RADICAN’S TAKE: What is going on with Moxley and The Death Riders?

Something is missing from the ongoing storyline with Jon Moxley and The Death Riders. Moxley seemed to be turning babyface, as he was taking losses recently in the ring, which made it seem likely that it was going to result in someone in The Death Riders taking his spot as the leader. The story took a turn during the Continental Classic, as Moxley turned things around and made it to the finals of the tournament in classic babyface fashion. 

Moxley worked a leg/ankle injury during the Continental Classic, which naturally helped him draw sympathy from the crowd. The nature of the tournament, which called for no seconds at ringside and no outside interference, saw Moxley win several matches clean on sheer guts alone.

He cut babyface promos that were aired online and on TV showing him working out between matches with his stablemates in the Death Riders or talking about the importance of competition and what winning the tournament would mean to him. 

When Moxley beat Kazuchika Okada in the finals of the tournament, he cut a babyface promo about how the tournament had brought out the best in all wrestlers in AEW. The announcers said on commentary that perhaps what he had wanted to achieve with the Death Riders all along had been achieved during the tournament in what appeared to be an effort to position him to the viewing audience as a babyface. 

It also seemed like The Death Riders turned face with him standing behind Moxley as he tried to pump up the crowd with what appeared to be a great babyface promo. Wrestling can get away with a lot in terms of there being gaps in logic or storytelling and still have things work out in the end, but AEW booker and president Tony Khan hasn’t given enough context with his storytelling as to why Moxley should be cheered yet. 

Naturally, he’s going to get cheered fighting fair fights in a tournament that’s supposed to be fought cleanly, but we are not far removed from Moxley and The Death Riders constantly cheating to win matches. I was excited for Dynamite this week, as I was hoping that Khan would put a bow on Moxley’s turn with the Death Riders and do something to make it all make sense, but instead, the storyline is still lacking the context it needs to be effective. 

There has to be something Moxley does to turn face other than resume winning matches again to make his face turn pass the sniff test. The Death Riders turning on Moxley with a new member taking his place as the leader would be enough from a storytelling standpoint to make the turn work, as Moxley could use his promo time to show he’s turned over a new leaf as a face while looking to presumably get his revenge on his former stablemates. 

Before Moxley wrestled on Dynamite, The Death Riders of Danny Garcia & Claudio Castagnoli & Maria Shafir beat Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy & Toni Storm in a Mixed Nuts Mayhem Tornado match. The Death Riders took short cuts to win the match, which included Castagnoli dragging the ref in the way of an Orange Punch. Moxley continued to sell his leg and beat Josh Alexander without cheating in a singles match later on Dynamite. With some of the Death Riders wrestling like heels and Moxley still wrestling like a face, it is easy to see where this storyline gets confusing. 

To further muddle things, Darby Allin cut a promo during Dynamite saying he’s got unfinished business with Pac. The Death Riders appeared in a  backstage promo segment without Pac and Wheeler Yuta addressed Allin’s promo saying he would have to go through him to get to Pac. The Death Riders seemed to be unified behind Moxley during the promo. 

It’s clear there’s still much to be sorted out when it comes to Moxley and The Death Riders. If the Death Riders turn on Moxley soon, the question will be why didn’t they just turn on him after he won the Continental Classic where he was more vulnerable than he’s ever been after wrestling two matches. It seems like the other shoe to drop in terms of advancing the storyline will be the result of what Pac does next. Until then there’s a lot surrounding Moxley and The Death Riders and where they stand as characters that is confusing to follow. 

Sean Radican has been Pro Wrestling Torch for over 22 years. He has covered the independents, ROH, and NJPW in-depth over the years in addition to also watching all the major promotions in the U.S. PWTorch VIP members get access to his weekly Radican Worlwide podcast looking at a variety of news topics from the past week and then an in-depth Go-Home segment with a guest on a big topic of the week. You can contact him at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. You can follow him on X @SR_Torch and on Bluesky @SeanRadican.