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AEW star Jon Moxley seems to be happy with his current position in the company, if recent reports by the Wrestling Observer Forum are to be believed. There has been intense speculation that the former AEW World Champion will be tempted to follow in Cody Rhodes' footsteps and return to WWE.
However, wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer has revealed a conversation he had with the Purveyor of Violence last week and he had this to say:
“He told me last week he was super happy," Meltzer noted. (h/tWrestlingNews.co)
While there is nothing to suggest that his run in AEW will come to an end soon, Mox does have an initial three-year deal with Tony Khan that runs out in 2022. The former Dean Ambrose has also asserted that he would listen to an offer from WWE if they were to pursue it.
Speaking in a B/R AMA, the Blackpool Combat Club member said:
“You gotta say never say never, because you don't want to run back what you said years later because you don't know what'll happen. Just the creation of AEW was so vital to the wrestling industry, and that's part of the reason why I'm so proud to be a part of it. I wouldn't rule out ever doing business with them again, we had a mutually beneficial relationship for a long time.”
But how would a return to the company that made him a star serve Moxley at this point in time? Here, we look at three reasons why the former Shield member should return to WWE and two reasons why he shouldn't.
#3. Why Jon Moxley should return to WWE - He is no longer the top star in AEW
Jon Moxley was one of the biggest initial signings for AEW in 2019. In fact, his debut at the conclusion of Double or Nothing that year was a truly shocking moment. It was the first time a top WWE Superstar, other than Chris Jericho, would defect to join the upstart promotion.
This would open the doors for the likes of Adam Cole, Miro and Bryan Danielson, among others, to make the switch in the coming years. Mox was treated as the main man in the company from the get-go, engaging in a top rivalry with Kenny Omega before becoming the second AEW World Champion after dethroning Jericho.
2020 saw Death Rider become a fighting champion, carrying the company through a pandemic era of empty arenas and socially-distanced crowds. Tony Khan should forever be indebted to Mox for his dedication in pulling the company bandwagon through difficult times.
But since then, other wrestlers have taken the mantle as world champions and run with it. Kenny Omega would defeat Moxley and embark on a dominant year-long run before dropping it to current titleholder Hangman Page.
Mox would tumble down the card and never reach that level of prominence ever again. These days, despite being regarded as one of AEW's biggest stars, his bookings have been weak. He hasn't challenged for a title in over a year and is now part of the Blackpool Combat Club.
Moxley desperately needs a reset, and a change of environment might just serve that purpose. He doesn't have to look any further than Cody Rhodes in WWE right now to see how returning to his former home promotion can help reinvigorate his character and freshen his act in the minds of wrestling fans.
#2. Why Jon Moxley shouldn't return to WWE - He will not be given the creative freedom he has in AEW
On April 30, 2019, Moxley ended his nine-year stint with WWE. He left the promotion citing poor handling of his character. Although Mox became a Grand Slam Champion in WWE, there's a feeling that he never lived up to the fullest potential that most fans expected of him.
He couldn't reach the same level of stardom as his former Shield members, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, even though at the beginning of the faction, he acted as the main mouthpiece for the group. For some reason, Vince McMahon saw him as a goofball character and leaned into that aspect of Dean Ambrose's persona to his detriment.
There's no doubt that the AEW star was unhappy with WWE's creative process and his on-screen booking, which prompted him to leave. The lack of creative freedom over his promos nearly ruined his career, but thankfully, Mox has managed to reinvent himself in Tony Khan's company. In his autobiography, the former AEW World Champion wrote about his frustrations with WWE's booking:
"Why does everything have to be so F'n stupid? They're really gonna make me walk away from all this money, aren't they? They can't just write one good angle, let me cut one good F'n promo?" Moxley wrote.
"There was a time I thought I'd be a lifer with WWE, but this whole place has gone F'n MAD, and I feel like I'm the only one who can see it... buncha MFers just playing violins while the ship sinks and Vince continues to lose his mind," Moxley stated.
