Jon Moxley's Death Riders and the AEW, WWE Storylines Running Out of Steam

The great thing about pro wrestling is it's never too late to reinvent someone or change direction.

They can't all be winners, right? Sometimes you must know when to pivot when something isn't working and go in a different direction. That isn't always easy when you've invested so much time into a storyline, but it's often for the best.

Surely, most wrestling fans can think of a storyline that went on for too long or jumped the proverbial shark. We can all remember how agonizing it became and the relief that came after it finally ended.

A reset can often revitalize the wrestlers involved and draw apathetic viewers back in. Consider what Roman Reigns' heel turn did for him in 2020 after an abysmal stretch on SmackDown including his feud with King Corbin. Let's all thank our lucky stars that he went on that five-month hiatus and came back as The Tribal Chief.

With that in mind, let's look at a few AEW and WWE storylines that aren't hitting the mark right now.

The Judgement Day and Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio's Romance

The Judgement Day had a great run, but it's time for these wrestlers to go their separate ways.

This stable has run its course. We're ready to see Finn Balor do more as a singles competitor and leave the vestige of this group behind. WWE has also milked the love triangle between Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, and Dominik Mysterio for all its worth.

Now that The Eradicator finally tied up this loose end on the debut episode of Raw on Netflix, Morgan should reveal she was just using Dom all along. Move forward with the former women's world champion and Raquel Rodriguez as a pairing.

The two would fit perfectly in the women's tag division, but more than anything it would be nice to see Morgan in a new feud after a long-term storyline with Ripley. Frankly, everyone involved could use the change of pace at this point.

MJF vs. Jeff Jarrett

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Jeff Jarrett isn't exactly the start of 2025 most AEW fans hoped for after a few misfires last year.

Nevertheless, their first exchange from the Jan. 8 episode of Dynamite was enjoyable, and the back-and-forth from the following week started well. However, the 14-minute in-ring segment went on far too long and came crashing down by the end.

It effectively quelled any interest in this rivalry and left many fans hoping this side quest for Friedman would end sooner than most of his feuds. One could argue that two weeks isn't enough time to judge the trajectory of this storyline, but their last encounter was such a massive misstep during a polarizing show.

Luckily, it seems like MJF could pivot to a long-overdue rematch with "Hangman" Adam Page for the latest edition of AEW's flagship series. Jarrett also showed remorse as The Salt of the Earth brought out the worst in him during their last war of words and set his sights on Jon Moxley.

Hopefully, this match-up will not make it to Revolution at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA, on March 9. End this feud as soon as possible.

Jon Moxley and the Death Riders

Moxley has been one of the most consistent and dependable wrestlers on the AEW roster, but his current world title run has become a slog.

His cryptic appeal to the locker room and drive to save Bryan Danielson from himself during the build to WrestleDream was compelling. His pairing with Marina Shafir and Blackpool Combat Club's evolution into the Death Riders also showed promise.

If nothing else, the group passed the eye test because, after they removed Danielson, they looked like the biggest threat to the company's future. Unfortunately, AEW has done little to flesh out its characters or explain its motives.

PAC, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta are also excellent wrestlers, but they may as well be nameless minions because they haven't developed much as characters since last August. Their beatdown segments and Mox's promo have grown repetitive, and we haven't learned anything new about them since he rechristened them the Death Riders.

The main event of World Ends was solid, but the ending was the low point of an otherwise superb pay-per-view. Unfortunately, this has become a pattern ever since. The world title isn't visible, and the story surrounding it is often the weakest part of the company's weekly programming.

Early on, Darby Allin seemed destined to end Moxley's hostile takeover, but the 32-year-old will reportedly be out of action for the next few months as he trains to climb Mt. Everest. At this rate, AEW can't keep this storyline going that long in this fashion.

It's time to pivot to a new champion or devote more time to the character work that will fill in the blanks that aren't connecting. More importantly, the company has to offer something unique to its product, and this isn't exactly it.