8. Mox & Moriarty Tell A Story, And So Does Ethan Page
AEW
A pre-match promo from Jon Moxley was expert in presenting pro wrestling's brilliant basics.
He put Lee Moriarty over as somebody very nearly worthy of a place in his and Bryan Danielson's Blackpool Combat Club, before out-wrestling and out-fighting him in a cagey war that presented the Champion as truthful and informed winner, and The Firm's star as a clear-and-present danger in the years to come.
A good television match never got great, but it maintained all the heat from the opener and crucially served as some moving pictures for Ethan Page's exceptional commentary to soundtrack.
The Canadian star buried MJF following the show-closing beatdown on the 'Salt Of The Earth' and yet again talked his way into sounding like the cast-iron favourite to win the upcoming Championship contenders tournament. Polished and economical, his performance was so good that the attack on Moxley after the fact felt more than just an opportunistic heel picking his spot.
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
