It might sound a bit hyperbolic, but Jon Moxley Vs. Hangman Adam Page is the most crucial match AEW has had in 2022. There's the benefit of hindsight working here, as several other high-end bouts were built up well but came crashing down for one reason or another. The title unification fight between Moxley and CM Punk at All Out should probably take the most-important-match honor. Yet what happened during the press scrum following that pay-per-view is exactly what makes the October 18 scrap between Hangman and Moxley so important. In a way, AEW is about to tell fans what the company's trajectory will be in the coming months.
The World Champion tends to set the tone for professional wrestling shows. Whether in WWE, AEW, or any other promotion, the top guy and gal are the ones who are the pace cars for the roster. If someone else on the card feels like a bigger deal than the champion, then a match might need to happen sooner rather than later. That isn't always the case, especially in Tony Khan's company, but typically, that's how these things work. Over the last few months, Jon Moxley has been the pace car and MVP in All Elite Wrestling. AEW tried to put the World Championship on CM Punk twice, but he couldn't defend it either time due to injuries. This has led to the title getting hot potatoed around, and the interim championship situation watered the belt down a bit. Whoever leaves the October 18 episode of Dyanmiate with the strap should have it for a long time, making this championship match's outcome weighty.
Jon Moxley & Hangman Adam Page Are Different Kinds Of Champions
Jon Moxley and Adam Page represent different things as champions. The former has been AEW's rock over the last few months. When Punk shattered his foot by stage-diving into the crowd, it was Jon Moxley who Khan tabbed as the interim champion, knowing that the self-proclaimed Best In The World would be on the shelf for a few months. As soon as Punk was ready to return, Khan again tried to make him the company's World Champion at All Out. And, again, Punk injured himself and could not defend the title. Moxley beat Bryan Danielson at Grand Slam to become AEW's top guy for the third time, and despite his WWE roots, there's no denying he's been a fighting champion for All Elite Wrestling. There's a lot to be said for how dedicated he's been to the title, and perhaps Moxley deserves to represent the company as it attempts to emerge from a firestorm of backstage issues.
Then there's Hangman Adam Page, who no doubt resonates with a different section of AEW's core audience. Whereas Moxley is a blood-and-guts brawler, Hangman is the self-proclaimed anxious millennial cowboy. When he beat Kenny Omega for the World Championship, it was the culmination of some fantastic long-term storytelling from Tony Khan. Yet his run felt a little flat, and he'd soon find himself squaring off with CM Punk for World Championship. Punk, of course, would win at Double Or Nothing. That was the moment things started to go off the rails for AEW, and giving the belt back to Page would be a soft reboot for the company. An opportunity to reset things to how they were before Khan attempted an ill-fated Summer Of CM Punk angle. There's a wild card looming in the background, however. A joker, if you will.
MJF Would Be Unlike Any AEW World Champion Before Him
It might not matter whether Moxley or Page wins because MJF could cash in his guaranteed title shot whenever and where ever he wants. Cincinnati, Ohio, seems like just as good a place as any. After Moxley and Page tear the house down and presumably have a lengthy, hard-hitting match, The Salt Of The Earth could easily swoop in and leave Dynamite as the new World Champion. This outcome would indeed be the beginning of a new era for AEW. Moxley and Hangman have been great stars for the company but gained notoriety elsewhere. That isn't the case for Friedman, who'd arguably be the first home-grown World Chamion in AEW history. Just look at how important that's been for The Acclaimed in the tag-team division. The timing of that shift can't be overlooked either. Not with Punk and the Being The Elite crew being sidelined for who knows how long, and with Moxley and Adam Page already holding the title for decent chunks of time.
MJF winning the World Championship would indicate that Tony Khan believes he can carry AEW on his back, which he says he does anyway. It'd also signal that there won't be a slowing of the reality-bending, dirt-sheet-fueled chaos that has overtaken the company in recent months. Friedman, with the World Championship, would be doubling down on catering to the fans in the know and could perhaps even reengage some of the original AEW audience that has lost interest as more and more ex-WWE performers are featured. At 26, MJF is pretty close in age to some of the young prodigies Vince McMahon wanted to put over in significant ways. John Cena was 27 when he won his first World Championship. Brock Lesnar was 25. One-of-a-kind generational wrestlers win World Championships for major promotions in their mid-20s. It'll be interesting to see if AEW is willing to make that kind of commitment to MJF.