Let's talk.

For me, I finally figured out why the Death Riders storyline hasn't hit as high it should: They are goofy cowards, especially Jon Moxley.

When this first started, Mox interrupted the program, attempted murder on Danielson, and just viciously beat on whoever they wanted. That's all well and good, I enjoyed it. However, since this past month, there has been a clear change to Mox's character and instincts with this story. He's running away from the fight, especially the ones he starts.

I thought about this during yesterday's Collision when Powerhouse Hobbs cleaned house....why IS Mox backing away? Why does he allow Shafir to be collateral? Why is not confident enough to clearly state his purpose for all this? You may say he's been a heel and I get that but that doesn't mean you abandon Mox's core as a character. Think about it. For the most part with the BCC, even as pseudo heels, it was Danielson or Claudio backing him off. Mox was ready to fight, even if it wasn't favorable. That's what made him a unique entity.

Now, Mox is deliberately cowering away from his supposed mission and it makes the Death Riders look like pretend badasses. From what looked to be an imposing threat to the AEW ethos, it has now become a Saturday morning cartoon villain group and it defangs any seriousness this could have had. Where are the top stars other than Darby? Why are they teaming with Chris Jericho, the antithesis of his supposed mission? Why are the damn Outrunners being prominent spots in the story? It's ridiculous.

Having said all that, you can still salvage this story to make it close out strong but it will take a lot of work and trust that AEW has been siphoning away recently. Tony Khan isn't stupid, he knows he can and should be better than this. I do have a question for him that's been on my mind lately: If TK is truly honest with himself, does he acknowledge the current AEW product as an alternative and if he doesn't, is he ok to live with that?

If you're reading this, calm down. This isn't me saying "AEW bad" or saying I'm done with them or declaring it's over. I lived through WCW 2000 (unlike many who mention it here daily) and TNA in the Destination America/Pop TV era. AEW is nowhere close to that level yet, ignore people saying otherwise. I still enjoy much of the product from Ospreay, Omega back, Swerve, Hurt Business, Willow, Garcia, Callis Family, etc. but it is clear that there is a big problem with the company's direction right now and there is also an evident disconnect between the actual fans (not the bad faith ones) and AEW.

Can AEW realize the problem and get back to what made them undeniable? Only TK can answer that but it's clear the Death Riders isn't one.