Jon Moxley Wins AEW World Title, Ends Bryan Danielson's Career At AEW WrestleDream

Jon Moxley captured his fourth AEW World Championship to end the full-time wrestling career of Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream 2024. The end of Danielson's career has been one of – if not the - the foremost stories on AEW programming this year, with the "American Dragon" himself confirming he would be calling time in 2024 ahead of last year's Continental Classic. Despite the looming retirement, Danielson captured his first AEW title from Swerve Strickland at All In, defending the title a week later before the stage was set for his WrestleDream battle by Moxley's betrayal. 

Having made the promise after winning the title that he will go for as long as he holds it, Moxley was challenging not only for the title but to be the one that shepherds his Blackpool Combat Club co-founder out of wrestling, and set about his task with brutal resolve. Much of the bout was fought outside of the ring, with Marina Shafir stripping the ringside area of its padding to expose the concrete floor while Moxley worked his opponent against the ring steps. It was the challenger, however, that felt the concrete first, seeing an attempted piledriver met with a back body drop reversal to the floor.

Even still, Moxley remained in control for much of the contest afterward, matching Danielson's spurts of energy with spiteful and often underhanded offense. Shafir found herself ejected from the bout by referee Bryce Remsburg when he finally caught on to her sly interference. But ultimately her absence did little to mitigate the disadvantage for the champion, with three Busaiku Knees unable to secure title retention, a tope suicida reversed into a Death Rider to the concrete, and a Gotch-style piledriver allowing for Moxley to choke Danielson out to secure the referee's stoppage.