AEW WrestleDream: What If Bryan Danielson Defeats Jon Moxley?

AEW WrestleDream 2024 is fast approaching, and one of the fights to watch is Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley. And this match puts forth the question, “What happens if Danielson defeats Moxley?”

The card and the results of the matches are always subject to change. Just because we think we know the direction; the pathway and destination doesn’t mean we can’t and aren’t swerved from time to time.

Through exploring the alternative possibilities of what could happen if important matches don’t go the way we expect/want them to go, we learn multiple things. Not just what our expectations and wants tell us about the current product (its strengths and flaws).

How we, as fans, view the wrestlers involved. Where we want them to go and how the company views them.

It can give a snapshot of our attitudes towards the product at this time. Plus, a sense of our optimism/pessimism for the future.    

In this first speculative piece, James asks the question of what happens if Bryan Danielson retains the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley.   

The Dream Ending

Attending All In this year (and last year) was a highlight of my wrestling fandom. It was inspirational both then and now.

Seeing Bryan Danielson refuse to give up, willing himself to keep fighting for his family and children at ringside (before later threatening to hit the tiger driver on his son). Witnessing that historic victory felt euphoric.

After years of selflessness, which began from Danielson’s very first feud with the then world champion, “Hangman” Adam Page, Danielson’s character arc was completed. Unlike my feelings when Danielson won the WWE World Championship (after months of being undermined) at WrestleMania XXX, I was hopeful.

Then, I felt there might be a repeat of what happened after a similar moment at the end of WrestleMania XX. The visual of Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero holding their championship was diminished even before their deaths.

Both workhorses’ reigns felt like one and done. Gold watches for good service – honorary rather than meaningful.

Straight away, I started thinking about all the possibilities for this final run. Given Sting’s retirement earlier this year, I don’t think I was alone in expecting something grand.

That’s not to say Saturday’s match with former stable-mate Jon Moxley is a letdown. If anything, the match, like Danielson’s Grand Slam match against Nigel McGuinness, could be spiritual.

The issue is the generally potholed creative road of AEW that makes the path to Nirvana hardgoing. The violent splendour of All Out was masterful (which I’ve analysed here).

Saturday’s main event story is built on a rich layered with history between the former stablemates. There’s a clear direction many foresee.

It impacts multiple wrestlers’ developments. The Blackpool Combat Club are relevant again.

Darby Allin has been hinted as our next world champion.  But…

The Abrupt Final Countdown

In the past two years, AEW’s creative ability to blend individual wrestlers’ singular storylines together in a way that crisscross and overlap and furthers the development of all parties towards their final destinations like a spider’s web, hasn’t been so artful. Previously, it felt seamless how characters and their personal struggles interlinked or crossed paths.

We would get entire series of fulfilling matches and story beats in the short, medium, and long term. At present, this isn’t guaranteed.

In more recent years, excellent moments for one wrestler can usurp and disrupt the expectations fans had for another. The story told at All Out, the mento mori issued by Moxley to Danielson felt earth-shattering in the moment.

The concept of this feud and how it might change the direction of AEW feels seismic. However, it results in the end of Danielson’s full-time career.

We get one good thing but another must end. On the one hand, as a story, it puts heat on Moxley and emphasizes the significance and importance of this change in the landscape that’s been foreboded.

The tragedy is the end of Danielson’s run not with a bang. Instead with the feeling that it could have been more.

I know I am hoping that Danielson continues part-time/sporadic basis. Yet, as a way for one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time to end his career…

As I wrote in this week’s Dynamite preview, I, as a fan, greedily want more from this final run. I mean, most of us are assuming it ends at WrestleDream.

It has to, right? There is just too much at stake.

But what if it’s not the end?

Why Should We Consider This?

At AEW’s creative peak, the unpredictability of how or where match results would lead wrestlers or connect to other ongoing stories, developments, and title pictures gave us hope. We were then able to fantasy book and ponder what and how this would impact the next weeks and months of programming.

It sometimes feels like the “let it play out” philosophy has worn thin for some AEW fans. The “decline” in perception AEW has faced over the past two years relates to a lack of trust in the process after letdowns.

Such as MJF’s world championship reign last year. Funnily enough, it’s now WWE fans more willing to trust the process.

As a thought exercise ahead of WrestleDream, let’s consider what would happen if AEW went against fan expectations. What could that mean for the company and the directions for Danielson, Moxley, The BCC, etc.?

