What's Next for Jon Moxley After Win vs. Brian Cage at AEW Fight for the Fallen?

Since Brian Cage won the Casino Ladder match at Double or Nothing in May, he and Taz have been treating his clash with Jon Moxley as a foregone conclusion. It was only a matter of time before The Machine was the new All Elite Wrestling world champion, according to them.

It took a few weeks to get there, but that prophecy was debunked at Fight for the Fallen on Wednesday night. Taz threw in the towel to keep his client from suffering another injury that could have put him on the shelf for the rest of the year, rendering Moxley the winner.

All that was established after the match was that Darby Allin has returned and is seeking vengeance against The Machine for taking him out in May.

That should keep Cage busy for the time being, but what about Moxley? Where does he go from here and who might step up as the next challenger for the AEW World Championship?

The simplest option is to go is nowhere. Moxley may not transition to a new feud as his story with Cage may not be over.

The return of Allin may just be a temporary side story to keep Cage busy through the rest of July and part of August with the intention of going back to focusing on Moxley in time for All Out on September 5.

While he quite definitively beat Cage without missed pinfalls, interference or anything of that sort, Moxley didn't score a regular pin or submission. The Machine never actually tapped out or failed to get up from a Paradigm Shift.

With the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, it must be difficult to organize everyone's schedules for tapings, particularly when it isn't just within the same company. Moxley's wife and WWE announcer, Renee Young, recently tested positive for COVID-19, so AEW should take extra precautions with its champion.

Out of fear of spreading the virus, the less exposure Moxley has to the rest of the roster, the better—which may also explain Big Swole's absence (her husband is WWE's Cedric Alexander).

If that is the case and Moxley remains on the sidelines, he doesn't need to have anyone else start a new feud with him.

Seven weeks sounds like a long time, but it's less than what it took to get from Double or Nothing to Fight for the Fallen. With a temporary Cage vs. Allin feud to fill the gap, a rematch is certainly on the table.

If that is the plan, their battle at All Out will probably include some sort of gimmick that will spice things up. In the meantime, Moxley could cut a few promos so his presence isn't entirely missing from AEW.

Assuming AEW has to determine a new No. 1 contender, no one is better suited to step up than Lance Archer.

The Murderhawk Monster has had only one loss so far, against Cody for the TNT Championship. Perhaps since he failed to win that title, he'll have his eyes set on the AEW World Championship instead.

Archer has a 9-1 record and is ranked third in line for a title opportunity, so he may get that soon enough.

It would be fitting, as Archer fits the mold of Moxley's latest challengers. Just like Jake Hager, Brodie Lee and Cage, he's a dominating physical threat who towers over most on the roster.

Considering how impressive he's been in destroying most opponents, all it would take to set up Archer as a contender would be one attack or Jake Roberts calling for an opportunity. Moxley would surely accept.

If Archer is No. 3 on the rankings and Cage is top of the list, we can't skip over the second-ranked Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

MJF boasts an impressive 7-0 record for 2020 with an overall of 12-2 and is more than qualified to challenge for the top title at any point.

That would be a refreshing change of pace from Moxley's current track record of fighting titans, but it wouldn't be entirely out of the norm. After all, he did beat Chris Jericho to win the title at Revolution in February, and there's no better parallel on the roster to Le Champion than MJF.

Nothing has been hinted at regarding a possible feud between these two, though. If it's in the cards, AEW will have to start building to the match in the next week or so in order to have enough time for it to fully develop.

That shouldn't be hard to start, though. MJF is one of the most braggadocious members of the roster. Just hand him a microphone and he'll cut a promo about how he's the next in line and the most obvious choice to get a title shot.

Moxley's next opponent may not even be someone on the active roster. It could be a brand-new signing or someone who has been waiting in the wings, just like what happened with Cage.

While WWE hasn't brought on any new talent in recent months and has actively let go many Superstars, AEW has signed a few wrestlers.

Ricky Starks, Abadon and FTR are among the fresh faces who have shown up recently, with more possibly along the way.

Some of those may even be recently released WWE Superstars. Perhaps Matt Cardona, Rusev or Erick Rowan have been talking to AEW and will be signing on the dotted line soon enough.

AEW has developed a tendency to bring someone in, give them a major push and shoot them straight to the main event, so it wouldn't be surprising to see an outsider skip over most of the roster.

An exciting new name is a better option than trying to build a midcarder as a legitimate threat. And there's always a risk that fans view a wrestler climbing the ranks as not yet good enough, while someone coming from another brand at least has experience working for them.

AEW does not follow the same booking strategies as WWE, but there are some scenarios that have become standard in any company, including the multi-competitor match that crams talent into a feud.

If Brodie Lee, Jake Hager, Brian Cage, Chris Jericho or anyone else were fighting each other at the same time, it could be an intriguing dynamic for AEW.

The next month or so could be spent focusing on several wrestlers all claiming they deserve another opportunity and for all of them to get their wishes granted.

The odds would be stacked against Moxley, and it would give fans some exciting heel vs. heel matches, such as Cage against Hager, Jericho against Archer and more.

Taking a step backward isn't always a bad thing and can be even more exciting if executed properly. AEW just has to make sure it isn't a repeat for the sake of having nothing else in mind.

Thankfully, Moxley has had some decent stories so far. His next step will likely be an interesting one to follow no matter what AEW has in store.

Tune in to TNT on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET to catch all the action of All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite.

Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.