A potential return to WWE doesn't seem to make logical sense, given Moxley's past issues with the company. It's unlikely that their booking philosophy and creative process would have changed drastically in his absence. The 36-year-old is better off staying in AEW where he is given the freedom to go all out with his promos and presentation.
#2. Why Jon Moxley should return to WWE - There is a new wave of WWE Superstars on the main roster that he hasn't faced before
Jon Moxley has breathed new life into his career in AEW, yet there are several WWE Superstars with whom he never managed to share the ring due to his departure from WWE nearly three years ago.
Moxley has faced several top performers in WWE. However, there are a number of stars he didn't square off against during his previous stint in the company who became bigger stars after the former Dean Ambrose left.
Mustafa Ali, for example, rose to prominence on the SmackDown main roster in early 2019, having great matches with the likes of then WWE Champion Daniel Bryan. He was even slated to compete in the Elimination Chamber match before being sidelined by injuries, which paved the way for Kofi-Mania at WrestleMania 35.
Unfortunately, this was around the same time Mox's WWE career was winding down as he let his contract expire and would join AEW soon after. He also worked primarily on RAW, so the two wrestlers never got a chance to meet face-to-face.
Riddle is currently one of the biggest stars on RAW, thanks to his immensely popular tag team with Randy Orton in RK-Bro. But he only joined the main roster in 2020, a year after Moxley left WWE to join AEW.
During his time in the WWE, Ambrose was also subjected to a few underwhelming storylines, but he somehow managed to shine. Both wrestlers share that in common, and if given a chance to let the shackles loose, they are guaranteed to have a terrific match. Whether these potential rivalries are enough to entice the former Shield member to return remains to be seen.
#1. Why Jon Moxley shouldn't return to WWE - He has the potential to become AEW's first Trios Champion with Blackpool Bullet Club
Jon Moxley recently joined forces with Bryan Danielson and William Regal to form The Blackpool Combat Club. It brings together two of the most popular wrestlers on the AEW roster while having a WWE Hall of Fame-worthy veteran in Regal as their manager. The group also recruited a rising sensation in Wheeler Yuta following his blood bath with Jon Moxley on Rampage a few weeks ago.
With the momentum the BBC is carrying right now, the faction should be the leading candidate to become the inaugural AEW Trios Champions if and when Tony Khan decides to pull the trigger and debut those titles. During a media call prior to the Revolution pay-per-view earlier this year, it seemed like he was very much keen on the idea:
"I definitely think it's something that there's a lot of interest in, I've seen that and we have a lot of great trios here. I am very interested in it, I'll be 100% honest with you, I'm much more receptive to doing it when Kenny Omega's back because I think that is going to happen and when Kenny Omega is back I think the trios division is that much stronger."
"We could do a great tournament now and have a great trios division but I think he would make it that much stronger and I have so much respect for him and I think he was such a great world champion for us, and I think we could have, by far, the best trios division anybody could put together with how strong our roster is and how many trios are already together and I would love for Kenny Omega to be a part of it."
Jon Moxley might have accomplished a lot in AEW thus far, but he has a chance to make history and build up his fledgling faction at the same time. It would be a shame if he were to leave for WWE without seeing this storyline through.
#1. Why Jon Moxley should return to WWE - He has unfinished business and might want to rehabilitate his legacy in the company
As much as Jon Moxley has thrived in AEW, it feels like the former Lunatic Fringe may have some unfinished business in WWE, not completely dissimilar to that of Cody Rhodes.
The 36-year-old may have tasted world championship gold during his WWE run, but there was always a feeling that he he was ‘third-best’ compared to his brothers in The Shield, and his character was never fleshed out enough to make it convincing.
Could then a hybrid of Ambrose and Moxley go back to WWE with his stellar work in AEW behind him and receive a hero’s welcome, just like former comrade Rhodes? Mox has proven to be a dependable world champion in AEW. With WWE seriously lacking in main eventers to combat Roman Reigns, the company could benefit from having another recognizable name return home and become a viable challenger to the throne.
Ambrose might be motivated to secure his legacy in WWE and achieve the same level of success that his Shield brethren have had in their careers.
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