I’m a big fan of the alternative history sub-genre of fiction. Exploring other possibilities of what could or might have happened reveals a lot about our present, as well as our fears/hopes for the future.

Rather than fantasy booking or stating what should be, this is about exploring what could be. For example, when I previously predicted this year’s Owen Hart Cup, I was clear that my ideas were reflective of the general optimism towards the tournament.

They say there is a good version of everything. There is also a bad and ugly version.

Let’s consider all possibilities and see what this reveals about AEW and us as fans.

What Happens If Moxley Loses?

First, let’s consider the reasons that wrestling fans feel that Moxley can’t lose. The most important is that if Moxley loses, he has delivered an empty threat.

The change he is promising cannot be delivered if he loses. His ascension to being the big bad of AEW gets cut off at the ankles.

No victory and no world championship (the symbol of power and control) means whatever follows is hollow. The wins and losses matter. and we’ve seen this before in AEW.

We’ve seen the next big thing fail. Jay White as a heel in Full Gear 2023. Wardlow on several occasions.

Having said that, it wasn’t just the big losses but the subsequent booking. The Pinnacle should have won Stadium Stampede Two.

Yet, in the following weeks, the group fell to pieces with the feud divided into singles and tag team contests that overwhelmed. In part, due to legit reasons like freak injuries, as well as some unseen behind the scenes issues.

The rinse-and-repeat pattern of Wardlow’s booking increasingly reduced the wind in his sails. The feud with MJF might have put a pin and deflated White’s aura.

However, there was hope when The Switchblade shattered Darby Allin’s leg. Then someone had two words for White: Billy Gunn.

It takes more than three seconds or a submission or a screwy finish to sink promise like the Titanic. Yet, it’s obviously better if mistakes aren’t made in the first place.

Is there a way that fans and AEW can each have our cake and eat it too? What was that phrase that WWE were trying to trademark and take away from Danielson recently?

Does Moxley Need the Championship?

With the right finish, most likely an unclean one, it could potentially allow Mox and his mission to save face. There are bad finishes and there are great ones.

Sometimes the line between them isn’t that thick. Part is based on logic, execution, and giving the fans something that still allows a satisfying payoff, just with a different outcome.

While also maintaining the promise of what could happen next. Some ideas are better on paper and in the writers’ room.

Here’s the thing I learned having watched the film that inspirated for Mox’s new gimmick. In Romper Stomper, Russell Crowe’s lead character isn’t all-powerful.

His anger and hatred lead to his downfall. His gang cause chaos but there is no revolution.

It doesn’t end well. At some point, Moxley will be beaten cleanly.

Does this new BCC need the championship to have a successful run? The new Corporate Elite was draped in gold and offered to save AEW.

It wasn’t the seismic change in the landscape. It did not live up to the expected promise.

Whether Moxley is working for a higher power (I’ve written about the pros and cons of Shane McMahon in AEW here), or the higher purpose is the change Mox will bring, the championship would give gravitas. But there are still the logic gaps.

Like, why would having the championship give Moxley more control than being an EVP? Instead, not having the championship could give Moxley a reason to not just give warning shots and talk about change.

It could be the impetus to start that war. If so, you would hope AEW learned from the mistakes of The Elite’s summer.

How Moxley Can Lose and Still Keep Face?

Interference. Cliché but, if executed well, it could bring a sense of justice given Mox’s heinous attempt to end Danielson’s career.

There are the risks that it could go wrong then and in the aftermath. Terrible and WWE-light to creative and emotive.

Dynamite this week made it clear that Wheeler Yuta stands with Danielson. There has been lots of time dedicated to Yuta’s character growth.

The struggling to come to terms with the betrayal. This was cemented this week.

Yuta has chosen his side. Although beaten with a hammer, the shots were to the stomach and not the head.

Yuta is hurt but fighting through the pain on Saturday to play the difference-maker and to protect Danielson would make sense. An added option is more than one person interferes to neutralise the BCC.

Darby Allin getting payback on Marina Shafir. Private Party taking out PAC and Claudio Castagnoli.

The other option is a huge return. Someone who has a history with Mox or who would have reason to save AEW.

Is it too soon for Kenny Omega? What about Sting?

The latter sets up a potential vicious beatdown on the Icon and dovetails into a rematch with Allin. Moxley, as a character, cannot be distracted.

However, Yuta (or someone else perhaps) making the choice to screw the multiple-time world champion out of his shot – while cheap – could achieve two things.

