Copeland’s Return Drives Off Mox at World’s End, Toward Inevitable Violent Showdown
The prevailing theme of the AEW world title picture since Jon Moxley secured the championship for the fourth time has been his negative perception of the will and desire of the roster to become great.
Since October Mox and the Death Riders have run roughshod over everyone in their way with sheer brutality, showing no remorse as they have brutalized the likes of Orange Cassidy, Darby Allin and FTR. The former two have been among the active counter-antagonists to Mox’s baseline antagonism, with Cassidy actively standing against Mox from the outset. Even going into last night’s Fatal 4 Way main event featuring himself, Mox, Hangman Page and Jay White, he was trying to get the trio to eliminate Mox in the interest of removing him from contention.
Egos being what they are, these characters were never going to be on the same page. With White and Page at each other’s throats, with years of antagonism between them from their time in NJPW, other than in brief moments everyone was out for themselves as they tried to capture the AEW championship. That’s what should have happened; it would have been illogical for these two to work together for any length of time when they’re still semi-feuding, and when you factor in the prestige of a championship that seems even more implausible.
Foremost I think the match was better than I thought it was going to be. Once it became clear what the Continental Classic finale was going to be, I thought for sure there was nothing this quartet could do to eclipse the magic of what Ospreay and Okada can do together. I still think the Okada-Ospreay encounter was the better match, however the men in the main event looked strong as solo acts.
I believe Cassidy is unlikely to wrest the title from Mox, that isn’t his purpose in this story. He is someone who is AEW through and through and understands the threat of the champion, disagrees with his philosophy, and while he is willing to stand up for AEW, he doesn’t have the tools to defeat this version of Moxley. He is a hero of this story, but in that regard he is like Nightwing to the eventual new champion’s Batman. That is to say he is capable, talented and has the will, but against someone this driven gumption and will isn’t enough.
White and Page were strong in this match. Both asserted themselves at various points of the bout, with White coming to within a hair of winning the championship if not for Wheeler Yuta’s interference. White came off as a competent threat, ready to fend off all attackers, aware of where everyone was at all times during the chaotic ending up to the point where the numbers game overwhelmed him. A Busaiku knee later and the ending was academic.
That’s been the running theme with this story so far–Mox’s opponents are isolated. Try as Cassidy might to rally the troops, the Death Riders have been able to isolate and dominate individuals. Conversely, in the case of last night, keep their numbers rotating through the action until Mox’s opponents misstep and then it’s curtains. Even despite White finally catching Marina Shafir with a Bladerunner, it left him open for that Yuta knee that laid him out.
Until now there’s just been that air of inevitability. It ultimately didn’t matter how good any one of them were, it wasn’t going to be enough from any one person to overwhelm the whole of Mox’s team. That’s been “team AEW’s” downfall–a lack of cohesion in the face of adversity with no other group ready or willing to fight. That includes the people who founded the company who are mostly MIA. While Cassidy, White or Page could have defeated Mox, not only did the story not call for it but it leans into that selfish, self-serving, prestige-hunting decadence Mox has alluded to in his promos.
Copeland and FTR are perfect foils to the Death Riders
Where “Team AEW” lacked unity, the arrival of Rated FTR at the conclusion of World’s End denotes the complete opposite. Copeland, Wheeler and Harwood provided a unified front at the end of the event to secondarily save White, but more importantly demonstrated they would unflinchingly stand up against Mox’s crew and hold them accountable.
The three returning men personify what Mox has decreed AEW is missing, namely the drive, passion and ability to lead the company at a philosophical level. That’s the heart of what this story is in my view. Where the Young Bucks ran off as they stood for nothing, and while the men in last night’s main event were unable to get past their own egos, the Death Riders’ proclamation rang resoundingly accurate prior to the closing moments.
This addition of Copeland to the mix alongside FTR are the perfect storyline intermediaries between last night and the moment Mox’s reign ends. I don’t believe the eventual meeting between Mox and Copeland will result in a title change as that’s counter-intuitive to the original thesis that the younger roster members were not willing to stand up for both the company and themselves. With their trios match scheduled for this coming Wednesday, in addition to any future clashes that will surely follow, what this should accomplish for the story is to set the example for the eventual conqueror of Mox to follow.
Copeland and FTR’s style exemplifies the application of grit, skill and determination as a formula for success. I would argue this is the exact formula Mox believes is necessary and is at least tonally how he has defined the Death Riders. In that regard the series of matches that should be forthcoming will be worthwhile and entertaining. I would presume we see another person added to the trio such as a Daniel Garcia who already has positioned himself against Yuta and specifically the Death Riders as a unit. I think it’s probable we’re going to see a trios title feud, anchored by a long feud between Copeland and Moxley.
