Jon Moxley is set to make a rare independent wrestling appearance outside of AEW later this month.
Defy Wrestling has officially announced that Moxley will appear at its upcoming “Wraith” event, scheduled to take place on Friday, October 24 at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Oregon.
The timing works out well for Moxley, as AEW will not be running a live episode of AEW Collision that weekend. Instead, AEW Collision will be taped along with AEW Dynamite on October 22 in San Antonio, Texas, leaving Moxley free to take the outside booking.
As noted, AEW will also be holding a combined AEW Dynamite and AEW Collision three-hour show next Wednesday night, October 15 from Kansas City, Missouri.
While the former AEW World Champion has kept his independent schedule limited since signing with All Elite Wrestling, he has still made select appearances for promotions such as GCW Bloodsport, The Wrestling Revolver, and Defy Wrestling.
His appearance at Defy’s Wraith event will mark Moxley’s first return to Defy Wrestling since 2023.
Tickets for Defy Wrestling’s Wraith event are scheduled to go on sale Thursday, October 9, via DefyWrestling.com.
No opponent or segment details for Moxley’s appearance at the 10/9 event have been announced as of yet.
During an interview earlier this week with 3NT Wrestling, AEW President Tony Khan referred to Jon Moxley as one of the company’s cornerstones and most dependable performers.
“Jon Moxley works so hard,” Khan said. “He’s a phenomenal wrestler. He’s a phenomenal leader. He’s a genius about pro wrestling.”
Khan added, “And Jon Moxley’s one of my favorite people I’ve ever gotten to work with. And I’m really, really proud that Jon Moxley is in AEW. I think he was a fantastic World Champion time after time after time in AEW. Everything he’s done in this company has been to the benefit of AEW. And Jon Moxley’s a phenomenal, phenomenal wrestler.”
Currently serving as the leader for The Death Riders faction in AEW consisting of himself, Marina Shafir, Wheeler Yuta, Claudio Castagnoli and recent addition Daniel Garcia, Jon Moxley is coming off a victory over “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii of The Conglomeration on the October 7 special AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday show at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
Jon Moxley is scheduled to face Darby Allin in an “I Quit” match at the AEW WrestleDream 2025 pay-per-view at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO. on October 18, less than one week before his DEFY Wrestling return on 10/22 in Portland, OR.
Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com on 10/18 for live AEW WrestleDream results coverage.
The DEFY return of MOX!!
WRAITH — October 24 | Wonder Ballroom | Portland, Oregon 💀
🎟 Tickets on sale tomorrow at 1PM PSThttps://t.co/NUoF7hoR37 pic.twitter.com/ruZ2wRxTGX— DEFY Wrestling (@defyNW) October 8, 2025
