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Why Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin Will Be AEW's Money Feud After Double or Nothing
May 16, 2020
Jon Moxley is set to defend the All Elite Wrestling World Championship against Brodie Lee at Double or Nothing next Saturday, but assuming he comes away with his title reign still intact, Mox should enter directly into a feud with Darby Allin.
Allin will be part of the nine-person Casino Ladder Match at Double or Nothing with the winner earning a future AEW World title shot. Although there are some big names in the match, nobody stands out more than Allin as an ideal candidate to win and enter the world title scene.
Ever since AEW came into existence, it has been clear that Allin has future star written all over him. He boasts the undeniable "it factor" that few possess, which reminds many fans of Jeff Hardy. That helped Hardy become WWE champion and one of the biggest stars in the business, which is a level Allin can eventually reach as well.
Moxley vs. Allin may not make complete sense on the surface since they are both technically babyfaces, but they have tweener tendencies, and Allin especially leans to the heel side at times.
Most recently, Allin laid out Cody after they lost a tag team match to Sammy Guevara and Shawn Spears on Dynamite, which speaks to how easy it would be for AEW to put him in a program with a popular face like Mox. A clear heel vs. face dynamic is usually ideal, but Moxley and Allin are talented enough to make it work.
They also have some history, as they faced each other on the eighth-ever episode of Dynamite back in November. Moxley won that match, but Allin pushed him to the limit and showed that he is capable of hanging with one of the best in the business.
Several months later in March, Moxley and Allin were scheduled to team up against Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara on Dynamite. That match never happened as intended, though, since Mox was attacked by The Inner Circle beforehand.
As a result, Allin had to wrestle the match on his own and ended up losing. That situation hasn't been touched on since it happened in March, but having Allin become No. 1 contender and then use that as motivation by claiming that Mox left him high and dry would be a good way to add some instant heat to the rivalry.
Over the past couple of weeks, AEW has seemingly been building up Allin in a unique way. During backstage interviews with Taz, he has rejected Taz's offers to help him and revealed that he has an amateur wrestling background.
Allin is primarily viewed as a daredevil and a dark, mysterious character, but bringing up his amateur wrestling experience adds layers to his character and some legitimacy to him as a performer.
Moxley has primarily been a brawler throughout his career, but he has noticeably incorporated more of a ground game and grappling style in AEW. Based on that, AEW playing up Allin's wrestling skill may be a sign that it is preparing for Mox and Allin to clash.
The key in world title feuds is to have both performers come out of the rivalry better than when they went in. Moxley's reign may not end any time soon, and he may not drop the title to Allin, but the program could still be hugely beneficial to the up-and-coming star.
If Moxley retains his title over Allin at a big event, but Allin turns in a memorable performance in the process, then AEW will have a strong champion in Moxley and a star on the rise in Allin, which is the perfect mix.
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