Rey Fenix won the International Championship on the September 20, 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite, defeating the extremely popular reigning champion Jon Moxley. Thing is, that wasn't supposed to happen.
Wrestling is where the unpredictable meets the predetermined. There are ugly, recent examples of that happening recently that I don't want to get into. Especially when there's a much more interesting one unfolding right now in AEW that I want to talk about.
Rey Fenix, the wrong man on the right night, scored the most unexpected 1-2-3 of his career on Wednesday. The pinfall win secured Fenix both the victory and the belt from then-reigning Jon Moxley who was expected to hold the title for months. Those plans crashed with reality and cement when Moxley wasn't able to fully protect his head after being knocked to the ground by a dive from the ramp by Rey Fenix. Moxley's bell had been rang before the timekeeper even had their say.
Watching it back reveals Mox's disoriented stumbling wasn't him selling (pretending to be hurt) for the audience--he briefly got the lights turned out. Moxley had suffered a minor concussion, and the story of the most interesting belt in the company was about to take a sudden turn. Before the official start of the contest, the chain of events leading to the match's shocking final seconds was already in motion.
Despite seemingly recovering from his early disorientation, Moxley made a decision in the match's closing stretch that he couldn't finish the match as planned in his condition. Instead of winning the match and keeping the International Championship belt--the originally agreed-upon finish--Jon Moxley made a call in the ring to take a rare pinfall loss to give Rey Fenix the victory and the title.
That wasn't a decision made in the writing room. That happened live.
Let's not undersell it, here. For Jon Moxley--the person, not the wrestler--this was a choice. Mox didn't know the severity of the injury. He didn't know what might happen if he kept the belt. Could he risk cooling off a hot belt by sitting out a long recovery? Possibly vacate the title if the injury was severe? That's never an ideal situation. Or Moxley could take his chances. He's one of AEW's biggest stars. Nobody would've questioned Mox for making the selfish bet on the injury being minor. There was always a chance he'd be cleared by doctors and back on TV in two weeks. He didn't know.
Instead, Jon Moxley passed the baton, unselfishly dropping the title to a talented wrestler worthy of the the belt (and vice-versa). It was a statement and an endorsement. Moxley was telling the audience, "This is the guy." And Jon Moxley made that decision because it was good for wrestling, not because it was good for Jon Moxley. For as selfish as and cutthroat as the wrestling business can be, wrestling is at its best when everyone looks out for each other. That sometimes means sometimes the story has to follow life's detours.
It's pretty obvious from the tone surrounding coverage that fans, media, and management are all understandably feeling a bit disappointed. We love Jon Moxley! We wanted to see what the belt would bring out of him (and vice-versa). From the perspective of everyone I've seen reporting on the story, the wrong guy won. I don't think that's a productive assessment.
Did the wrong guy win? I mean, Fenix was in the match. He had legitimate bad blood with Mox going back months. In the storyline, Moxley injured Fenix. Now Fenix injured Moxley and took his championship. There are lots of threads here for telling a great story. It's not that the story we wanted got derailed; instead, it's a chance to tell the story nobody expected.
Nobody planned for this to happen, but here we are! Here's your setup: Rey Fenix is a tag wrestler. Why would he win a singles belt? He's a tag guy! You're telling me we now get to tell a story we never thought they'd get a chance to tell? That's amazing! The guy who was never in a million years gonna win the belt won it and we all get to find out what happens next!
So now that it's been confirmed that Mox is okay and we can all breathe easy, can we all just agree that not nearly enough shine has been put on Rey Fenix regarding his role in this story? Or even asked him about what he's feeling or what he thinks of all this? Rey Fenix deserves a spotlight. He's amazing. Please let me gush about Rey Fenix for a second.
So... look, I'm sorry, but I'm just gonna start at the beginning. I'm really sorry, okay? This is just what I am. I'm just like this. But I'm like this because I need to set the stage for why this is an amazing opportunity for Rey Fenix.
Rey Fenix is awesome. For the uninitiated: Rey Fenix is a Mexican lunchador and the real-life little brother of fellow tag team and Lucha Bro, Penta El Zero Miedo ("Zero Fear"). and one-quarter of the greatest tag team spectacle to ever happen in a cage. He's also a human highlight reel. I know Penta gets all the accolades and credit and attention (he admittedly is the better character), but Fenix for me was always the more fun Lucha Brother to watch.
In internet wrestling parlance, you'd call me a "moves guy." There are lots of reasons to love wrestling, but for me it doesn't get better than the big, wild high spots of a match (we just call them "spots"). Flashy, elaborate moves that bring the crowd to their feet. Nobody makes those moments quite like Rey Fenix. I need you to just trust me and watch this. You're not doing anything important, and it will be the most fulfilling 2 minutes of your life.
All on the same page now? Everyone with me? Okay, let's continue.
Rey Fenix is 100% let 'er rip and fortified with vitamin bring-it. Guy did a match where he did a flip off a 16' cage onto some dudes. He got kicked in the head with a knockoff Nike covered in thumbtacks. Dude broke his arm doing a table spot for a TV match. My man just tightrope walks from corner to corner because he found somewhere else he wanted to do the backflip. We as a species have done nothing to deserve Rey Fenix, and yet here he is.
"Oh, but he's a tag guy." Third Party, I hear you. Know what, though? Rey Fenix has been having amazing singles matches for years! "Just on Rampage." Try Rampage, Collision, and Ring of Honor. Yeah, Rey Fenix has won a sarcastic amount of tag team gold in pretty much every country with a ring in it. But he doesn't need his brother to fly with the best! The man does human acrobatic violence like 100 nights a year. He works a lot of singles bouts. He's had tons of great singles matches with some of AEW's top talent. He rises to occasions! He's Rey Fenix!
To hear outlets tell it, to Rey Fenix is man of fractions. He's one-half of one of the greatest tag-teams. He was part of the best tag team cage match. Ironically, the only thing he wasn't considered half of was the match for the International Championship. He was just "Moxley's opponent." Rey Fenix is synonymous with duos gold. This is Fenix's first-ever singles title. Nobody planned for this. This wasn't supposed to happen.
.webp)
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