Ranking Jon Moxley's 4 Best Potential Feuds for AEW Dynamite Return and Beyond

Ranking Jon Moxley's 4 Best Potential Feuds for AEW Dynamite Return and Beyond

Jan 19, 2022

Jon Moxley returns to All Elite Wrestling on Wednesday's Dynamite after three months away.

After a spell in an inpatient alcohol treatment program, the man who once served as a much-needed paradigm shift in professional wrestling has the opportunity to create buzz and excitement in the ring again.

The uncertainty surrounding his return and whether he will come back as a fan favorite or no-nonsense heel, as was teased prior to his departure, has fans eager to see what creative force Tony Khan has in store for the character.

Ahead of Moxley's return, these four feuds should be considered for the former AEW world champion, both immediately and in the long term.

Moxley and Adam Cole have never competed against each other in a major wrestling promotion, making a potential showdown between them a must upon the former AEW champion's return.

Both are celebrated performers who have reached the pinnacle of every promotion they have competed for, and the idea of Cole throwing The Young Bucks and reDRragon at Moxley before being faced with having to square off with him himself is an easy storyline to tell.

The question becomes whether Moxley returns as a babyface or heel.

If it is the latter, any meeting with Cole would take place further down the line, presumably when fans become so into Mox's heel persona that Tony Khan and Co. have no choice but to turn him back again. 

Regardless of when it happens, the creativity of both men—from an in-ring and storyline standpoint—will help make their program must-watch television.

What better way to introduce the heel side of Moxley than to have him target his well-established best friend Eddie Kingston?

The two have had their wars before, but Kingston helped humanize Moxley, giving him someone he could trust to have his back. There is no better way to bring Moxley back into the fold and announce to the world that this is a different guy than by having him take out Kingston and eliminate his one weakness.

Kingston also happens to be one guy who can brawl with Moxley and sell what would have to be a brutal, vicious beating to maintain Moxley's heel heat.

Would it be the freshest rivalry? No, but it would be the one dominated by story and emotion, which are areas that Mox and Kingston excel in. 

It has been almost a decade since we last saw Moxley and Bryan Danielson compete in the same ring.

As The Shield’s Dean Ambrose, Moxley was key in the evolution and elevation of Danielson's character in WWE, helping to make him one of the most popular competitors of the last decade.

In this case, with Danielson already an established heel following his rivalry with "Hangman" Adam Page over the AEW world title, Moxley would almost certainly be the de facto babyface. Perhaps, given the fervor that will be around his return and the respect fans will have for him following his stint in rehab, that is the best way to redebut him.

A scenario in which Moxley returns, only to have his comeback address interrupted by a Danielson still bitter following his loss to Page two weeks ago, would lay the groundwork for a feud that would be intense both in the ring and on the mic.

Danielson's history of executing "better than you" characters, like his Planet's Champion persona in WWE, could give the feud the juice it needs. Imagine him criticizing and bashing Moxley for giving into his demons to the extent that he had to interrupt his professional and personal life to take care of them?

There is a ton of potential for those two to have some stellar, hard-hitting, intensely physical matches that make previous ones look like child's play.

The October 6, 2021 episode of Dynamite saw "Hangman" Adam Page return from a hiatus to enter the Casino Ladder match and win a shot at the AEW Championship, which he ultimately captured from Kenny Omega at Full Gear.

The man he knocked off the ladder to claim victory? Moxley.

If Khan and Co. are intent on sticking to the creative plans for the returning star, which saw him take on a darker, more no-nonsense approach in preparation for a full-blown heel turn, bringing him back against Page is ideal.

There is the established storyline of Hangman making a grand comeback of his own and costing Moxley the opportunity to regain a title that was stolen from him by Omega just over a year ago.

Add to that the fact that the champion is so beloved by fans that anyone who opposes his run is destined to receive a negative reaction, and you have enough to justify booking that feud as soon as Moxley returns.

The one problem? Lance Archer has already staked his claim to the title and undermining him (again) would only prove to chip away at the little main event credibility The Murderhawk Monster still has left.