Kyle O’Reilly has become Jon Moxley’s perosnal enhancement talent. He was given a few wins early in their feud, and now he seems to be the almost-ran of the AEW Continental Title Division.

This is one of the downsides to narrative convention. Jon Moxley needed to be humbled by O’Reilly, who beat Moxley by surprise, so that he had a reason to get better within the Death Riders, and now that he’s done the training, and put in the work, all that was left was to prove to O’Reilly that he won’t be fooled again. It’s a good story, and it was a good match, but it doesn’t change the fact that O’Reilly can no longer say he “looked good in defeat” or whatever else you usually say to salve these kinds of losses. No, he’s just a loser, for now.

There’s always time to rehabilitate him in this year’s Continental Classic, but that doesn’t change the fact that O’Reilly just doesn’t look like he will ever be able to overcome the obstacle that is Jon Moxley, now that Moxley has learned the lessons he was supposed to learn.