3 reasons Death Riders is a better stable than Seth Rollins' group on WWE RAW

The Death Riders' saga began all the way back at All Out 2024, when Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley turned on Bryan Danielson and ended the Blackpool Combat Club. The erstwhile Dean Ambrose soon after dethroned The American Dragon for the AEW World Championship, and has been reigning supreme as the promotion's self-proclaimed One True King, with the aid of his soldiers - Marina Shafir, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and PAC.

Meanwhile, in WWE, Seth Rollins has launched a faction of his own following on the heels of his monumental victory over CM Punk and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 41. Aligning himself with Paul Heyman, The Visionary has recruited Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed as his henchmen, who helped him win the 2025 Money in the Bank briefcase at the titular event earlier this month.

Although both heel stables have been running roughshod over their enemies on their respective company's programming, The Death Riders, it can be argued, have been faring somewhat better as a group than Rollins' faction on WWE RAW.

Let us explore three reasons why.

#1. The Death Riders have more interesting kayfabe motivations for their actions

Days after Bronson Reed officially threw in his lot with Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker at Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX, The Architect addressed the WWE Universe on Monday Night RAW to explain his goals. He claimed that the group aimed to secure the future of the pro wrestling industry by accruing all the power they could get their hands on in the company.

To that end, Rollins revealed that he would try to reclaim the World Heavyweight Championship - gold that is now within reach thanks to his stable-mates helping him become Mr. Money in the Bank once again.

Jon Moxley's motivations behind re-forming The BCC as The Death Riders seemingly resemble Rollins' - however, there appear to be some notable differences between the philosophies preached by the two groups. Unlike Seth's team, with its objective of establishing dominance over WWE, Mox's faction has been looking to remake AEW as per their violent ideology to battle what they perceive to be a culture of fakeness and complacency in the All Elite locker room. They aim to mine the absolute best they can out of their foes, and have been willing to adopt brutal measures to make that happen.

More fundamentally, Rollins believes in WWE as an institution, and his current persona claims to be serving its best interests as a wrestling company. Moxley, on the other hand, has been outspoken, in kayfabe, about his frustrations with AEW's top names, as well as the promotion's overall landscape and transformation in recent years, which he seeks to remedy by dominating its roster.

#2. Death Riders have enjoyed more championship success as a group

AEW viewers were unaware that, when Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and PAC became the World Trios Champions at last year's All In: London, two of the three newly-crowned title-holders would side with Jon Moxley against Bryan Danielson to form The Death Riders just a few weeks later.

After The Dragon was unseated by Mox at WrestleDream 2024, Yuta, despite his initial opposition, also pledged allegiance to his "King" by choking out his mentor. The up-and-comer, alongside The Swiss Cyborg and The Man That Gravity Forgot, thereafter got on the same page and continued their mission as a unit in earnest.

Every member of The Death Riders, sans Marina Shafir, was draped in gold for several months, with Claudio, PAC, and Yuta reigning and defending their AEW World Trios Championship while also helping Jon Moxley retain his AEW World Title against his opponents. The Swiss Superman and his teammates held the trios belts for over 230 days, defending them against teams like The Dark Order, The Conglomeration, and The Undisputed Kingdom before finally losing them to The Opps. Shortly afterwards, Castagnoli pursued the TNT and International Titles himself, albeit unsuccessfully.

Former AEW World Trios Champions, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and PAC of The Death Riders [Credit: AEW on X]

It can be seen, therefore, that Moxley has not been the only successful member of The Death Riders with respect to championship gold, and/or opportunities. On the other hand, although they have helped Seth Rollins win this year's Money in the Bank match, Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed have not yet enjoyed similar accomplishments in WWE as part of their new faction. Both men have primarily been running interference for The Visionary in recent weeks, with Reed in particular even missing out on a chance to advance in this year's King of the Ring Tournament because of LA Knight, one of the stable's many recent victims.

#3: Jon Moxley could be poised to evolve as a character

Despite changing his moral alignment on WWE programming, Seth Rollins' presentation and promos have maintained a certain level of consistency, in keeping with his claim that he has not turned into a completely different person, but merely resolved to do anything necessary to put his plans into action.

As the leader of The Death Riders, however, Jon Moxley has changed his act radically, switching his entrance music to his NJPW theme, sporting a distinctive new and villainous look, and subtly even altering his wrestling style.

Weeks away from his AEW World Championship bout with Adam Page, The Purveyor of Violence is in a very interesting position from a storyline perspective. He ended up losing the World Trios Titles while subbing for an injured PAC, and only managed to retain his title at Dynasty 2025 against Swerve Strickland because of The Young Bucks.

Moxley and The Death Riders have suffered some big setbacks this year, and AEW's babyfaces have started rallying together to end the faction's carnage. If the world champion loses his crown to The Hangman at All In: Texas, his character could undergo another major shift.

Losing his belt could prompt Moxley to turn even more dangerous and violent, recruit additional members to The Death Riders, and begin his war on AEW anew. Seth Rollins' character arc, by contrast, is still in the early stages of its current journey and is unlikely to change course in any meaningful way anytime soon.

Edited by Harish Raj S