In just a few days, AEW will be heading to Chicago, Illinois, for this year’s edition of its annual pay-per-view, All Out. The Tony Khan-led promotion has announced an absolutely star-studded card for the show, which will feature a number of high-stakes bouts, including a Men’s World Title match between challenger Jon Moxley and defending champion Will Ospreay.
Although the One True King has bounced back from his setbacks in 2025, he is in all likelihood not going to dethrone the Aerial Assassin, who just began his first reign as World Champion by beating Kenny Omega at All In: London. If the Billy Goat successfully avenges his Dynasty 2026 loss to Mox this weekend at All Out, the latter will be forced to return his focus to his Continental Title, which will go on the line again in this year’s Continental Classic.
AEW recently announced the 2026 edition of its end-of-the-year annual tournament for the Continental Championship, triggering speculation as to whether Moxley will be walking into the tourney with the belt still in his possession. Even though the promotion will host at least two more major PPVs after All Out 2026, let us consider three reasons why Mox should still be the defending Continental Champion for this year’s C2.
#1. Jon Moxley’s AEW Continental Title reign deserves a proper conclusion
When Jon Moxley entered the 2025 Continental Classic, he had a lot to prove, having lost not only the AEW Men’s World Title at All In: Texas, but also having suffered major losses to Darby Allin and Kyle O’Reilly via submission. Despite a strong start in the Blue League with a win over Mascara Dorada, he faced a couple of massive setbacks, losing to Konosuke Takeshita and to his own stablemate, Claudio Castagnoli. The Cincinnati native stayed alive in the tourney, however, by scoring wins over Roderick Strong and Orange Cassidy.
With nine points in his bag, Mox managed to advance to the semifinals of last year’s C2, where he defeated Kyle Fletcher before beating Kazuchika Okada in the final round to become the new AEW Continental Champion. Throughout the first half of 2026, the original Death Rider has defended his strap against all comers, in eliminator bouts and in more standard title matches, retaining against Konosuke Takeshita, Will Ospreay, Kyle O’Reilly, ROH World Champion Bandido, and many more.
Moxley proved his mettle once again this year by putting the Continental Championship on the line in the first-ever Continental Challenge Cup. He defeated Jack Perry in the opening round, and afterwards beat Jay White in the quarterfinals. Despite some apparent uncertainty, the founder of the Death Riders proceeded to avenge his 2025 C2 loss to Claudio Castagnoli by defeating him in the semis, ultimately retaining his title by submitting Nigel McGuinness in the finals of the C3 at All In: London.
Jon Moxley has held the AEW Continental Championship for around nine months now, and has used his reign as a means to continue his mission of pushing the standard of competition in All Elite Wrestling to a higher level. The “Ace” of All Elite Wrestling should therefore hold on to his belt until the 2026 Continental Classic to extend this story and bring it to an appropriate conclusion on a worthwhile platform like the C2, instead of simply dropping the title in a one-on-one pay-per-view match.
#2. Jon Moxley’s former opponents may want to unseat him in the Continental Classic
The end of a memorable title reign in wrestling is ideally connected in some way to its beginning. Jon Moxley’s Continental Championship run began with his campaign in the 2025 Continental Classic. As such, for the sake of symmetry, the wrestler to dethrone him for his belt should be someone who, like Mox, participates in the 2026 edition of the tournament, and possibly even defeats him to win it this year.
More pertinently, several prominent AEW names might enter the 2026 C2 with the intention of unseating the Purveyor of Violence as the AEW Continental Champion, motivated by their history with the latter. The potential list includes stars like Konosuke Takeshita, Bandido, “Switchblade” Jay White, Kyle Fletcher, and even 2024 C2 winner Kazuchika Okada and former Men’s World Champion Hangman Adam Page.
Tony Khan could also go with a bolder choice for the next Continental Champion, Moxley’s fellow Death Rider Daniel Garcia, who could put in a gutsy performance throughout the C2, fighting and clawing his way to the finals to finally defeat his mentor one-on-one at Worlds End 2026. After all, the Red Death was chasing a win over Mox before joining the Death Riders, and beating him to win the Continental Classic would greatly elevate Garcia as a top prospect while also bringing their story full circle.
#3. The Death Riders could eject Jon Moxley as their leader at Worlds End 2026
For over a year now, fans have been waiting for the Death Riders to turn their back on Jon Moxley. Viewers were anticipating his ejection after he lost his AEW Men’s World Title to Hangman Page at All In: Texas, and his situation seemed especially dire towards the end of 2025, until he seemingly proved himself to his teammates by winning the Continental Classic.
Mox’s Continental Cup win this year may have reasserted his place in the pecking order of his faction at the time, but conflict seemed to rear its head in the Death Riders camp recently, when Gabe Kidd and PAC called out their leader for not allowing them to take out Will Ospreay ahead of their upcoming AEW World Title match at All Out. The Basta*d pointed to the Commonwealth Kingpin’s betrayal of their group at Redemption 2026 and seemingly does not see eye to eye with Moxley on how to retaliate against Ospreay.
The Sky King will most likely retain his Men’s World Championship against Moxley at All Out 2026. This could prompt the Death Riders to kick out the erstwhile Lunatic Fringe; however, a more interesting story would be the stable deciding to give Mox one final chance before that. The latter could, in that case, carry his Continental Title through WrestleDream and Full Gear, and enter the 2026 Continental Classic as the defending champion.
Unlike last year, however, Moxley may fall short in the finals of the C2 at Worlds End 2026, which could be the catalyst for his ejection from the Death Riders at the PPV. Such an angle would be even more appealing if one of his fellow Death Riders, like Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, or Daniel Garcia (as discussed above), had the privilege of dethroning the One True King before his removal.
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Edited by Steffi
