10 Worst Title Reigns In AEW History

2. Jon Moxley (October 12th 2024 - ???)

Private Party Tony Khan
AEW

A worst case scenario for the AEW Championship and the product writ large, Jon Moxley literally holding the belt hostage in a briefcase has come to symbolise a total loss of connection between the promotion's former conscience and what its core audience desperately wants to see. 

Muddled creative re-introduced Moxley's character as a harbinger of doom for the roster, determined to take out the (supposedly) weak and fix a broken organisation. Acknowledging that the show hadn't been all that good was the first misfire, because Mox - the heel - was ultimately speaking on behalf of a loud portion of the fanbase. Then, when he took to attempting to murder various members of the roster in cartoonish ways, he broke one too many unwritten wrestling rules and flushed away his own credibility in the process.

Ironically, 2025 has seen several encouraging creative signs of life for the distant challenger brand, but the main event picture patrolled by The Deathriders Is almost universally derided as its achilles heel.

Mission accomplished? And if so, let somebody else have (and show off!) the belt to celebrate.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett