I actually thought with Jon Moxley’s submission loss to Kyle O’Reilly at Full Gear over the weekend, and with a subsequent video promo that was released on social media following the match, that the storyline dissension between Moxley and the remainder of the Death Riders can be furthered, even the slightest bit, tonight. That wasn’t the case, and Moxley, who was at one point near tapping out to his first-round Continental Classic opponent, Mascara Dorada, got the “W” tonight.
In that video promo where an incensed Moxley is speaking, the one which also aired tonight on the show along with its social media release, it is easy to inform that the remainder of the group are losing faith of their formerly fearless leader. It’s written throughout their faces, especially Marina Shafir’s, but nobody says anything. I assume all of us just must keep that promo behind our minds for awhile, because Moxley is already three points up within the “C2,” and there was no dissension teased between himself and the remainder of the faction tonight.
I personally thought Moxley would lose tonight, furthering his descent into madness. It was also a bummer, as this was Dorada’s first-ever match within the tournament. He looked good in defeat, nonetheless, as Moxley made him pass out quite than tap out in the course of the ring. I suppose a win over Dorada is healthier storytelling than Moxley straight up going 0-5 within the tournament, but I used to be convinced he’d tap out here.
I didn’t initially think it could undermine O’Reilly’s two submission victories over Moxley, as he is not within the tournament as a consequence of injury, but after some thought, I could see how it’d. If O’Reilly is not actually injured and that was just an angle to get him out of the “C2,” I actually do not know where the story goes from here. I’m also unsure if AEW would run that angle, as O’Reilly has a history of neck issues, and it could feel type of icky. But, if he’s really on the shelf, I do not think continuing Moxley’s streak of losses is a nasty thing in any respect in the event that they’re going toward a Death Riders breakup.
Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli are set to face-off of their match next week on “Dynamite” already, so something thoroughly could occur there, but I’m just not entirely sure what, as either way, one in all the Death Riders wins and gets three points, or more likely, they go to a 20-minute cut-off date draw and each receive a single point on the board. While I’m still fascinated with all of this, I actually thought AEW was going to further things tonight.
Written by Daisy Ruth