The prestigious AEW World Championship witnessed a change of guard three times in the year 2024, with Swerve Strickland, Bryan Danielson, and Jon Moxley each holding the belt at different times.
Contrarily, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has revealed that contrary to the vine of rumors suggesting Darby Allin was slated for a World Title run, it had no place in AEW’s blueprint for the year.
According to the same report, this progression, from Strickland to Danielson, and finally culminating with a villainous Moxley, was a well-strategized game plan. These decisions were made well before Moxley’s ascension to the IWGP World Title in April. Only a selective few, namely AEW President Tony Khan, Moxley, Danielson, and Allin were privy to these plans.
Danielson on the other hand, initially showed hesitation to don the champion’s crown and took some convincing from Khan. The AEW President had strongly believed that Danielson’s victory would lead to historically memorable moment at AEW All In London 2024.
Choosing WrestleDream 2024 as his final showdown, Danielson had intentionally kept the reliability of the date under clouds. However, his goal to relinquish the AEW World Title to Moxley was always clear.
Lastly, the rebirth of the Blackpool Combat Club was the brainchild of Moxley himself.