14 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (Aug 22)

3. Campaign Trailblazing

The World Title feud between Jon Moxley and MJF was built through duelling promos this week, and both were fantastic.

Mox went first, putting MJF over as the guy to lead AEW for the next 25 years, saying he'd be lucky if his own body held up for another 18 months. Still, "the toughest guys don't have to say much, and you talk a lot." Moxley wondered what 'The Salt of the Earth' was hiding with his words, promising to beat the hell out of him, split his skull, and dump him on his head at All Out, where MJF will look for a way out, his secret exposed.

MJF raised the bar. Comparing "Dictator Jon" to Genghis Khan, Fidel Castro, and Napoleon from behind a Burberry-draped walker, his delivery was wobbly and frailer than usual, selling what was to come next. His lawyer, Mark Sterling, cut a tremendous diatribe on Moxley, calling his Paradigm Shift a potentially deadly move as he claimed more than 5 million had signed his petition to get it banned for All Out. All Moxley had to do, apparently, was sign, and why wouldn't he? He's a man of the people, a fighting champion, a badass - and badasses don't need one little move to beat one guy.

And if Mox says no? Sterling's gonna sue his ass anyway.

MJF and Sterling employed classic heel techniques here, exaggerating the situation's severity without getting too ridiculous. Playing to Moxley's bellicose nature is a shrewd, smart move too: last week's angle proved the AEW World Champion is no dipsh*t, but the heels are preying on one of his defining traits here. Him caving is believable, even if it isn't in his best interests.