Fightful Select have reported that Jon Moxley vs CM Punk was not originally planned for AEW Dynamite. They revealed that Interim AEW Champion Jon Moxley was the mind behind the match moving onto free TV, but only after CM Punk needed convincing before “eventually agreeing to it”.
The shocking main event of the August 24 edition of AEW Dynamite was revealed last week to feature the long awaited unification of the AEW Championships. CM Punk, who won the title from “Hangman” Adam Page at Double or Nothing 2022, takes on Jon Moxley, who defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at Forbidden Door for the vacant title, in one of the biggest main events in AEW history.
It was reported by Fightful Select that “Jon Moxley was in favor of the move, and one source even indicated that it was his idea and pitch, and All Elite Wrestling went with it.“. Moxley is one of the top stars in AEW and has been on the run of his life this year, putting on more incredible matches than anyone else in the world in 2022. However, they did report that “eventually CM Punk agreed to it.” and battle once again on AEW Dynamite.
CM Punk returned to wrestling exactly one year ago, walking out on the second ever AEW Rampage to a raucous Chicago crowd that were in tears at their hero’s comeback. It was voted one of the greatest comebacks of all time and immediately bumped the former WWE Champion to the top of the card.
Meanwhile, Jon Moxley joined AEW in 2019 after a mixed run in WWE as Dean Ambrose. He debuted as part of The Shield, helping CM Punk retain his WWE Championship and make their immediate mark on the wrestling business. Alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, they became an unstoppable force and as a trio earned their spot as main eventers.
He won the WWE Championship once, but his run in WWE was fraught with bad booking decisions and missed opportunities. He left the company at the start of 2019, with Dean Ambrose’s last match being on a special show put on in the trios honour.
The battle on AEW Dynamite will be a chance for both men to right the wrongs they faced in WWE and prove just how good they can be. However, it is odd that the match is not in the main event of All Out 2022. It is one of the biggest matches AEW could put on and for some reason Tony Khan decided against it.
CM Punk vs Jon Moxley was planned for the Chicago show in September, but the creative plans changed. Grapsody’s Will Washington revealed on the air that he’d heard there was “an idea in play a few days before to increase ticket sales and add buzz to the Cleveland AEW show.”. The move seems to have been to help move tickets for Dynamite and was originally set to main event all out.
Fightful also reported that “multiple plans have changed” for All Out 2022, indicating it was not just Jon Moxley vs CM Punk of the AEW Championship that was altered. It is currently unknown what else changed, with rumours being that it could have been to do with MJF’s recent absence from AEW.
CM Punk has yet to defend his AEW Champion, having injured his foot one day after his title win against Adam Page. He also called out “Hangman” on AEW Dynamite, seemingly in a “shoot” promo designed to insult the former champion. It is unknown if they will wrestle in a rematch, or add Page to the match for a triple threat main event at AEW All Out – CM Punk vs Jon Moxley vs Adam Page for the AEW Championship.