AEW is blurring the line between heels and faces

One of last night’s pivotal moments on AEW Dynamite was an intriguing storyteller.

Jon Moxley defeated Shawn Spears in a hard fought contest, which was his first match back in AEW after his MRSA surgery. As Moxley celebrated in the ring, Kenny Omega came out with two weapons, both covered in barbed wire.

One thing may be confusing about this storyline for some fans: who is the face and who is our heel?

Lets compound the situation once more. PAC was in the announcer’s booth for the Moxley/Spears match up. When Omega came down the ramp with barbed wire weapons, PAC jumped Omega from behind and knocked him off the stage. Jon Moxley stood on the stage and looked directly at PAC with a scowl on his face. Puzzled by what his next action should be, he chose to toss the bat off of the stage and walk back to the locker room seconds after PAC ran to the back.

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1182107577410146304

This begs us all to ask, are there clear cut heels and faces in AEW?

It’s pretty clear that PAC and the newly formed Inner Circle are the male villains in All Elite Wrestling. MJF, who is one of the top heels in the wrestling business, is currently taking the side of his mentor, Cody Rhodes. Cody is a steadfast babyface at the moment.

Two women – Nyla Rose and Bea Priestly –  are currently seen as strictly heels. Rose put a stamp on her heel persona by attacking the new AEW Women’s Champion, Riho, fresh after their match for the title. Priestly is currently embroiled in a feud with one of the top female faces in the company, Britt Baker

AEW currently has Adam Page, The Jurassic Express, Cody, Dustin Rhodes and Darby Allin painted as our male heroes to cheer for. The aforementioned Riho and Britt Baker are both seen as faces. This leaves one large, giant blurred line as to where the rest of the AEW roster falls.

Kenny Omega has been one of the world’s most popular wrestlers for a long time. Ever since Double or Nothing, we’ve been seeing him show some signs of venom towards Jon Moxley. The return of ‘The Cleaner’ (his more ruthless New Japan persona) is broadening the horizon. ‘The Cleaner’ was clearly a heel in New Japan and some of his tendencies in his character and promos are portraying him as a bad guy.

Kenny Omega verbally cut Moxley deep for missing their All Out encounter due to the MRSA on his elbow. Saying that Moxley should have focused on their upcoming bout and not enter the G1 Climax and claiming it was a sign of disrespect towards Kenny and that Moxley should be ashamed of his actions. That’s a very cruel and heel side we haven’t seen from Omega since his Cleaner character in the Bullet Club. It’s also a great example of being confused as to who the heel really is in this feud.

Since he left the WWE for AEW, Jon Moxley has been receiving thunderous responses from audiences. It’s clear that even if he were to do something dastardly to a babyface, the crowd is likely to respond with praise. You could even see the way he looked at PAC and Omega last night on AEW Dynamite that he has conflicting interests.

With his rebel, take no prisoners approach to his dark persona, Moxley could easily pass as a heel in All Elite Wrestling. Especially with what took place the week before when he brutally attacked Omega during a Six Man Tag and hit ‘The Paradigm Shift’ on Kenny through a glass table. Those are the dastardly deeds of a heel if you ask me.

Which is what made Jon Moxley’s actions last night a little puzzling. He knew when PAC laid Omega out and left him in a heap on the floor, he could strike again and impale Omega with a barbed wire bat. For some reason, he had a premonition. This moment was not his time to strike. Moxley walked away knowing that he wants Kenny Omega at his absolute best in a one on one confrontation on a major platform.

Cody Rhodes has stated that he believes the era of pure faces and heels are dead. It’s starting to come to fruition in AEW. Crowds are cheering for different performers in arenas all across the country.

MJF has been a heel since the beginning of his career and is now hearing a raucous of applause for helping his mentor in his feuds with Shawn Spears and Chris Jericho. With the flow of how their Pay-Per-View and television shows have gone so far, it’s becoming clear to us that Cody is right.

There isn’t a line between faces and heels in AEW. The reaction that is provided by the fans on a given night will determine who you root for and boo vociferously. Welcome to a new era of professional wrestling.