AEW Five Fingers of Death (and Friends) 12/15 - 12/21

AEW Dynamite 12/17/25

Jon Moxley vs Roderick Strong

MD: Jon Moxley is going to try to wrestle his way through it.

And why not? Kris Statlander did. Last year she was palling about with Stokely and betraying her best friend and bullying people. Did she ever outright turn face? Was there a moment where she was accepted and forgiven? She won the title listening to his advice, but by that point, the fans were already supporting her again, gave her that big "You deserve it chant." By the time she clocked Yuta, refused the Death Riders' offer, and ran from the ring, it was already said and done. And why? Because she won, that's why.

And then there's Hangman Page. He started the year an erratic mess. He ended Christopher Daniel's career. Brutally. But then he kept on winning and winning, and as the Owen went on, the fans started to flock back to him. He took it all the way to All In, had the entire babyface locker out to support him (which is the only reason why he beat Mox, of course), and then and only then, after he took the championship, after the fans had already come around to him, after he got his old music back even, did he give that promo making amends. And they accepted it without a second thought, and why? Because he won, that's why.

So that's the message. It's 2025. It doesn't matter what you did. You wrestle through it. You win. And they'll forgive you of anything. At least, that's the way Mox sees it.

So that's what he'll do. All that quitting? That's behind him. The C2 is the perfect place to remind everyone just who he is, the warrior that he is, the man that held the company on his shoulders again and again, five of the best in the world in his league, no interference, no excuses, steel up against steel, and in the face of that, who's going to deny what they see before their own eyes?

Sure, his ankle hurts, a painful reminder of that quitting he's trying to sweep under the rug. And Claudio beat him, but then on any night, any wrestler can beat any other wrestler, and he only surrounded himself with the best, and he was on the verge of mathematical elimination, but that's when he did his best work, back against the wall, world against him, all by himself. 

He'd just wrestle through it.

Helping him along the way was the torment in Roderick Strong's heart. He too was a champion, a warrior, a hero in his own mind, a man trapped in a world he did not make, attached at the waist to misfits and goofballs. Maybe it made sense when Kyle was still active, but he had been taken out, though not before winning the war against Moxley. Despite how good he was, despite how much he had accomplished, despite going 2-2 lifetime with Mox, in the eyes of the fans, the matchmakers, history, he was second tier, a B+, the very best of the second best. He too was on the verge of mathematical elimination, yet with so much still to prove (despite spending his whole life proving it time and again). He didn't need to defeat Moxley. He needed to make him submit. And he didn't need to just wrench at his ankle like everyone else. He needed to break his back and make him submit to the Stronghold, his move, his moment, his legacy.

So despite playing with an anklelock early, Strong really didn't target it. At times, Moxley struggled as he moved, stumbling on his way to the top rope, around ringside, even as he forced his way from one side to the other to hit a dive. More often than not, that was enough for Strong to get back in it, but once he was in it, he went straight back to the spine. He went for the Stronghold multiple times, wanting it so badly that Moxley was able to twist and contort and escape the ring. He didn't capitalize on the weakness Kyle had created. He demanded to create a weakness of his own, to win on his terms, to show everyone. 

While the fans were behind him, they were a bit more muted than you might expect from the first match of a Dynamite in a place like Manchester. In wanting it so bad, in needing it so much, he was the one who introduced the stairs, who raked Moxley's back on the top rope. Meanwhile, Moxley was wrestling his way through it, hitting a dive, powering through the pain, going so far as to do a twenty punch on the top. Strong's hunger gave him a symbolic place to occupy, the higher ground, and he moved right in.

And ultimately, it gave him the win as well. With just a couple of minutes left, Strong wanted it too much, rolled into the ring too quickly, and ended up eating a Paradigm Shift. He managed to kick out but not out of the Death Rider that followed. He lost himself to the moment.

Meanwhile, Moxley wrestled through it.

Through it, through the pain, through the fear, through the beating of the Tell-Tale Heart that was Bryan Danielson's career, that ringing in his ears, the constant tap, tap, taping of the raven at his window and all that it represents.

He lived to fight another day, and when there's life, there's hope. Especially for a man who refuses to look down.