi Kojima -- and was confronted by Minoru Suzuki after the match. He went on to defeat Suzuki on the following Dynamite, and less than a month later, checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation center. However...
Moxley Looked Better Than Ever Since Returning In January
A slimmed-down Jon Moxley defeated Ethan Page in his return match on the January 21 Rampage. Mox admitted that match felt very weird and awkward, but he knocked the rust off quickly and has had a heck of a 2022 with a new fire and viciousness about him. He actually tagged with Punk in an awesome match against FTR in February, before having his first standout match of the year with Bryan Danielson at Revolution, followed by the surprise debut of William Regal and the formation of the Blackpool Combat Club. Mox then had one of the best AEW matches of the year on Rampage in a bloody affair against Wheeler Yuta.
After Punk got hurt, Mox defeated Kyle O'Reilly in a No. 1 contenders match for the interim AEW World Championship. And in what felt like fate, he'd finally get his shot at Tanahashi for the interim championship at Forbidden Door. It was a true dream match, and Moxley outlasted the NJPW star in front of the molten hot Chicago crowd. He has since defended the title against Brody King, Rush, Mance Warner and Jericho, and had an absolute banger of an eliminator match with Konosuke Takeshita -- all in a month-and-a-half period. Mox has busted his hump for AEW since Day 1, carried the company during the pandemic, and looked his best this year. He is THE man in AEW and currently feels like a bigger star than Punk.
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Punk Can Lose And Turn Heel
In recent interviews, Punk has claimed he'd like to be a heel in AEW, and coming off a loss to Moxley would be the perfect time for the turn. Punk had his crowning moment in defeating Hangman Page, but him being a heel would be best for business for AEW. He could win the belt back from Moxley sometime down the line, but Mox deserves a nice run with it. Assuming MJF comes back, they could do a program with Punk as the heel and MJF more as a babyface whilst still doing MJF things, which would be an interesting role reversal from their incredible feud earlier this year.
In his match against Hangman, Punk botched two attempts at the Buckshot Lariat hurting the flow of the match. He got hurt in his next match jumping off the top rope. Perhaps Punk realizes he's got a lot of miles on his body and scales back his in-ring work to avoid getting injured again. And it would make all of his matches that much more special. This would probably be best for both CM Punk and AEW, and he can still continue to provide great value and mentorship backstage. Needless to say, the unification match between Punk and Moxley should be one for the ages, and one that should serve as a coronation of sorts for AEW's MVP, Jon Moxley.
