What’s the Endgame for Moxley, Danielson and AEW’s Blackpool Combat Club?

Photo credit: All Elite Wrestling

In just two months, Blackpool Combat Club has become All Elite Wrestling’s hottest stable. That’s likely because the group is composed of three of the most popular acquisitions from WWE dealing out copious amounts of violence. It’s an appealing selling point for most fans.

For about three minutes, William Regal waxed poetically about the group’s intentions to make sure their opponents never forget them by leaving scars as a part of the Road to Baltimore special. 

This amazing segment that aired on the company’s YouTube channel deftly summarized why the act works so well. 

It was a nice addition to AEW’s style of storytelling and the polar opposite of Chris Jericho’s promo to introduce the Jericho Appreciation Society. Is it any wonder that Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta attacked the JAS on the last episode of Dynamite? They’re essentially their antithesis, so it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths.

This confrontation could lead to the next Blood and Guts match, AEW’s version of the classic WarGames stipulation. NXT fans may remember that its former general manager settled disputes that got out of hand with that match type.

So, it could lead to a fun callback to his time with the black-and-gold brand, but where else is this going? Blackpool Combat Club is a tremendous act but what is the endgame for them?

Mentoring Future Stars

This new unit started when Danielson confronted Moxley on Feb. 2, offering him the chance to join forces and run roughshod over the rest of the roster. The proposition led to their gut-wrenching match at Revolution in March.

At the event, Mox countered The American Dragon’s triangle choke into a pin to narrowly escape the bloody confrontation. Infuriated by the finish, Danielson started a brawl with his opponent.

Afterward, Regal debuted and broke up the fight, delivering a strike likened to Antonio Inoki’s famous slap. Legend has it that a slap from the first IWGP heavyweight champion and the founder of New Japan Pro-Wrestling imbued people with fighting spirit. It’s a clever reference for savvy fans that AEW seemed to play off of here and in the initiation into the Blackpool Combat Club.

It’s not hard to tell that Japanese wrestling has influenced the group because it has been such a crucial part of their careers. Regal worked with NJPW in the early 1990s as Lord Steven Regal. The Englishman trained Danielson during his time with Memphis Championship Wrestling, but he also was a student at the NJPW’s original Los Angeles dojo.

Even more, the 40-year-old also wrestled with promotion before returning to WWE in 2009. His desire to compete in Japan again seemingly led to his decision to join AEW.

Moxley’s current presentation is also inspired by Atsushi Onita, and he has wrestled a host of NJPW wrestlers in the United States over the past year.

Regal employed the slap again when Yuta sought to join them on the St. Patrick’s Day Slam edition of Dynamite. This excellent callback to Danielson’s initial offer, where he talked about taking newcomers like the 25-year-old under their wings, paid off. It also ensured that mentorship will continue to be an integral part of the stable’s goals.

The group put the current ROH Pure champion through the wringer, but he ultimately impressed them and won over the AEW fanbase. Yuta is quickly becoming the breakout star of 2022, and he recently made the trip to Japan to compete in this year’s Best Of The Super Juniors tournament.

Moxley similarly mentored a young lion, Shota Umino, during his run with NJPW. So, this angle is a great way to draw from each of the initial members’ careers and use their collective experience to create new stars. It would be nice to see them interact at Windy City Riot and it would be cool to see Shooter become an official member of BCC.

Nevertheless, we will more than likely see more recruits like Lee Moriarty as he and Danielson have been linked for some time.

Photo credit: All Elite Wrestling

Championship Gold

Danielson proposed that he and Moxley could change the direction of AEW by training the future of pro wrestling. However, he also told his stablemate that they could be world champions.

So, it seems easy to predict that Blackpool Combat Club will challenge for title gold very soon. Mox and The American Dragon have been a formidable tag team. They could dethrone Jurassic Express, who the Aberdeen, Washington native mocked as he made his offer.

Adding Yuta to the mix makes them a top option for AEW’s eventual trios titles. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Robert Gunier of Wrestling Inc), Tony Khan has already commissioned the new belts and it’s only a matter of time before he introduces them.

ROH also has a set of six-man tag team titles that haven’t appeared since Final Battle 2021. If Khan wants to take the belts off The Righteous and reintroduce them, Blackpool Combat Club would be the perfect contenders.

Lastly, Moxley is currently third on men’s power ranking, which would seem to suggest he will reenter the title picture soon. In fact, he could be the next No. 1 contender following the AEW World Championship match at Double or Nothing on May 29. This would put either Adam Page or CM Punk in his sights.

Punk and the ex-member of The Shield have a history together. However, he also withdrew from the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament last year, missing his chance to gain a shot at Page. In his absence, his stablemate won the tournament and went on to challenge Hangman, so there is a story to tell between both men.

This also potentially gets us one step closer to a staredown between Punk and Danielson. AEW has not revisited their storied rivalry yet. They haven’t even appeared on screen together, which seems incredibly intentional. If The Best in the World defeats Hangman, Blackpool Combat Club could be the way to reignite their feud.

It’s difficult to say if this means the stable will secure the company’s top prize anytime soon but there is certainly championship gold in their future. It wouldn’t even be hard to imagine all three active members holding a title at some point.