Jon Moxley has lost the crowd — and AEW has lost the plot with this baffling run

Another AEW event ends with the same question: Just how long is that title staying in the briefcase? Yes, less than month after its live audience jeered the decision to have Jon Moxley retain against Cope at AEW Revolution, Sunday night’s AEW Dynasty pay-per-view ended in another dirty defense for the champion.

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Should we have expected something different? To state the obvious, Tony Khan’s booking has shown just how little he cares about the fan base’s disapproval of Moxley. The live crowds can boo the leader of the Death Riders all they like, but the message from the boss is loud and clear: Moxley is the top guy in AEW.

It’s frustrating because, unlike with Cope, the expert consensus — if such a thing exists in wrestling — seemed to be creeping toward a Swerve Strickland victory this time around. Most of us caught sight of the reports on Sunday that the challenger’s family was in the house in Philly and got the sense that maybe — just maybe — the change was finally coming.

Even when Moxley and Strickland settled into the match itself, there were signs it might really be happening. Just listen to the roar of the crowd when Wheeler Yuta accidentally collided with Moxley, giving Hangman Adam Page the chance to clear the ring. And then again when Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata came racing down the ramp to ward off the heels.

But having teased its own tribute to Cody Rhodes’ grand ascension at WrestleMania 40, AEW then veered in the other direction on Sunday, with an ending that recalled another big WWE match: Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre in 2022. Just minutes after the challenger executed a perfect Swerve Stomp, an unexpected return from the Young Bucks delivered another stolen victory for the champ.

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In some ways, this was infinitely worse than Clash at the Castle, given that — at least in that case — the interference came from someone with a plausible reason to get involved (i.e., Solo Sikoa). But having the Young Bucks do the dirty work for the bad guys just had most of us scratching our heads. I can’t remember the last time that a main event conclusion drew such a terrible reaction.

How much longer will this Moxley reign of terror go on? There’s been plenty of speculation that Khan is holding out for All In in July, presumably on the basis that the moment deserves to take place on one of the promotion’s flagship shows — like WWE does with WrestleMania and SummerSlam.

If that’s the case, it would be another odd example of AEW — a promotion literally defined in opposition to WWE — choosing to follow rules set by its much bigger competitor. In any event, it’s not like this was some random episode of “AEW Dynamite” — Sunday was one of AEW’s biggest gates of the year, with a really hot crowd to boot.

We also need to contend with the notion that maybe Moxley isn’t dropping the belt this year at all. Perhaps it’s all wishful thinking and we’ll see the Death Riders standing tall again in Texas this summer. Given that Moxley has already crushed two of the most popular guys on the roster, why not let him run riot over Will Ospreay instead?

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I’m being facetious, admittedly, but would it really be such a surprise at this point? Khan either isn’t bothered by the boos for his champion or — worse — has fallen into the trap of thinking they are somehow valuable currency for a heel champion.

Truth be told, I still maintain a lot of respect for Moxley’s work rate in AEW and the circumstances around his return to the promotion three years ago. But even the Moxley advocates need to recognize that this particular run has gone on too long.

It isn’t just that Moxley has lost the crowd. I’ve written before about the overrepresentation of former WWE guys in the AEW World Championship scene. The longer the former Shield man holds the ultimate prize in AEW, the worse that record gets.

In truth, it’s a bit of an indictment that a promotion with such talented wrestlers hasn’t elevated more homegrown stars to win its biggest prize. When you have guys like Kevin Knight making huge waves just weeks after signing, there’s really no excuse to be so focused on legacy talent.

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Will this be the last time we have to air this particular rant? For the sake of everyone, I really hope so. But to have Ospreay triumph in the Owen Hart Cup only to eventually lose to Moxley — I think I’d struggle to keep this column PG if that were to happen.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to the gallows humor I received from a friend after I texted him my thoughts about Moxley beating Strickland. “Yeah, it sucks, but look on the bright side,” he said. “At least Chris Jericho finally lost the Ring of Honor title.”