10 Shocking AEW Behind The Scenes Revelations
1. Jon Moxley Was AEW World Champion AND A Free Agent
In a tumultuous year for the company, Jon Moxley was easily AEW's MVP for 2022. When the promotion needed somebody to steady the ship or to carry AEW on their back, Mox was so often the person Tony Khan turned to.
As part of that MVP status, it was Moxley who was made AEW World Champion following the post-PPV events of All Out '22, with the Blackpool Combat Club man defeating teammate Bryan Danielson for that prize after it was stripped from CM Punk. Of course, it was also Moxley who defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the AEW World Title at Forbidden Door earlier in the year after Punk had vacated the gold due to a foot injury.
The point being, Jon Moxley was and is Mr. AEW.
Thankfully for Tony Khan, Jon Moxley is also an honourable, trustworthy, loyal soldier who is fully committed to the AEW cause. For if he weren't, Khan and AEW could've been left massively embarrassed at SummerSlam last year.
As detailed by Mox during his latest appearance on Renee Paquette's The Sessions, the Death Rider was actually a free agent for a spell in 2022. In particular, Moxley was a free agent at a time when he was the AEW World Champion, when SummerSlam was taking place from Los Angeles, and when Mox himself was in Los Angeles.
For so many others, this could've represented the chance to make huge waves (and dollars!) by rocking up in WWE with a rival promotion's World Title over your shoulder. Not for Moxley, though...
From the mouth of the one-time Lunatic Fringe:
"I could have walked into SummerSlam that night with the AEW f**king belt, if I had been so inclined. Nobody knew that, because I don't put my sh*t out there in the world and let everybody know every f**king thing about my business."