Just prior to Dynasty, I wrote an exhaustive examination of Jon Moxley's current arc that, now in the aftermath of the show, feels more timely than ever.

It's an attempt to really dig into why and how this version of Moxley is so different from what he's been before, i.e., that he has -- very purposely -- become what he's so often spoken out about *hating*: the politicker; the old vet who won't let go of his top spot; the coward; the tyrant stuck in conventions and tropes of pro wrestling, refusing to cede ground to a new generation and new ideas.

I ask why, as AEW is very much thriving around him, he's become this monstrous thing that feels so antagonistic to what AEW is supposed to be. And I hope I got close to an answer, or at least a better understanding.

It's too long to post entirely on Reddit, but here's an exerpt:

>

>It’s a line that harkens back to Moxley’s own words from another life entirely, when he - as Dean Ambrose - sought to supplant John Cena from the top of WWE’s food chain. Cena, who had been the top star in wrestling for a decade, was in pursuit of his 16th world championship (funny how history repeats itself) but obstructing his path were Ambrose and the reigning champion, AJ Styles.

>As it is now, on that night eight years earlier it was a hungry young lion challenging the veteran with a vice grip on the company’s top spot.

>**Smackdown - 10/4/16**

>**Ambrose**:

>

>Dean Ambrose failed in his endeavor to supplant John Cena. He failed to supplant Brock Lesnar. He failed to supplant Roman Reigns. In his failure to supplant Vince McMahon’s chosen ones, he saw pro wrestling become that “nuclear wasteland” where sincerity, creativity, and equal opportunity were all a pipedream. Ambrose failed to lead a revolution within WWE so he chose to lead one from outside, declining to sign a new contract at the start of 2019.

>**Jon Moxley explains his decision on “Talk is Jericho” - 5/28/19:**

>

>As if fated, his choice to leave WWE coincided with the announcement of All Elite Wrestling as a new company, backed by the money and networking of Tony Khan, under the stewardship of The Elite who had spent years cultivating an alternative wrestling scene outside the jurisdiction of the global empire.

>Here was a blank slate, upon which to build something healthy and vibrant. Here was a chance to experiment and redefine American pro wrestling, to push it beyond the self-imposed limits of the past two decades. Here was a vision of opportunity for all, a vision of reward for those willing to be bold.

>Fast-forward to now.

>According to Claudio Castagnoli, **“The vision got watered down.”**

>According to PAC, **“AEW never became what it was supposed to be.”**

>According to Moxley, **“In five years, nothing has been built.”**

>Are they right?

>If Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Adam Copeland, Mercedes Mone, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, Adam Cole, Dustin Rhodes, The Hurt Syndicate, Kazuchika Okada, Billy Gunn, and Sting all got snapped out of existence three years ago, could AEW have filled up Wembley Stadium twice? Could AEW have gotten the most lucrative media rights deal outside WWE in pro wrestling history?

>If Jon Moxley and Samoa Joe weren’t there to step in and steady the wheel in late 2022 and late 2023, respectively, would the AEW World Championship still have its illustrious prestige?

>Even if the Death Riders are wrong in their diagnosis, they maintain a firm belief, and their objective and their methods are clear. By entrenching Jon Moxley as an oppressive, smothering, immovable force sitting atop AEW’s mountain, they’ve created a target. By becoming what he could not supplant, what he could not topple in WWE, Moxley has created an enemy. By hiding away the AEW World Championship – and perhaps so that it cannot bear witness to these grotesque actions – Moxley has removed all distractions for himself and his opponents to focus on the task at hand.

>That task: **replace him.**

>Replace Moxley and everyone else like him. Kill the idea of the reliable old star who’s made a name for himself outside AEW and would be perfectly fine without AEW. Kill the idea that only these stars know how to truly succeed in pro wrestling. Kill the idea that pro wrestling is a narrow thing, with one acceptable style and a strictly defined technique.

>Jon Moxley has become what he hates and he wants to be destroyed.

>

>Who will vanquish him and chart a new path? Who will prove that this is not the only way? Who will lead the revolution?

The full essay is a \~30 minute,  digestible read filled with quotes, both on AEW programming and in shoot interviews, from the past 7 months of storyline and beyond.

Give it a read and let me know what you think!

[OC] Jon Moxley's Appalling Masterpiece