9 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Dynamite (31 Aug)

3. The Heart & Soul Of It All

Jon Moxley contract
AEW

How do you solve a problem like an empty pay-per-view main event? If you're Jon Moxley, you pen an open contract and leave it in the ring.

Moxley leaving said contract on the mat and leaving his All Out to fate shows the pure badassery of the man. He can say he will defend the belt against any opponent at any time all he wants but it doesn't mean anything if he doesn't live it. Here, he lived it. Anybody from Peter Avalon to Kazuchika Okada could have conceivably inked that contract, let alone CM Punk via Ace Steel. The AEW World Champion didn't give a f*ck either way.

That's a franchise player.

Preceding this was a typically excellent promo from the World Champion, who is fully committed to playing the heel in Chicago. As he should be. Punk's injury-driven loss last week was to set him up as the ultimate babyface in his hometown. Here, Moxley ripped into his weaknesses, showing no sympathy or remorse for a man whose ego and body were too fragile to compete with him, and his mind and spirit too weak.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.