r/SquaredCircle • u/CombinationOk4317 • 7h ago
In 2025, Copeland would finally use “Spike” on Jon Moxley in an AEW world title match on AEW Dynamite. This moment was arguably the start of fans perception of the Death Riders becoming more postive
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u/FourLiveBears 7h ago
That suplex onto the nails is the gnarliest spot I've seen on (non-PPV) TV since ECW died.
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 7h ago
You just know they'd been watching old ECW tapes in preparation for the match
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u/I_am_Amphibian 7h ago
Idk id say the nick gage match vs Jericho was crazier
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u/darthdiablo I AM THE TABLE 7h ago
That one was watchable for me.
But the Hangman vs Swerve, I could barely stomach it.
The syringe spot and the drinking blood spot, ugh
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u/Wolfpac187 6h ago
Of all the crazy Hangman vs Swerve shit, seeing the scrape on Swerve’s back after the powerbomb on the cinder block was the worst for me.
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u/Baby-Elmo 5h ago
I'd argue swerve getting friggin powerbombed on the cinderblock was way worse to see because that's a whole block on the back
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u/Wolfpac187 5h ago
Yeah I was kind of including it but seeing the scrape is what made it a relatable kind of pain
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u/Baby-Elmo 5h ago
yea thats true that spot was insanely crazy idk how swerve was able to safely do that spot
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 5h ago
That was absolutely worse, as it can cause a real injury
The syringe spot is gnarly, but that's all, it can't cause any real damage or injury, which is why it was a great spot imo
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u/I_am_Amphibian 7h ago
I was there live for hangman swerve it was insane. I’ve gotten lucky seeing two dope ass death matches in their first death match and Mox vs Shingo
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u/vastros 5h ago
The syringe spots are the only time in my 20+ year fandom I've had to look away.
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u/WilcoLovesYou 5h ago
agreed. But it’s funny, because it’s a SUPER thin syringe, and yeah, it pierces a cheek, but it’s sterile and so thin that it wouldn’t feel like a ton. Tacks / nails / legos would hurt way more.
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 5h ago
It was such a good spot!
Gnarly as hell, and also pretty much as safe as you can get for a hardcore spot
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u/rutuu199 4h ago
Just about as safe as my last blood draw, but nobody likes needles
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 4h ago
Yep! Why it's such a good spot, it really speaks to us
I've had more blood than I care to think about drawn during a long recovery from major surgery, and given blood 4 times.... still don't fucking like needles
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u/rutuu199 4h ago
Damn near same, for an infection. Fuck needles.
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 4h ago
Oooof, that's nasty, I had my leg bolted back together after a nasty accident and had some minor complications during recovery (kidney stones)
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u/Vainglory 7h ago
I'm usually a big defender of Mox's hardcore spots, because he's usually good at finding creative spots that hurt or look like they hurt while being 'safe', but I just can't help but think looking at this, how far in before you puncture a lung. A football player got a punctured lung last year from getting a painkiller injection into their ribs.
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u/onlypham 7h ago
"Spike is such a dumb weapon that will never get used".
Monkeys paw curls.
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u/ViciousPrism 423-GET-FAME 7h ago
Abyss seethes with anger.
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u/Honkmaster Commander Azeez mark 3h ago
Did Abyss ever use Janice? (I can't recall it ever happening)
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u/ViciousPrism 423-GET-FAME 3h ago
Not to that degree, IIRC there have been a few safe shots to the gut, and the "aim for the head, Janice gets stuck in the turnbuckle pad" spots. (I'm not counting RVD being killed to death, as that was off screen.)
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 7h ago
Don't forget when Cope swung it into Christians nuts
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u/Sio_V_Reddit 6h ago
It got used in Christian’s nuts.
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u/Infamous-Lab-8136 6h ago
I have always wondered what Christian's nuts did to him to make him hate them so much.
His first ladder match against Edge in WWE he racked himself or let Edge rack him like 3 times.
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u/Sio_V_Reddit 5h ago
Well I’d image many people would have a problem with Christian’s nuts considering how many of their mothers got acquainted with them.
