In a stunning result during AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam last night, Jon Moxley lost the AEW International Championship to Rey Fenix less than three weeks after winning the title at All Out. Concerns that Moxley may have been injured during the match quickly emerged after slowed-down footage of one of Rey Fenix’s Fenix Drivers seemingly showed the former AEW World Champion landing directly on top of his head during the bout.
Shortly after the show, reports emerged from both PWTorch and the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that Moxley suffered a concussion during his title defense. Both outlets claim that Moxley actually suffered the concussion before the match even began when he hit his head hard off the floor when Fenix dived off the entrance ramp onto him during the brawl beforehand. This reportedly led to Moxley calling an audible during the bout for Fenix to beat him when he began feeling unwell.
Fenix then hit the first Fenix Driver which was the improvised, on-the-spot finish with Moxley telling referee Rick Knox to count to three. However, Knox was unsure and ended up not counting the pinfall despite Moxley’s shoulders being down, leading the champion to cuss him out. Fenix then hit a second Fenix Driver and Knox quickly counted the pin. After the match, Moxley was diagnosed with a mild concussion backstage and is said to have been feeling much better in the hours since.
Dave Meltzer also clarified that neither of the Fenix Drivers contributed to Moxley’s concussion despite the scary footage circulating on social media, reiterating that his head being hit hard off of the floor from Fenix’s pre-match dive off the ramp was instead the cause. Thankfully, PWTorch’s Wade Keller also reports that Moxley is not expected to be absent from AEW for very long due to the injury, if at all.