Backstage News On Why Darby Allin Didn't Win AEW World Title At WrestleDream

Jon Moxley ushered in a new era for AEW when he defeated Bryan Danielson for the world championship at WrestleDream, but until fairly recently, that wasn't how Danielson's title reign was supposed to end. In Friday's edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that the original plan (dating back to Danielson winning the belt in Wembley Stadium at All In 2024) was for former AEW World Tag Team Champion and TNT Champion Darby Allin to dethrone Danielson at WrestleDream, with the Tacoma pay-per-view being selected because both Allin and Danielson are local to the area. The direction changed, however, after Moxley attacked Danielson following his title defense at AEW All Out in September, with Meltzer characterizing the pivot as "an attempt to jump-start interest in the promotion."

Days before All In, Meltzer reported that AEW was considering giving Allin a world title run, even speculating that it could occur at WrestleDream. After All Out, however, it became clear that creative plans had changed when Allin put the guaranteed world title shot he'd already won up for grabs in a match against Moxley at "AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam." Moxley won, leaving Allin to wrestle longtime rival Brody King at WrestleDream instead of Danielson. Allin was heavily involved in the post-match beatdown from the Blackpool Combat Club that occurred after Moxley won the title in the show's main event, leading many fans to believe he's being set up as the conquering hero who will ultimately take Moxley down.

As far as jump-starting interest in AEW is concerned, the pedestrian ratings gathered by this week's "AEW Dynamite" aren't exactly a positive sign, though TV ratings are far from the only metric by which to judge success — particularly when you've just signed a massive new media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.