Carol: Is The Jon Moxley AEW Championship Reign A Flop?

The other day I was scrolling through the comments section on AEW’s Instagram page. I was looking at a photo promoting Moxley’s upcoming appearance on Dynamite. Reading the comments, I noticed some fans aren’t too happy with Moxley’s current reign as AEW Champion. The comments range from he’s boring to he’s not bringing in the ratings to the title should’ve stayed in Jericho. So today I decided to examine how Moxley’s two-month reign as been so far.

First off, let me just say this. If they had kept the title on Jericho, I’m sure fans would be complaining that his reign is getting boring too.

Anyway getting back to Jon Moxley, him winning the championship at Revolution was a huge moment for his career. While I was excited for Moxley’s win, I have to admit so far his reign isn’t living up to expectation. The reason is due to circumstances out of Moxley’s control

At Revolution, Jon Moxley suffered a concussion that kept him out of action for a little while. In the past few weeks, he’s been seen in backstage segments. He then had a confrontation with Jake Hager, which resulted in them getting booked into a match.

Then the coronavirus pandemic has affected the wrestling industry. AEW was forced to cancel live shows and tape episodes of Dynamite from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville. With many wrestlers opting to stay home, AEW had to rework some of their current storylines. Speaking of storylines, the creative direction for Jon Moxley has played a role in his reign being deemed boring.

A few days after his championship win, it looked like AEW was continuing Mox’s feud with Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle. Mox suffered a beatdown from the group and was powerbombed off the stage. One would think that Moxley’s main focus would be revenge against The Inner Circle. He did take down Hager by giving the star his first loss in AEW. But as for Jericho and the other members of the stable, Moxley hasn’t had any interaction with them.

Personally, I believe AEW should be focusing on Jericho trying to get his title back from Jon Moxley. But they’ve ventured away from that direction since Chris is now feuding with Matt Hardy.

While Mox’s reign has been lackluster so far, I believe AEW can turn it around with the right opponent and the right story. With Jericho appearing to be out of the title picture; this leaves the door open for other stars to step up. There’s the possibility of round two in Mox and Kenny Omega’s feud. Plus, Mox said he’d love to give Cody a championship opportunity. Also Darby Allin, MJF, and Lance Archer are just a few guys who would be worthy challengers for the AEW Championship.

With the anniversary of Mox’s AEW debut coming up, the company is bound to have something huge in store. Hopefully with more screen time and the right feud, the Jon Moxley championship run can be saved.