Jon Moxley may have facilitated a shocking end to AEW WrestleDream, but it wasn’t always meant to be this way.
Mox’s quest to take over the company and put down former friend Bryan Danielson once and for all began at Grand Slam when he defeated Darby Allin to become the new number one contender to the World Championship. With the title match booked for WrestleDream in Tacoma, Washington, Moxley choked out Danielson to win the title for a record 4th time. Continuing the assault after the bell, Danielson was attacked by the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club and stretchered out of the arena despite the efforts of others intending to stop the attack.
While Danielson was always set to lose the title at WrestleDream and bring his full-time career to a close, it wasn’t always going to be to Moxley. As reported by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Darby Allin was scheduled to be the next World Champion but the audible was called to put as much heat on Mox and the rest of the BCC as possible to kickstart interest in AEW:
As noted many times, the original plan when he [Bryan Danielson] won the title at Wembley Stadium was to lose it to Allin on the 10/12 WrestleDream show in Tacoma, WA, since Allin grew up in Seattle (35 miles away) and Danielson in Aberdeen, WA (about 80 miles away). But the Moxley turn on Danielson after his title defense over Jack Perry at All Out in Chicago, changed the direction with the idea of putting as much heat as possible on Moxley and the BCC in an attempt to jump-start interest in the promotion.
Jon Moxley Issues Mission Statement To AEW
The fallout from WrestleDream took place on October 16th and saw the new World Champion continue his path of destruction in the promotion. Opening Dynamite, Jon Moxley put the roster on notice.