Tony Khan Explains Why the Time Was Right To Push Darby Allin as AEW World Champion, the Evolution of Jon Moxley

During a recent edition of the Battleground Podcast ahead of tonight’s Dynamite, AEW President Tony Khan discussed why the time was right to push Darby Allin as the AEW World Champion, and the metamorphosis of Jon Moxley. Below are some highlights:

Tony Khan on What Made Now the Right Time To Make Darby Allin the AEW World Champion

“Well, I think right now, Darby Allin is red hot. He is the person who had the guts to step up and fight MJF. He’s a person who successfully maybe outsmarted MJF, outworked MJF for sure, and was able to take the championship. We’ve seen a long line of wrestlers line up now that want a shot at Darby Allin and that championship, and that suits Darby Allin very uniquely. We’ve seen when Darby Allin was the TNT Champion multiple times. This is a guy who takes on all comers, who will fight anybody, any place, any time, and we have so many great wrestlers here in AEW willing to step up to the challenge.

“Darby’s first defense of the championship, I thought, was a phenomenal match. Darby Allin, last week, versus Tommaso Ciampa for the world title was an incredible main event, in my opinion, on Dynamite last week. And this is the kind of pace Darby Allin fights when he’s a champion. We’ve seen this before with Darby, but never as the world champion until right now. It’s really amazing to see him in this mode as a world champion that will take on anybody and is willing to take on great matches every single week on AEW TV.”

On the Metamorphosis of Jon Moxley

“Well, Jon is one of the most captivating TV personalities I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen Jon Moxley bring wrestling fans to the screen every week. He’s very captivating, and now we’ve seen Jon Moxley take a fascination in Will Ospreay. We saw Will Ospreay leaving with the Death Riders, not his personal choice, at that point, last week. And then this past week, it was very interesting; our camera crew was able to follow and get footage of the Death Riders speaking to Will Ospreay. Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay, it was a very interesting conversation, and some really interesting things Jon Moxley had to say this past Saturday on AEW Collision, and I’ll be really interested in following up on that in the weeks to come.”

“Jon Moxley has been in AEW from the very first show. When he arrived in AEW at Double or Nothing, our first-ever event, it was a perfect way to end our first show, and Jon Moxley is someone who’s been here since day one. He has reinvented himself. He has changed, and to see where we were at the start of 2025 with Jon Moxley as the biggest villain in AEW, the man who was the world champion at the time and held the world championship hostage, and was the biggest villain in AEW, and it felt at times that he was almost trying to take down AEW, holding the belt in a briefcase, but that was the opposite of what Jon was trying to do. And then it became apparent that Jon Moxley was waiting for someone to step up to him. He was forcing people to step up to him. He was making people better, and then he went into the Continental Classic. Some people thought Jon was at a low point, but actually, Jon was seeing things clearly for the first time in a long time.”

“And Jon won through the Continental Classic, and at the beginning, a lot of people would still consider Jon as AEW’s biggest villain. Yet through the tournament, as it went on, people got behind Jon. And when we got to Worlds End, Jon became the crowd favorite in the tournament. And it was the first time in a long time that we had a building of fans chanting ‘Moxley, Moxley!’ And then, when Moxley won the Continental Classic, at the end of the tournament, the speech that he gave in many ways was the complete opposite of everything Jon had said a year earlier about AEW because he had created and forced the change he had wanted to see. And when he spoke glowingly and said AEW was the best wrestling company in the world and gave these passionate speech at the end of his Continental Classic victory, that was one of the greatest wrestling interviews, just in my opinion, I’ve heard. And the way that the crowd got behind Jon, even though they didn’t realize that’s what was going to happen at the start of this tournament, I thought it was incredible.”

On Jon Moxley Redeeming Himself

“I really thought Jon Moxley ended the year on the highest of notes, becoming Continental Champion and redeeming himself in the eyes of a lot of fans, who thought Jon had gone to a dark place. And now the fans cheer for Jon Moxley again, whether he’s doing the right thing or not. And in this case, I think he’s doing something very interesting, and it remains to be seen what the future holds with Will Ospreay and the Death Riders, but it’s a very interesting thing that’s happening right now. And Jon Moxley is so important to AEW. Will Ospreay is so important to AEW, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for the Death Riders.”

Darby Allin will be in action later tonight on AEW Dynamite, defending the AEW World Title against Brody King. Tonight’s show is being held at the Eaglebank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia. It will air live on TBS starting at 8:00 pm ET.

If using any of the above quotes, please credit the Battleground Podcast, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.