Why Jon Moxley Needs To Lose The AEW World Title To Swerve Strickland At Dynasty

For nearly six months, Jon Moxley has been holding the AEW World Championship captive. He's often seen carrying the title around with him in a briefcase, the belief being that the audience doesn't deserve to look upon it. Like many aspects of the Death Riders, the concept sounds just fine on paper. In execution, however, Moxley's reign has felt tedious for a while now.

The storyline started out strong, with the Blackpool Combat Club betraying Bryan Danielson at the tail end of his full-time wrestling career. Some criticized the brutality of Moxley's attack on Danielson at AEW All Out, but to me, it felt warranted for this story and reasonably within character for Moxley. However, not long after Mox won the title at AEW Full Gear, things began to go off the rails.

Following his victory, the champion began cutting uncharacteristically long-winded promos, some of which seemed to hint at another figure being involved with the group. This never reached any satisfying pay-off, and the repetitive use of the Death Riders' interference led to most of Moxley's segments feeling the same.

None of Moxley's title defenses have been outright bad, though you could make an argument that the last two bouts against Copeland certainly started leaning in that direction. The real trouble isn't what's happening in the ring, but outside of it. This storyline lost steam a long time ago, and Mox's character needs a refresher. Thankfully, Tony Khan has already booked him against the perfect person to grab the torch.

Swerve Strickland previously held the AEW World Championship from April 2024 through August, when he lost the title to Bryan Danielson at AEW All In. During that first world title run, Strickland further proved that he belongs in the industry's upper echelon alongside performers like Will Ospreay and Samoa Joe. Still, Strickland's run was brief and came to a close to set up Danielson's feud with Moxley. Putting the title back into Strickland's hands could serve as a good way to bring the last year full circle.

Additionally, though there are still some opponents that could serve as interesting threats against Moxley, Strickland would have an immediate selection of top-tier title challengers with built-in storylines. Current favorites to win the Men's Owen Hart Cup include Ospreay and "Hangman" Adam Page, both of whom have history with Strickland and would be more than capable of carrying the All In main event alongside him. Plus, with Maxwell Jacob Friedman setting his sights on capturing the world title once again, it could lead to a long-awaited feud between Strickland and MJF.

I've been a fan of Moxley's for a long time, and still believe he has many more good years ahead of him in the industry, but this current run is just not working. AEW seems to be picking up some steam again, with the online reaction to its recent television becoming more positive. Rather than dragging this title reign on any longer, AEW Dynasty is a perfect time to make a change at the top of the card, and Swerve Strickland is the man to do it.