3 reasons Jon Moxley's World Title reign was the worst in AEW history

After ten months of pure dominance, Jon Moxley finally ended up on the losing side at AEW All In. The One True King lost the AEW World Title against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match, a contest that witnessed several outside interferences.

The Purveyor of Violence began his title reign by dethroning Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream 2024. The Cincinnati native went on to hold the coveted title for 273 days.

While it had the perfect ending, Jon Moxley's fourth run as the AEW World Champion was far from being memorable. Moxley and his allies were part of several forgettable matches and segments during his reign.

In this article, let's look at three reasons why Jon Moxley's World Championship reign was the worst one in history.

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#3. The majority of feuds were underwhelming

Jon Moxley wrestled several quality opponents during his fourth AEW World Title reign. However, his feuds were far from compelling.

Moxley's rivalry with Orange Cassidy failed to hit the mark, as it could not match the quality of their 2023 feud. The same could be said about The One True King's feud with Cope, who fans had wanted to battle Moxley for a long time.

A worthy world champion elevates every opponent he works with. Unfortunately, that was rarely the case with The Purveyor of Violence in his last reign.

Repeated segments and inconsistent booking hurt Moxley's title reign. While he had somewhat decent feuds with names like Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe, Tony Khan failed to stick the landing in both of these scenarios.

Jon Moxley delivered several underwhelming pay-per-view main events during his reign. Except for his feud with Hangman Page, no other memorable stories were told during Moxley's run as the AEW World Champion.

#2. Lack of clean wins over opponents

Jon Moxley's AEW World Title reign lasted nearly ten months. However, The Purveyor of Violence barely scored any clean wins during this phase.

The Death Riders were involved in the majority of Moxley's title defenses. Whenever The One True King found himself in a vulnerable spot, the 39-year-old star was rescued by the rest of his teammates.

Moxley's credibility as a titleholder was affected by The Death Riders' constant interference. Superstars like Jay White, Samoa Joe, and Swerve Strickland could have easily defeated The One True King had there been no involvement of his allies.

There have been heel world champions in AEW in the past as well. However, the likes of Kenny Omega and Samoa Joe were able to deliver far more impressive performances as compared to the erstwhile Dean Ambrose.

The quality of Moxley's in-ring performances was also way below expectations, which made it difficult to stay invested in his title reign. There was not much to look forward to in his title bouts, as things were predictable most of the time.

#1. Inconsistent storytelling hurt Jon Moxley's title reign

Every lengthy world title reign in AEW so far has served some purpose. Kenny Omega's championship reign saw him take charge as the Belt Collector.

Meanwhile, Samoa Joe helped restore intrigue in the world title scene during his impactful run. MJF's World Championship run witnessed his transformation from a sadistic heel to a beloved babyface.

Jon Moxley began his title run with a clear motivation. The One True King wanted the AEW roster to step up and realise their true potential. The Cincinnati native wanted the next generation of AEW stars to take responsibility and fight off the threat of The Death Riders.

Moxley's motive of eliminating complacency from the company got lost in the shuffle after a while. The rivalries with Cope and Samoa Joe meant that Moxley deviated from working with future superstars.

The underwhelming finishes to his feuds with Orange Cassidy and Swerve Strickland did more harm than good to Moxley's title reign. It soon became a generic world title reign, where matches were predictable and nothing significant was accomplished.

Overall, Tony Khan seemingly lost the plot when it came to Moxley's fourth championship run, and it became necessary for Hangman Page to dethrone him.

Edited by Harish Raj S