A highly anticipated bout between AEW World Champion CM Punk and Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley ended in an unexpected fashion.
CM Punk won the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing 2022 defeating ‘Hangman’ Adam Page in the main event, however, he relinquished the title due to a foot injury suffered on the following episode of AEW Dynamite just a few days later.
The events of Punk giving up the title saw Jon Moxley grabbing the opportunity by defeating Kyle O Reilly, winner of the Casino Battle Royale, earlier in the night to earn the right to challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi at Forbidden Door pay-per-view and defeating the legendary Japanese star to become the interim AEW World Champion.
Moxley was confronted by CM Punk on a special Quake by the Lake episode of Dynamite on August 10, setting up the Title Unification match to crown the Undisputed AEW World Champion.
UNDISPUTED CHAMP 🏆
Jon Moxley defeats CM Punk to become Undisputed @AEW World Champion pic.twitter.com/r4PkICkW5E
Advertisement— B/R Wrestling (@BRWrestling) August 25, 2022
The match’s beginning saw The Best in the World favor his injured foot giving Moxley the opening to deliver two Death Riders on Punk, covering him for the pinfall, winning his record-setting 2nd AEW World title (first Superstar to win the title twice) and becoming the Undisputed AEW World champion in quick succession.
Why did CM Punk get squashed by Jon Moxley in AEW?
CM Punk: Jon Moxley is the third best guy in his own group. That seems to be a reoccurring theme in his career.
Jon Moxley:#AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/UgorjzipXI
— Public Enemies Podcast (@TheEnemiesPE3) August 25, 2022
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According to reports, Moxley didn’t like the original plans for the match to happen at AEW All Out and pitched for tonight’s match. Ryan Frederick confirmed on the Wrestling Observer Board, earlier reported by Sean Ross Sapp that CM Punk is not injured and the plan for Punk vs Moxley is still on for All Out.
We can assume that Moxley was scheduled to lose at the pay-per-view, so going into the match as champion with a crushing victory over Punk makes made more sense in his mind if he is going to lose the title to Punk at AEW All Out 2022.