Jon Moxley retained the AEW Continental Championship against Mark Davis in an emotional match at WrestleDream, with the memory of PAC woven throughout the presentation.
Before Moxley made his entrance Saturday at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, Renee Paquette spoke about the grief experienced by the Death Riders since Ben Satterley’s death.
Paquette said the group had been “grieving in real time” for the past three weeks, adding that Moxley had carried much of that weight.
“Just because somebody is strong enough to carry something doesn’t mean that it’s not heavy on them,” she said.
Moxley then gathered with the Death Riders for their customary pre-match huddle. A towel honoring PAC was draped over the railing beside them.
Davis controlled much of the early going and opened a wound near Moxley’s eye, leaving the champion bleeding heavily. The challenger later delivered a piledriver on the edge of the ring apron, with Moxley barely beating referee Paul Turner’s count.
Davis immediately sent him back to the floor with an enzuigiri. Marina Shafir and Daniel Garcia then appeared behind the barricade and encouraged their teammate as Moxley struggled to continue.
Moxley eventually returned to the ring and the crowd rallied behind him as the match developed into an exchange of forearms, headbutts and submission attempts.
The connection to PAC continued late in the contest when Moxley trapped Davis in the Brutalizer, a submission closely associated with his late Death Riders teammate.
Davis escaped, but Moxley transitioned through a Bulldog Choke and ultimately applied a rear naked choke with body scissors. Davis briefly fought back to his feet before fading and falling face-first to the mat, prompting Turner to stop the match.
The Death Riders immediately came to ringside. Moxley repeatedly struck a chair against the steel steps before collapsing at the feet of his teammates, then appeared overcome with emotion as he paced around ringside.
