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The Death Riders launched their war against the AEW roster after Jon Moxley dethroned Bryan Danielson for the promotion's World Championship. The self-proclaimed "One True King" of All Elite Wrestling has held on to the belt since WrestleDream 2024, in large part thanks to the consistent interference of his Blackpool Combat Club stable-mates Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta, and their new allies, Marina Shafir and PAC.
The Death Riders had been wreaking havoc throughout the year, although the group suffered a couple of major losses in recent months. Three of its members lost their belts in April, with Mox remaining the sole title holder of the group. The latter's reign could also be nearing its end, as his old rival Hangman Page is poised to face him for the World Championship at All In: Texas.
With fan interest in their story already waning, The Death Riders could be heading toward potential disbandment en route to AEW's upcoming massive stadium show. In this article, we consider three reasons why All In could be the PPV that begins the closing chapter of the Jon Moxley-led team.
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#1. Dissension in the ranks and championship resentment
After being defeated by the team of Samoa Joe and Hook on the April 9 episode of Dynamite, Claudio Castagnoli retaliated against the loss by viciously assaulting The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil. This led to The Samoan Submission Machine calling out The Death Riders to an AEW World Trios Title match on Dynamite: Spring Break Thru. The two sides squared off on April 16, with Jon Moxley substituting for an injured PAC and Powerhouse Hobbs replacing Hook to tag with The Opps.
The aforementioned bout ended on a shocking note with Joe putting Moxley to sleep and securing the trios belts for himself and his teammates. Since then, The Purveyor of Violence has been the only member of The Death Riders to still hold a championship. Claudio Castagnoli attempted to unseat Adam Cole for the TNT Title the following night on Collision, but was unsuccessful, and notably received no help from his allies. This led to him taking out his frustrations at the broadcast booth at ringside.
This week, The Swiss Superman competed in a four-way International Championship match at AEW Fyter Fest, but was unsuccessful yet again, as Kenny Omega retained his belt. Once again, Castagnoli's stable-mates did not show up to help him win the title, even though he had come to Jon Moxley's aid during his World Title defense against Samoa Joe at Dynamite: Beach Break. The leader of the violent faction has furthermore shown no interest in recapturing the trios titles, despite being the one who lost them for his team.
Moxley's apparent self-centeredness could, in the storyline, inspire resentment within Castagnoli, leading to the rise of dissension within the ranks of The Death Riders. The Swiss Superman could be increasingly disinclined to help Mox retain against Hangman Page at All In: Texas in the weeks leading up to the pay-per-view. His trios partner Wheeler Yuta, whose mistreatment at the hands of his teammates has been a consistent narrative throughline, could join Claudio in gradually defying and eventually turning on Moxley.
#2. The AEW babyface alliance seems to hold the advantage of momentum
The Death Riders unleashed an era of violence in AEW after WrestleDream 2024, motivated by their desire to rectify what they perceive as a culture of fakery and complacency in the locker room. The group made an immediate and grim impact on All Elite programming through their carnage, writing off Bryan Danielson, attempting to force-feed Orange Cassidy some unnamed chemical product, kidnapping and brutalizing FTR, and kicking Darby Allin down a flight of stairs after annihilating his neck to close out last year.
However, The Death Riders have not fared quite as well since the start of 2025, losing to Rated-FTR at Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen, losing a massive 12-person tag match on Collision: Maximum Carnage alongside The Learning Tree, and losing to FTR in a Mid-South Street Fight on Collision. Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir were beaten in a mixed tornado tag by Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale in April, one week before Samoa Joe and Hook beat Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta.
The Death Riders did overcome Jay White and Cope at AEW Grand Slam Australia, and retained their trios titles against The Undisputed Kingdom, Daniel Garcia with 2point0, AR Fox with Top Flight, and against Rated-FTR. However, their reign ended at the hands of The Opps on Spring BreakThru. Furthermore, despite aligning themselves with The Young Bucks and Gabe Kidd, the heel faction was defeated by the team of Strickland, Nightingale, Kenny Omega, and The Opps in the 2025 Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing 2025.
Now, Moxley is under the crosshairs of Adam Page, who will challenge him for the AEW World Championship at All In: Texas. The Cowboy has already found an ally in Will Ospreay, who is looking to further enlist Swerve's help to make sure that Page dethrones Mox and brings the title back from The Death Riders. Now that the stable's dominance has been considerably thwarted, the original Death Rider losing his crown to The Hangman at All In 2025 could be what properly sets off the end of Moxley's crew.
#3. Darby Allin potentially returning to settle his scores
A huge section of AEW viewers have expressed concerns that Hangman Page may not be the one to overthrow Jon Moxley for the World Championship, as they are of the view that the promotion may have chosen Darby Allin for the spot. Fans think this could happen because the start of the Death Riders saga prominently featured Allin. The former TNT Champion lost his AEW World Title shot to Jon Moxley at last year's Grand Slam - a shot that Mox used to dethrone Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream 2024.
After helplessly watching The Death Riders brutalize The American Dragon at WrestleDream, Darby went to battle against the group himself. He kept hounding the members of the faction, and even cost Claudio Castagnoli a crucial win in the 2024 Continental Classic, costing him the chance to advance in the tournament. This finally led to Moxley and his crew destroying Allin on Rampage: New Year's Smash, and the latter has not been seen since then.
During his hiatus, Darby began training for his expedition to Mount Everest. He began the climb in April, and summited the mountain last month. After news broke of Allin's incredible achievement, speculation began to crop up suggesting that the latter could return at AEW All In: Texas. Such an angle could easily play out at the pay-per-view, even more so if the daredevil comes back to seek revenge on The Death Riders. He could start by costing Jon Moxley the AEW World Championship against Hangman Page.
The One True King's defeat at All In 2025 could be the first domino to fall, as Allin could then take out Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli one after the other. Finally, he could finish Mox off in some kind of violent No-DQ/Unsanctioned matchup, writing him off of television and closing the book on the story of The Death Riders.
