10 Times AEW Took Advantage Of WWE Ignoring The Fans
5. Jon Moxley
Jon Moxley's 2019 AEW debut was the sort of arrival that the nascent organisation required to properly establish itself as a major player from the off.
Certain to invite bad faith critique for hiring "ex-WWE" wrestlers despite the obvious flaws in that argument, Moxley's appearance helped legitimise something that already felt far realer than any oppositions that had taken a run at Vince McMahon in the past.
Rejecting the offers of Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins to stay put in WWE, Moxley electing to seek out his fortunes elsewhere made a major statement about the potential of the organisation outside of one or two extremely hot shows. Snaring the World Heavyweight Championship the following February, he became a leader during the company-slash-world's darkest timeline, carrying everything on his shoulders through the darkest months of the pandemic and redefining the top babyface role in a way that made sense for a contemporary generation of fans.
With every passing year, WWE's failings with this ultra-talented polymath of a man only become more apparent. They had one way of doing things, and it simply wasn't ever going to be the same as his.