All Elite Wrestling is just one week away from its Full Gear pay-per-view event, which will see AEW World Champion Kenny Omega defend his title against "Hangman" Adam Page in a highly-anticipated match. The co-main event was likely going to be former champion Jon Moxley battling Bryan Danielson in the finals of the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament, but that match will no longer be taking place as Moxley is going to rehab.
This was confirmed by All Elite Wrestling president and CEO Tony Khan, who made the announcement on social media. With Moxley's permission, Khan revealed that the former AEW World Champion is entering an inpatient alcohol treatment program. "Jon is making a very brave choice to get help, and we're embracing his choice and supporting him however we can," Khan said. Prior to this announcement, Moxley was scheduled to face Orange Cassidy on AEW Dynamite tonight in the semi-finals of a tournament to determine the next #1 contender for the AEW World Championship.
It's unclear what will happen with the tournament. It's possible Orange Cassidy will automatically advance to the next round and wrestle Bryan Danielson at Full Gear, but it's also possible that a new contender will be added to the mix. Answers will likely come on tonight's episode of AEW Dynamite, which is airing live from Independence, Missouri on TNT.
Prior to joining AEW, Moxley was one of the WWE's top stars, wrestling under the ringname Dean Ambrose. As Ambrose, Moxley was part of the mega popular Shield faction and had multiple championship reigns. Moxley left WWE due to frustrations with the company's creative, and has since been wrestling for AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, and various independent promotions around the world.
Moxley quickly became one of AEW's top stars after joining the company, defeating Chris Jericho to become the second-ever AEW World Champion. More recent happenings have seen Moxley aligned with Eddie Kingston and fighting NJPW wrestlers. The NJPW wrestlers have been showing up in AEW thanks to Tony Khan opening the "Forbidden Door" and allowing wrestlers from other promotions to appear on his television programs.
No timetable was set for Moxley's AEW return, and new plans for AEW Dynamite and Full Gear have not been revealed at the time of this writing. Many fans have replied to Tony Khan's tweets by expressing their support for Moxley's decision and wishing him well on his road to recovery.