Costing Moxley – Payoff

One, it saves Danielson’s career. In some ways, it borrows from the recent actions of Daniel Garcia at All In, someone whose career has paralleled Yuta’s (underwhelming) progression.

The emotional investment is there. We are also in Danielson’s home state.

If done well, the fans in the building are not going to begrudge their hero prevailing. From there, it would give AEW time to work through some (likely not all) those dream matches.

It would give the honour of slaying the American Dragon to someone else and enhance their legacy. From a creative standpoint, the booking might still be messy but gives more to the final countdown.

Also, no one said this must be the end of the issues with The BCC for Danielson. Another match with Claudio? PAC?

Second, this change in Moxley’s character has made him seem even more dangerous than previous versions. We are only at the beginning of this character’s run.

Whatever happens next – title or no title – Moxley’s threat of change needs to result in action/violence. Imagine a rematch between Moxley and Yuta with more blood.

Which of these two versions of Moxley would seem more violent, vicious, and the ultimate bad guy to you? The one who has the championship, has proven himself correct, and calling the shots from the top, or a Moxley who was screwed, is justifiably pissed, unleashed, and now has no reason to play nice to get what he wants?

For me, the latter feels the more revolutionary and radical. That fits Moxley’s narrative that the company and its wrestlers don’t want to change for the better.

Regardless, after Saturday, the threat needs to be backed up.

The Aftermath – Risks Either Way

The risk would be of killing Moxley’s momentum with a significant loss straight out the gate. Regardless, some fans would shout “burial” or call stupidity anyway because it doesn’t fit their version of what AEW should be (something I discussed in my article AEW isn’t perfect and that’s fine).

But what if I was to suggest that risk exists anyway whether Moxley wins or loses? We’ve seen this angle already this year with The Elite’s takeover.

This is the second time the BCC has tried to save and change AEW. This happened last year.

They ultimately lost to The Elite. On both occasions, a lack of satisfying weekly progression and logical steps for a takeover or transformation of the company was just talk.

No revolution happened. No monumental change. The same wrestling show.

With or without the title, if Moxley is going to try and change the landscape, there needs to be something that in storyline and logic works to make AEW different. That would make Mox’s war different from the inept power struggle of The Elite.

Or else, it’s just the same thing on different day.

Where Could Danielson’s Reign End

In the following string of PPVs, Full Gear, World’s End, and the space in between, Danielson can continue to compete. Maybe even borrow from Ric Flair’s “last run” in WWE where losing a match means the end.

Every match is for his career and the title. AEW could put on more potential banger after banger against opponents to build to the crescendo of a fully dramatic final countdown.

Thematically, World’s End was the place last year where MJF’s reign ended. It again could be the time when Danielson finally passes the torch.

Possibly the place to pull the trigger with Allin being the one to end Danielson’s career. Although, I suggested when writing about Darby as the next world champion, that the underdog vs. underdog story could split the crowd.

In the context of WrestleDream in Washington where both are home-state boys. If done in the right way, with the right build and particularly a more heelish-leaning Danielson, we could get a contest for the ages.

That is, of course, dependent on real life. Danielson’s wider health and neck.

 Conclusion

I have seen some fans say AEW booked themselves into a corner with WrestleDream’s main event. Damned if you go either way.

What I’ve suggested might be in part fantasy booking but, considering recent and previous history in AEW, they could pull a huge upset. My mind has changed.

Before writing this article, I firmly believed Moxley had to win. Now, I don’t think that’s the case.

Moxley does not need the championship and, for this story to progress, an angrier, self-justified, and untethered Moxley who has felt screwed out of what he believes is his right has more potential. There are more places to go.

With or without the belt, this character can exist. Create destruction and unrest and then ultimately be defeated to give someone else that big W.

My money is still on Allin, whether Moxley gets the championship or not because of the history and clues. What this thought exercise also shows me is that in the fanbase some fans have a calcified view of what AEW should and shouldn’t do.

Part of that is a response in the last two years to creative inconsistencies and lapses in logic and cohesion. Part of that is because we want AEW to “rebound” in terms of perceptions and we want that catalyst for the company to get hot again.

It overall shows a lack of trust in the process which is well-earned. AEW has made creative choices that have turned off some fans.

I think what we need is creative to do something surprising but logically sound again and then sustain that logic in subsequent shows to regain that trust. Find ways to give fans what we want, but in a way that might surprise us.

Sounds simple and easy, right?