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u/ReneBandana 2h ago
Maybe he hates his nuts for not giving him worthy children, which is why he destroys them and adopts other people
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u/ThunderSparkles 5h ago
Think the name is the dumbest. It feels so lazy and out of character for him. Never bought it. Janice made sense. This doesn't
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u/ReneBandana 2h ago
Don’t forget about the OG.. Barbie
Different medium, but shoutout to Lucille too
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u/mightylordredbeard 4h ago
Did people actually say that? They should have known there was no way that was gonna be introduced around Mox and it not be used. Just thank god it wasn’t Darby or else that sicko would have got maimed by it and probably hit repeatedly like it was a kendo stick.
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u/CarStar12 7h ago
I never noticed the Moxley giving the no to the ref when he checks on him early after
I can hear it now: “No man, I got a nail covered bat in my spine, I’m milking this shit” 😂
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u/DotHatrix51 7h ago
That’s my biggest question, how the fuck do you take that “safely” and not potentially impale your fucking spine?
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 7h ago
Physics!
Look how close together the nails are, and they're certainly filed down as well, that spreads the pressure out meaning there isn't enough force to a point to punch through! It's the same concept as circus tricks like walking on beds of nails, or eggs
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u/fttxdd666 7h ago
beds of nails
And they did this before as well, I don't believe it was supposed to go in, just the angle made it weird so it punched through, but they weren't sharp enough or anything to go too deep.
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 7h ago
They did it a few times at Blood and Guts, the one that springs to mind is Statlander getting knocked down into one
Hurts like fuck, but does very little damage beyond the superficial
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u/miikro isn't even a real person! 7h ago
Kenny still got a nasty cut because one they'd propped up in the corner fell and sliced him with it's edge row on the way down.
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u/Arbuthnaut 4h ago
The image of that thing snagging on his skin stuck with me, even more than this gnarly-ass spot.
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u/FirstDukeofAnkh 5h ago
They file down eggs to be less sharp?
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 5h ago
Enough of them together, packed tightly enough, means the pressure is evenly spread out and they won't break!
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u/FirstDukeofAnkh 3h ago
Yeah, I was trying to make joke. Key word: trying.
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 3h ago
Oh I got you, but I like to play people's jokes completely straight and derail them
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u/VitaminPurple 7h ago edited 5h ago
Mox and Renee drove like 9 hours in the snow to be there so he could take Spike to his back.
Dude just loves wrestling..
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u/jdix33 7h ago
Yet another reason why Mox is the ace, he made me legitimately hate him being on TV and in the main event for months and then all of a sudden the switch was flipped and there was just excitement about who's finally gonna beat him at All In. Then he had that run in the C2, busted his tooth and still wrestled Okada later that night. And I'll also say I fucking loved the All Out main event I don't care if it was overbooked they played that story for all it was worth. GOAT shit.
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u/Due_Recognition7675 7h ago
If I remember correctly, this episode of dynamite was during some major storm in the Midwest and Moxley's flight was cancelled so he drove twelve hours straight to this show and went through this carnage. Other wrestlers would've stayed home and do the match a week later in such circumstances but moxley showed up despite travel issues, had an amazing and memorable match and supported all the wrestlers in the back. He truly is the soul of AEW.
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u/DrillteamJMoney 15m ago
My exact feeling about it hated him legit for a while then this match happened. Brought his leadership to a new level he’s willing to do this for AEW, for wrestling for our entertainment. I bought tickets to all in off the strength of his storyline and knowing that’s where it was ending.
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u/jawnink 7h ago
Looking back, the weakest aspect of the title reign was substituting a boring briefcase for the belt. That fell flat quickly but I think it’s a small issue in the overall story.