“Long feud” is the operative time element here. With nothing currently on the AEW schedule aside from Fight for the Fallen and the Homecoming event from Daily’s Place, the next major event is not until March 9 when Revolution is held in Los Angeles. With that event being roughly 70 days away, that’s a lot of space to fill between now and then on a feud that will do more to serve the overarching story than it will have a resolution on its own. The end game here is obviously Copeland and Moxley in a violent main event title match, but I think the elephant in the room is still Christian Cage and his contracted title match. That’s an extra ingredient we need to consider.
For as long as this feud plays out, the longer it continues without Cage getting directly involved the likelihood of him interjecting in any potential Revolution title match increases. AEW can obviously announce anything at any moment, but on paper for now we have to assume the Copeland-Mox feud will run until Revolution. Ironically, with Cage sitting like a rat waiting in the dark, he’s the epitome of everything Mox is rallying against. That level of opportunism can be sprung at any moment. If I had to guess the most opportune timing would be to cost Copeland at Revolution. In turn, Copeland can turn around and ruin Cage’s briefcase redemption and kill off his title aspirations.
That feels like the most likely ending to this compartment of the story–Mox still reigns with the AEW championship, Copeland and Cage pick up their feud and probably ends with Cage’s “family” turning on him down the road. Although that feels cheap and obvious, Copeland and Cage circulating the title makes sense for now as they represent the two notions Mox is for and consequently against. It would then stand to reason their own trifles would do in their respective title aspirations which would reinforce Mox’s original point. There’s definitely a degree of irony in Copeland proving Mox’s point in an effort to fight him. That’s summarily why this can work.
Moxley’s Conqueror
The only real question that remains is who takes the title off Mox.
Where Copeland and Cage are bound for another round, probably culminating in a tag team reunion, the timeline for Mox relinquishing the title to his successor is less clear. Darby Allin feels like the natural choice as he represents the very thing Mox espouses, however the hitch is what his short term plans are. In September, a Fightful report noted that Allin still planned to climb Mount Everest in 2025. Further to that, a separate report from the Wrestling Observer earlier this December stated Allin was specifically targeting April for the climb.
Presuming any potential Copeland-Moxley match blows off at Revolution in March, with Allin aiming for April for the Everest climb, the soonest Allin would presumably be in line for a shot (should he survive the climb) would be Double or Nothing in May. Finding contenders to bide the company time is optimal. For example, maybe Cage is less of a rat and decrees Double or Nothing to be where he will redeem his contract. Then the sequence involving Copeland that was laid out farther up can happen.
I think there are plenty of options to plug into the story once you get passed Revolution, especially with Double or Nothing and All In Texas scheduled one after the other in May and July respectively. With Forbidden Door and All Out following those events, any one of the four could be a potential spot for Allin to step in and vie for the AEW championship. Regardless of when it happens in 2025, Mox’s title loss needs to be to Allin. It’s simply the right choice for this moment in AEW’s history.
Darby Allin is the epitome of what AEW stood for. As Moxley’s title reign edges forward, I think we could see challenges from Copeland and Cage, Eddie Kingston, and Shota Umino from NJPW. Maybe we’ll see Adam Cole or Will Ospreay step up as well. We will probably see one of the other three men who contested the championship at World’s End challenge once more for the throne. Regardless of those potential champions, Allin is the definition of someone who works hard, is not out for glory and is willing to fight the good fight.
A pathway toward toppling a person of principle, even if it’s in a negative context, is to meet them head on with your own ideals. That conflict creates an inherent spectacle that can draw you in with the intensity and tone, complemented by the volatile physicality that such a conflict should breed. That’s the point here, and it’s equally so why I would say once again that Copeland as a challenger works for the moment.
This story began Mox as decreed “this isn’t your company anymore.” Over time we understood what that meant with every new target, and we understood in those moments who had the backbone to fight and who only wished to coast by and retreat into the background. Moxley’s definition of what AEW needs to be is principled at its core, and how people rise or fall amid the call of that challenge characterizes whether Mox is right or wrong. Then again, maybe that dynamic of the story isn’t as simple as right vs. wrong. Perhaps instead Moxley’s challenge is a simple litmus test measuring who deserves to be “here” and who does not. If we accept Moxley operates within the moral grey, concepts of “right” and “wrong” are trivial in the face of principled egos.
That’s why Allin is the right choice to upend Moxley. Everything that happens prior is prologue to his crowning moment with each step building toward Moxley’s defeat when the time is right. With so much uncertainty in AEW, one thing we can say for certain is that for as dominant and powerful this principled Moxley appears to be, the only surefire way to smash that visage is for someone equally principled to fearlessly barrel toward them with reckless abandon.
It’s just a matter of time before the coffin drops.
