Tony Khan explains why former WWE star is top pick to be interim AEW World Champion
AEW President Tony Khan explained his reasoning behind putting Jon Moxley directly into the finals on the Dynamite side of the Interim World Title Series.
The Jacksonville-based promotion is set to crown an interim World Champion as the lineal title holder CM Punk has to undergo surgery due to injuries. As a result, the promotion announced an eliminator series, which culminates at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
For a competitor to progress, they first have to win a battle royal to earn the right to face Jon Moxley. It caused some fans to question why the former world champion gets it easier than the rest of the roster.
Khan spoke about his decision on Twitter. He said that in 2022, Moxley and Anthony Ogogo have two of the best records in singles competition. The former WWE Superstar gets preference as he has beaten a higher quality of opponents:
"Jon Moxley is the only AEW wrestler with 7+ 2022 singles bouts undefeated on TV (Dynamite/Rampage/Battle of the Belts) + PPV (Revolution/Double or Nothing). (7-0. Moxley + Anthony Ogogo only undefeated 7-0 records in 2022, Moxley ranked higher based on opponents quality.)"
We might see an NJPW star become the interim AEW World Champion
The AEW Interim World Championship Eliminator finals will take place at the All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) supershow called Forbidden Door.
We're guaranteed to see an NJPW star competing for the championship as Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hirooki Goto are set to collide at Dominion in an eliminator match to compete at the special crossover event.
If one of them can go all the way and become champion at Forbidden Door, we'll see a wrestler being the World Champion of a promotion he's not signed to.
Last year, Kenny Omega and Christian Cage held the IMPACT World Title despite being signed to AEW.
It'll be interesting to see if Hiroshi Tanahashi or Hirooki Hoto walk out of Forbidden Door as the interim AEW World Champion.