Jon Moxley’s Babyface Turn Tied to AEW’s Long-Overdue Image Rebuild

AEW is finally doing what fans and insiders say they should’ve done a long time ago—and Jon Moxley is the face of it.

At Worlds End, Moxley capped off a brutal victory over Kazuchika Okada to win the Continental Classic, but it wasn’t the win that had people talking. It was what happened after. Moxley grabbed the mic and delivered a fired-up, pro-AEW speech that sounded more like a mission statement than a post-match promo.

But according to Wrestling Observer Radio’s Dave Meltzer, this emotional, locker room-rallying moment didn’t just mark Moxley’s full babyface turn—it revealed a calculated move by AEW to reshape its battered public image.

“They’re probably a year late on this,” Meltzer admitted. “They really should have done this a year ago. But they are doing a tremendous job of essentially trying to reverse that negativity that really plagued them badly in late 2023 and throughout a lot of 2024.”

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That negativity, built on real chaos—backstage drama, bad press, and growing fan frustration—took its toll. AEW’s once-invincible momentum had been replaced with questions about leadership and direction.

Now, Moxley is front and center in what feels like a company-wide reset. After grinding through two matches and bleeding for his win, Moxley looked straight into the camera and spoke like a general ready to go to war for the company’s soul.

“To hell with all of this congratulations and sh*t. This belt is here — it doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to everybody in this tournament that busted their ass, gave everything they had every night.”

“It belongs to the people, to the fans who support pro wrestling with their goddamn hard-earned money. We owe it to them to give them everything we have. I owe it to them. I owe it to my teammates.”

Moxley made it clear this wasn’t about ego or storyline—it was about earning it. Every day. Every show.

“We’re the hardest working wrestlers in the world. Everybody in this company who shows up every f**king day and gives everything they’ve got — there’s no other organization in wrestling like AEW. We are the elite of the elite. And we give it one hundred goddamn percent every damn day.”

That promo didn’t just send fans home fired up—it symbolized a tonal shift AEW has been desperate to make. Meltzer picked up on it instantly and tied it to AEW’s larger campaign to rehabilitate its image.

“It’s the perception turnaround they’re into,” Meltzer said. “Just going like, over and over: ‘We had a great year. We had the biggest shows. We had the best wrestlers. We had the best matches.’”

And it’s no coincidence that this moment came wrapped in Moxley’s blood, sweat, and everyman fury. AEW didn’t just need a star—it needed a statement. Moxley gave them both. After a messy 2023 and a challenging 2024, AEW may finally be on the rebound—but it took a long time to get here.

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