12 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Mar 5)

7. Belt Stuff

Jon Moxley
AEW

A lot of people are going to hate last night's Jon Moxley promo, and that's fine. Potshots aren't for everybody and a lot of this was the former Dean Ambrose throwing thinly-veiled barbs at his former employers so yeah, your mileage is going to vary here.

Still, Moxley earned this moment. He earned the right to stand in the ring, as a World Champion, and stick a middle finger up to those he felt had wronged him. That's exactly what he did in an opening segmenting featuring about 20 "belt" references, the proclamation that "the fans wanted something different and brought pro-wrestling back," and the obligatory chest-beating bit, with Mox claiming nobody on the planet was capable of taking the gold from him.

Chris Jericho was in full-on "shut your *ss" form as he emerged with The Inner Circle. Stakes were immediately heaped on the night's main event as he said he'd take a 60-day sabbatical from AEW if he and Sammy Guevara lost to Moxley and Darby Allin later on, giving fans yet another reason to get invested in what was already going to be a hot little bout.

This wasn't any kind of massive, game-changing promo, but it must've been massively cathartic for Moxley and kept his Inner Circle beef on the stovetop. He meant every word he said out there.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.