On tonight’s AEW Revolution PPV, Jon Moxley defeated Chris Jericho to become the new AEW World Heavyweight Champion. This was the culmination of a long feud in which Jericho and his Inner Circle cronies came at Mox again and again, even “putting out his eye” with a spike from Le Champion’s jacket. Now Moxley has won the day, and Jericho has gotten at least the beginning of his comeuppance.
It was a long, hard-fought match, with all the members of the Inner Circle interfering. Even as Referee Aubrey Edwards banned Santana, Ortiz, and Jake Hager from ringside, Sammy Guevara ran in behind her back and hit Moxley for the belt. But just as it seemed like Moxley was beat, he got a second win. After hitting Chris Jericho with a Paradigm Shift, he removed his eyepatch, revealing that his eyes are both fine. Then he hit another Paradigm Shift for the pin, because AEW World Champion. After the match he took a mic and declared “I love this shit!” He went on to thank AEW and the fans, and then declared his intentions to get drunk.
https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1233972458945961986
Even going in, this felt like the right time for the belt to change hands. Jericho is the last of AEW’s inaugural champions, after SCU lost the Tag Team Championship to Kenny Omega and Adam page, and Riho dropped the Women’s Championship to Nyla Rose. Chris Jericho had a great run as Le Champion, but he’s getting on in years and there are lots of things demanding his attention, including an impending spring Fozzy tour.
https://twitter.com/tde_wrestling/status/1233973095880429568
Jon Moxley is also a veteran and a former WWE Superstar, but he’s still in his prime. Plus, as a short-fused tweener character, he can feud with both faces and heels, which opens up a lot of possibilities for future title feuds. We should get a sense of what comes next (and probably a great promo from Moxley) on next week’s AEW Dynamite.
