Jon Moxley Defeats Jeff Hardy To Open Up AEW Dynamite

Blackpool Combat Club's Jon Moxley went face-to-face with Jeff Hardy for the first time ever on Wednesday's episode of "AEW Dynamite," and the rules of the match were "relaxed." Moxley started off the match hot with taped-up right hands, and it did not take long for both men to start fighting outside of the ring. Hardy threw Moxley from the ring and hit him with a dive. Hardy then took the towel that was in his back pocket and started to choke Moxley with it. Moxley was able to get his bearings and hit a suicide dive on Hardy to take him out, before getting him back in the ring and into a submission attempt. After a picture-in-picture break, Moxley had a pen from the commentary desk and put it through Hardy's stretched earlobe and twisted while both men were on the top rope. Hardy was able to push Moxley off the top.

Hardy avoided a piledriver on the ring apron and hit his own Twist of Fate. The battle continued, and Hardy was able to hit another and go to the top rope for a Swanton Bomb, but Moxley moved out of the way. Moxley had Hardy in a chokehold in the middle of the ring and Hardy passed out, and Moxley emerged victorious. After the match, Moxley attempted to shake Hardy's hand in a show of respect, but Hardy was less than receptive before leaving the ring.

CMLL's Hechicero, who has a match with the BCC's Bryan Danielson on "AEW Collision" on Saturday, and three other CMLL stars took to the ring following the match to beat down Moxley, who was defenseless without his stablemates at the show. Security attempted to break up the brawl, but it was members of the AEW locker room who came to Moxley's rescue.