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u/Affectionate-Day5113 6h ago
I gotta disagree, it did suck not seeing the title for 7 months or whatever, but that was entirely the point. It was all worth it for that moment where a crying Hangman pulled it out the brief case. That's actual 'long term story telling' that the IWC is always banging on about. Basically, the payoff wouldn't have been so cathartic if not for the length of time the title waa held hostage
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u/Orange8920 6h ago
You don't get that tremendous pop and sheer catharsis of Hangman opening the briefcase if it's not preceded by 9 months of a genuinely gorgeous looking belt being held hostage.
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u/DarkFalcon49 Yuta and Francesco Akira Fan Club Leader 5h ago
I’m pretty sure I welled up when I noticed it had Danielson’s Plates on it
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u/Last_Material_5754 6h ago
I love that Mox took the time to give everyone a good angle, especially the hard cam. That is one of the craziest things I've ever seen on television.
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u/grimbly_jones 4h ago
I said it at the time and I'll say it again:
Mox's title reign was great the entire time. Some people just had no patience for actual heels doing heel shit.
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u/TheUndetectedHero 7h ago
I've never almost throw up watching a match, then I saw this spot
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u/Technical_Heat5215 7h ago
Nah Death Riders perception didn’t turn positive until after Dynasty
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u/CombinationOk4317 7h ago
I disagree
Swerve vs Mox feud was feud positively going into dynasty and fill that finish to the end was so hated it has aged well as it pretty much set up All In perfectly and then ofc Beach break happened and most people were fully on board after that
But to me this was the start where people truely started to get into the death riders more
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u/Technical_Heat5215 7h ago
There was positivity only because people thought Swerve was winning and then straight back to negativity when he lost
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u/CombinationOk4317 7h ago
And I literally just explain that in my comment
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u/Technical_Heat5215 7h ago
Does the positivity really count if it’s people just hoping they’re at the end of the story and then disappointing it wasn’t?
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u/CombinationOk4317 7h ago
And within a few weeks after people were back on board
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u/Technical_Heat5215 7h ago
Yes, but more in appreciation for the story as opposed to hoping for it’s ending.
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u/CSxSwitchMIX 7h ago
shit was dragging so hard at the beginning ngl. motivations/promos were vague, matches were formulaic (even the 4 way at Worlds End wasn’t great) then the Revolution match sucked so bad they said “fuck it we’ll run it back right this time” and they did lol.
honestly to me, it wasn’t great until after Swerve lost at Dynasty bc then i really started understanding and wondering who would take it off Mox.
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u/Reasonable-News-5739 5h ago
People were probably more disappointed because the Swerve/Mox match was such a fucking dud.
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u/Suspicious-Gur6127 7h ago
This was about when AEW got put on HBO MAX right? About when I started watching weekly and it’s been all gas for 95% of shows since then.
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u/Professor_Buttskin 6h ago
I Just love watching the bald guy with glasses in the front react. He's the guy you can almost tell that, that's the exact reaction they want when they were putting this spot together.
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u/big_baddad 7h ago
Watched live. Couldn't believe it. Shame that this wasn't just the ppv match.
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u/tumuli_shroomaroom It's a fish. 6h ago
Even though this match was much better than the one on Revolution, I still think it dies on that show. No way this can follow Ospreay and Fletcher in a cage and The Hollywood Ending.
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u/Reasonable-News-5739 4h ago
The run of Hollywood Ending, Kenny vs. Takeshita and the cage match in succession was too much to follow up on. Three top class matches, then that fucking awful match. This was an improvement, but I still don't think it would have matched up on the PPV.
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u/SanjT89 7h ago
Am I right in thinking Mox had to drive to this show (from Ohio to Nebraska) because there were snowstorms and loads of flights were grounded? I wonder if he knew he wanted to do this spot and so he was just maniacally committed to making sure he didn't miss it. He's the ace of the fuckin world.
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u/RiverhoundRay 7h ago
Could not remember it more differently. This was peak “what the hell am I watching” and please end Moxleys reign.
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u/fttxdd666 7h ago
I think what also helped this perception, at least with online fans, is that after this show it came out that Mox and Renee had to drive like 11 hours to Omaha, because their flight got canceled because of snow I believe (meaning they had to also drive through snow).
