Jon Moxley Destroys CM Punk On August 24, 2022

Jon Moxley destroyed CM Punk in a quick squash match to win the AEW Undisputed World Championship on AEW Dynamite. Punk’s loss was attributed to his leg injury, per storyline, as Moxley capitalized on an early ankle injury, however it’s likely that this was some sort of punishment or CM Punk stemming from the drama behind his apparent shoot promo against Hangman Adam Page from last week. Punk’s quick loss wasn’t even in the main event of AEW Dynamite as it took place at the top of the 6:00 pm PST hour.

AEW Dynamite advertised one of its biggest main events in history as AEW world champion CM Punk faced AEW interim world champion Jon Moxley for the undisputed AEW World Championship. Dynamite also advertised a potential split between the Jericho Appreciation Society, namely Daniel Garcia leaving the group. A newsworthy AEW Dynamite also saw Thunder Rosa announce she was injured, forcing AEW to crown an interim women’s world champion at AEW All Out.

Moxley’s rout of Punk came after a stretch where AEW’s numbers are softening on a year-to-year basis. One year after the debut of CM Punk on AEW Rampage, which garnered a whopping 1.1 million viewers, Friday’s CM Punk-less broadcast of Rampage drew just 461,000 viewers. As AEW continues to be overshadowed by the Triple H era, Punk vs. Moxley is overshadowed by CM Punk’s controversial shoot promo on Hangman Adam Page to open AEW Dynamite last week, which likely played a hand in the shockingly quick match.

In his first promo since returning, Punk rehashed an old wound by addressing Page’s comments about saving AEW from CM Punk. With tensions continuing to rise within AEW’s locker room, AEW President Tony Khan reportedly held a backstage talent meeting on Wednesday ahead of Dynamite from Cleveland, Ohio.

Last week’s “House of the Dragon” broadcast of AEW Dynamite garnered 957,000.

AEW Dynamite Results

• Jay Lethal def. Dax Harwood
• Colten Gunn def. Billy Gunn
• Britt Baker def. Kilynn King
• Jon Moxley def. CM Punk | AEW Undisputed World Championship
• United Empire def. Death Triangle

AEW Dynamite Ratings

• August 17, 2022 | 957,000
• August 10, 2022 | 972,000
• August 3, 2022 | 938,000
• July 27, 2022 | 976,000
• July 20, 2022 | 910,000

• AEW Dynamite Venue: Wolstein Center (Cleveland, Ohio)
• AEW Tickets Distributed: 4,667
• AEW Tickets Available: 1,875

AEW Dynamite Highlights | August 24, 2022

Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson Announced for All Out

The people were very much behind Daniel Garcia, but they went politely silent when he said people were saying his match against Bryan Danielson was one of the best in Dynamite history.

This was easily the best promo of Daniel Garcia’s career, but I’m still not convinced he should be a babyface so soon after joining the JAS.

Chris Jericho saying “technical sports entertainer” got so much heat.

Jay Lethal def. Dax Harwood

Dax Harwood and Jay Lethal were working at a deliberate pace throughout this match, to the point where eve Jim Ross was encouraging them to speed it up.

Jay Lethal will be teaming with the Motor City Machine Guns for a (random) trios match against FTR and Wardlow at AEW All Out. This after Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson was randomly announced. This whole card is coming out of nowhere.

Following this match, Thunder Rosa announced she would be stepping down as AEW Women’s World champion. AEW will be crowning an interim AEW women’s world champion at AEW All Out.

Colten Gunn def. Billy Gunn

The Acclaimed’s music received a huge pop, and while Max Caster’s rap was strong as usual, his inside-baseball reference to a talent meeting flew right over these fans’ heads.

Billy Gunn tried to tell a story of being conflicted about beating up his son, and Jim Ross hilariously reminded viewers that Gunn was being paid to beat up his son.

Stokely Hathaway gave his business cards to the Gunn Club, which I believe made them official members of his unnamed stable.

Britt Baker def. Kilynn King

Fans wasted no time in chanting “Pittsburgh sucks!” as they rallied behind hometown hero Kilynn King.

This match was the first time in a long time that Britt Baker felt like an actual heel, although there were still people chanting “DMD.” Baker should be one of the favorites to win at All Out, but not as much of a favorite as Toni Storm.

Britt Baker cut a promo after the match, reminding fans that she wrestled her entire title reign with a broken wrist.

Jon Moxley Destroys CM Punk

Surprisingly, this was not the main event as AEW announcers insisted they would be sticking with the action for as long as it took.

CM Punk received a frosty reaction both during the walkout and the ring introductions. Part of this could be attributed to reports of Punk’s recent behavior, but more accurately, the hometown advantage for Moxley.

The match began with dueling chants of “let’s go Moxley/CM Punk,” however they booed Punk loudly when he was on offense early.

Jon Moxley absolutely destroyed CM Punk within seconds as the announcers talked about Punk coming back too soon. This was similar to CM Punk’s UFC bout against Mickey Gall.

In a backstage promo, Jon Moxley said “best in the world my ass,” and talked about people wanting to “write [Jon Moxley’s] obituary when he came back.” Interestingly enough, Moxley also called himself “the guy.”

Rick Starks called out Powerhouse Hobbs in a very good promo, setting up a matchup between him and Hobbs at AEW All Out.

United Empire def. Death Triangle

This match was exactly what it projected to be on paper: A fast-paced match filled with Will Ospreay highlights, but limited emotional connection to most of the wrestlers.

AEW seemed to race through multiple commercial breaks throughout this match, typically just as the crowd was starting to get going.

Between all the impressive high spots, this match might have been responsible for more “oohs” and “aahs” than any in AEW history.

Kip Sabian finally returned, and he certainly didn’t receive the pop of somebody who has been missing for a year. Thankfully, fans eventually recognized him and chanted “Kip!”

Kenny Omega walked out at the end of the show. The announcers talked about how he looked like a mess and questioned whether he was coming back too soon.