7 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (June 8)

by Michael Hamflett

1. Jon Moxley Is The AEW World Heavyweight Champion

Jon Moxley Kyle O'Reilly
AEW

Or at very least the Interim one-in-waiting, and as he should be after yet another inspired and life-affirming performance in a TV main event. This, again, absolutely ruled.

Finding gripping drama against the battle-worn Kyle O'Reilly when AEW's booking had made such a thing tricky and counterintuitive, Moxley manipulated what it means to be a babyface in 2022 by simply being the hardest and most dangerous motherf*cker alive in a squared circle. Absorbing the punishment with a force of will shared only by his colleagues in the Blackpool Combat Club (and Eddie Kingston, of course), Mox simply refused to let O'Reilly get his sh*t in. And on the few occasions he did, the way in which he powered out and fought back harder spoke more to the internal characteristics of both men rather than following a trope-laden playbook of how to do a good match. Bloodsport and bloodbath combined, two men went to war and one came out on top. Professional f*cking wrestling as it should be.

He does this all the time, too, so it's okay to expect loads more. Moxley/Tanahashi was where this had to go before all the confusion and contrivance, and we're all now one step closer. In potentially running Moxley/Punk down the line, AEW have a thrilling bout to determine the future of the belt as well.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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