AEW’s Top Title Scene Ripped Apart as Fan Frustration Boils Over

Matt Hardy isn’t holding back—and he said exactly what a lot of AEW fans were already thinking before the internet erupted over the AEW Dynasty main event finish.

Speaking on his podcast in early April before AEW Dynasty 2025 even aired, Hardy made it clear that the promotion’s top title scene needs a reset. “I think AEW needs a new champion,” Hardy said, adding, “I think they need to have a fresh start in going in a new direction.”

Hardy didn’t dance around it—he brought up Swerve Strickland by name as the guy who should be next in line. “So, yeah, I would be okay with Swerve winning the title,” he explained. “I just think they need to make a decision, and I think they need someone to win the title soon and have something in mind for what sort of story they want to tell around whoever it is, and have something to run with for a few months.”

The comments were recorded just days before Jon Moxley controversially retained the AEW World Championship at Dynasty—thanks in part to interference from The Young Bucks—leading to a massive online backlash. And in a twist of timing, Hardy’s remarks sound even more pointed now.

He also had words about Moxley’s faction, The Death Riders, suggesting their time may be up. “I just feel like the Death Riders thing has almost run its course,” Hardy said, implying that AEW has milked the faction storyline for all it’s worth.

Considering the amount of heat Tony Khan took online after AEW Dynasty—and the fan uproar over the main event booking—Hardy’s words hit differently now. From fans chanting for change to social media dragging Khan through the mud for avoiding any mention of the main event, it’s clear the company is at a crossroads.