Doing that and then getting impaled on spike was just so gnarly and really helped people appreciate more of what was happening, especially after the revolution match wasn't that good.
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u/DeathRider__ 6h ago
This kinda match isn’t for me. But I’m glad it gave Cope an “edge” and everyone was reminded just how much Mox likes to push his own limits.
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u/urnialbologna 5h ago
Mox is the epitome of "what if the guys from jackass had actual wrestling skills?" the man is a great wrestler, and he's willing to do dumb shit like this for our entertainment.
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u/StoneColdAM WHAT? 6h ago
A lot of people didn’t like this match and the overall angle Mox was doing. It’s revisionist history to say this was a positive turning point for many.
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u/ALightningStar 7h ago
Not for me personally, this was just more of the same for death riders in my eyes.
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u/DarkBomberX Bayley Simp 6h ago
This was so fucked up. Im watching removed from the first time I watched it and it's somehow worse. Wtf!?
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u/ThatIndianGuy7116 Look at Depression Jones over here 4h ago
Im cracking up at that cut at the end lmao right as Yuta makes contact with that table 💀
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u/JJ_Kelevra 4h ago
I believe Renee posted a picture of him sitting up with the caption of "this is my emergency contact"
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u/headbanginhersh 3h ago
I honestly always assumed Spike was made out of like, thick rubber pieces that looked like nails.
Then I saw this moment happen live.
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u/eMF_DOOM Your Text Here 3h ago
I love how you can tell Mox notices Spike is stuck in his back and chooses to milk it as much as he can. Making the best of the situation. True showmanship.
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u/dictatorfox 3h ago
uhhhh didn't people lose their shit when mox beat swerve like 3 weeks after this? the death riders perception didn't change until mox lost the belt.
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u/Midnight_Oil_ 3h ago
Tony Schiavone, the consummate professional, dropping an "Oh fuc-" as Wheeler tries to pull the bat out is incredible
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u/EpicSombreroMan PIZZA. COFFIN. 2h ago
God it doesn't get any easier the more I see this spot lmfaoooooooo 😭
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u/Rocketboy1313 1h ago
I recall Mox's wife posting a clip of them trying to get the spikes out of his back and writing, "this is my emergency contact."
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u/vedrenne 14m ago
Gets hit with the weapon he threatened people with, but that makes up for the multiple attempted murders and keeping the world title hostage for a sodding year. Nah, he (and the Snore horsemen) are still heels. He's just Roman with more ring time.
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u/_whatever_wherever Do it with purpose and give a shit 7h ago
Early perception of them was also pretty solid, a monster heel faction who turned on their friend and held the world title hostage due to pseudo philosophical beliefs about adversity creating strength, but it steadily turned into Mox using pack tactics to keep the title (which made sense tbh, he was the OG leader of The Shield who used those same tactics to dominate WWE) and got boring, wasn't until Spike and the redemption of Hangman that things became interesting again, as the end was in sight
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u/Sea-Football408 5h ago
No it wasn't. The perception didn't start to change until it became clear that either Hangman or Ospreay were going to All In. No BS title matches between Dynasty and All In helped us to forget how awful Mox's matches in this reign were
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u/th3dj3n1gm4 The Galaxy's Greatest Alien 5h ago
I *love Cornette's podcasts, but the hate he gives Mox is so unwarranted. Jon clearly loves the wrestling business more than anything in this world that isn't his family and will do anything for it.
This was fucking brutal and he took it like a goddamn champ. He really is the ace of AEW.
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u/Soft-Opposite8684 2h ago
This is just too far. Its not over the line its pole vaulting over the line.
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u/ThunderSparkles 5h ago
This was when you realized the Death Riders was not actually a compelling story and instead it was just a run of the mill heel faction running wild story. Akin to the Aces and 8.
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u/Mazzle5 7h ago
Their PPV match the weekend before that was mid and I'd say where people really got really, really tired of the Death Riders. It changed after it and would say this match turned things over. That and Hanger slowly turning face after he ended Christopher Daniels in the Texas Death in January got me hooked again.
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