Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley 4: Get Ready For an Instant Classic at AEW Dynamite

This is the Best Match AEW Can Offer. Will it Be Enough Against Tough TV Competition?

Jon Moxley was not on my radar back in my Bleacher Report days. I was aware of him, of course. I was still covering the WWE on occasion and had interviewed the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes ahead of his sons taking on the Shield in what turned out to be a classic match back in 2013.

Moxley, then wrestling as Dean Ambrose, was on the periphery of that bout, eventually finding himself on the wrong end of the Dream’s patented bionic elbow.

It was a good piece of business.

Beyond that, to me he was just another guy struggling and failing to break through the glass ceiling on top of which the likes of Brock Lesnar and John Cena ruled the WWE roost. That’s not meant to be disparaging. Establishing yourself as an act at the apex of sports entertainment is a nearly impossible task, something only a handful of performers each generation manages.

Some of the very best to ever do it took their best swing at joining that elite club and couldn’t quite pull it off. It’s as much a matter of timing and circumstance as it is talent, and the cards didn’t come up for Moxley when he finally got his seat at the table.

It happens.

I was most impressed when I ran into Moxley at the end of a work trip one random evening. In the wrestling business, there’s a long-standing maxim that anyone with potential to emerge as a big star in the industry is going to draw the eye at the airport. Moxley passed that test. He was wearing cowboy boots and a leather jacket and I texted my wife “you know who is secretly kind of handsome? Dean Ambrose from WWE.”

And she wrote back “I don’t think it’s really a secret that Dean Ambrose is hot.”

Who knew?

Fast forward to 2019, in the nosebleeds at the first AEW PPV (and lucky to be there—that wasn’t an easy ticket), I watched in awe with the rest of the crowd as Moxley made his way down to the ring and staked his claim in the new promotion. He didn’t focus his attention on the winner of the main event that night. Instead, he attacked the man who everyone already knew was the true beating heart of the new brand—Kenny Omega, the best professional wrestler on the planet.

It’s been more than two years since the men have shared the ring, a wet fart of a special effect distracting the world from what had been a singularly epic performance from both, an Exploding Barbed Wire ode to Terry Funk and Atsushi Onita that emerged from the shadow cast by those giants of the sport to become a classic in its own right. My whole family was there that night, along with my pal Ryan Loco, masked and socially distanced as was the style at the time.

My glasses were fogged up for the entire COVID pandemic. At least my Hayabusa mask was cool!

Not only did the bout live up to the incredible standard set by the FMW original it was paying tribute to, they also matched the energy and mayhem of their own hardcore match, a 38-minute Lights Out bloodbath in Baltimore that, up to that point, was the wildest wrestling match I’ve ever seen live. We had great seats thanks to an old friend with AEW connections and I was uniquely positioned, perhaps the only person on the planet for whom the post-match explosion truly was as dramatic as intended. But, having seen the replay on television and heard the boos from those seated above me, I concede that was not the case for everyone. To me, it will always be a personal favorite.

It was cool to me!

I’ve been lucky enough to watch all their major bouts live and each one has been spectacular. It’s a high bar for them to leap, but the pieces are in place for something truly special tomorrow night on AEW Dynamite.

If you haven’t followed along with the storylines, Omega’s “Elite” faction has been pitted against Moxley’s Blackpool Combat Club. In addition to attacking Omega at every opportunity, Moxley and his cohorts have also targeted the Young Bucks and even Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa, signalling their heel status by going after two nerds not usually centered on the main program, a pack of angry grizzlies mauling two sweet, tail-wagging Golden Retrievers on live television.

In theory, they are stylistic opposites, serious violence contrasted with flashy acrobatics and modern spot-based wrestling. But, in the ring, Omega and Moxley have always meshed. Kenny, despite the occasional over-the-top dramatics, is as hard-hitting and aggressive as they come. Moxley, known as an elite brawler, has a fair bit of comedy schtick in his game. Together, the two make magic. They’ve been each other’s best opponent in AEW and it’s about time we see them in opposite corners again.

If their mere presence wasn’t enough, there’s the looming spectre of one of wrestling’s great gimmicks. Omega, a legendary big match wrestler, has never to my knowledge wrestled within the confines of a steel cage. He’s successfully taken each style of match he’s worked and made it his own.

Need someone to fight Joey Janela in a Lights Out match? Kenny.

Got a debuting spot machine like El Vikingo you need to make an immediate impact? Kenny.

What about a storyline-heavy spotfest with the Young Bucks? You guessed it—Kenny is your guy.

There’s no reason to believe this will be any different. Cage matches are about wild bumps into the steel, anguished selling, hateful strikes, and (in the modern era) daring stunts. All of those things are right in Kenny’s wheelhouse. Of course, despite the weird and unhinged critiques from the few remaining haters, most things are.

The promotion has struggled in recent weeks against fierce competition from the NHL and NBA playoffs. Last week the show was watched by just 776,000 viewers on average, the lowest total since June, 2022. On Wednesday, ratings powerhouses on both coasts do battle in pivotal ball games. To grab the attention of an audience with one eye on the sports world, AEW needs to come as hard as they can—and this match is it. I’m going to yank my attention off of basketball tomorrow, at least long enough to watch these two work their magic. I suggest you do the same. Say what you want about Kenny Omega—unlike the admittedly great Steph Curry, in big matches, the man doesn’t miss.

Highest Possible Recommendation