AEW Dynasty Backlash: Moxley Retains Amid Fan Frustration and Death Riders Fatigue

During Sunday’s Dynasty PPV, the five-hour event did include some interesting things. Toni Storm defending her title successfully versus upstart Megan Bayne proved to be a match the fans in attendance were intrigued by.

The Three-Way match for the AEW Intercontinental Championship between Kenny Omega, Ricochet, and Mike Bailey showcased all three wrestlers — particularly Bailey and Ricochet — in great ways.

The Hurt Syndicate may have picked up another member in MJF. The mercurial wrestler clocked Big Bill with his patented diamond ring before the duo of Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin ultimately won. FTR’s heel turn against Adam Copeland may lead to a tag team reunion with longtime friend Christian Cage.

Having said all of that, the PPV essentially crumbled yet again due to the unabated obsession with the Death Riders — most notably AEW World Champion Jon Moxley. Swerve Strickland has the potential to be the face of AEW. He’s engaging, charismatic, and a very strong worker.

Instead, we saw the same tired result — with Moxley retaining the belt he has hidden in backpack for months via the help of outside influences. In this case, The Young Bucks came back as a twist and jointly launched knees into Strickland’s face leading to a Moxley pin.

Suffice it to say, those on social media were not pleased by this result. Owner Tony Khan has constantly billed AEW as a fan-friendly promotion where he will take into consideration the feelings of his followers. Having said that, this Death Riders angle has been disastrous — and for some reason it’s continued.

The stable is not innovative, creative, fun, or likable in any way. Moxley epitomizes this premise more than anything. He’s not a captivating performer, and in recent months he’s had to use gimmicky violence as a way to keep audiences mildly interested, with ‘mildly’ being the operative word in this scenario. The decision to not make the actual belt visible is a weird one — especially with new streaming partnerships. It would be fascinating to talk to said streaming executives and ask whether they enjoy seeing a partnership with a company that refuses to showcase the top belt in any visible way.

Despite having roots in creating the company, The Young Bucks had been on hiatus for months. Even when they were involved most recently, the snarky persona of executives who thought they were better than everyone else did not land. It doesn’t help that their performative skills have diminished. Even weirder, they came back to help the Death Riders, even though the last time we saw them, they left a show out of fear of the Death Riders.

So, all of a sudden, they’re now in cahoots with one another?

It’s just another example of this product cutting off its nose to spite its face. When creativity appears to be driven by a handful of veteran wrestlers rather than the top promoter or team of writers, things tend to spiral into a stale, confusing world.