Jon Moxley confronted by released WWE Superstar at a non-AEW event; world title match set for SummerSlam weekend next month
AEW star Jon Moxley recently defended his GCW World Championship at the company's "You Wouldn't Understand" event on June 18, where he met his next challenger.
On Saturday night, The Purveyor of Violence successfully retained his gold against Tony Deppen in a barnburner main event. However, Blake Christian, who previously worked under the name of Trey Baxter in NXT, rained on Mox's parade.
Christian confronted the champion, and their buzzworthy showdown set up a massive first-time-ever match during SummerSlam weekend next month. Jon Moxley will defend his GCW World Championship against Christian at the upcoming The People vs. GCW event on July 29 in Nashville, Tennessee.
IT'S OFFICIAL!!
@_BlakeChristian vs @JonMoxley for the GCW Championship - Friday, July 29th! #GCWYWU https://t.co/f0e2Nrmfut
The Death Rider has held the GCW World Championship since dethroning Matt Cardona at the Art of War Games on September 4, 2021. The 36-year-old has so far made several successful title defenses against veterans like Nick Gage and Homicide.
Moxley's fairytale run with the GCW World Championship is reaching 300 days, which would be the fourth-longest reign in the title's history.
Earlier this year, Christian named Moxley as his bucket list dream opponent. The former NXT Superstar will finally fulfill his desire next month in possibly the biggest match of his career thus far.
What's next for Jon Moxley in AEW?
While Mox's upcoming GCW World Championship defense is still over a month away, he has bigger things on his plate in the next few weeks.
After defeating Casino Battle Royale winner Kyle O'Reilly on Dynamite earlier this month, Jon Moxley punched his ticket to the upcoming AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door.
The Interim #AEW World Championship match at #AEW x @njpwglobal #ForbiddenDoor is official, it will be AEW’s @jonmoxley vs NJPW’s @tanahashi1_100 LIVE on PPV from the @UnitedCenter, Sun, 6/26 @ 8pm ET/ 5pm PT - available on major providers, @BleacherReport,@FiteTV Internationally https://t.co/kpoHyhjEDg
He will face Hiroshi Tanahashi to crown the interim AEW World Champion in CM Punk's absence. The two foes recently confronted each other on the Road Rager edition, and The Jericho Appreciation Society ambushed both men. As a result, Moxley and Tanahashi will face Chris Jericho and Lance Archer on the June 22 episode of AEW Dynamite.
It will be interesting to see how the rivalry between Mox and Tanahashi unfolds before their marquee match-up on June 26.