Blackpool Combat Club

The Death Riders are a villainous professional wrestling stable that performs in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Ring of Honor (ROH). The stable consists of the leader Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Pac and Marina Shafir. Moxley is the AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth reign.

Formed in 2022, the group was created under the name Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) and the first members were Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley, with William Regal serving as manager. The group expanded when Yuta and Castagnoli joined. The group has won multiple championships as both the BCC and Death Riders: Moxley won the AEW World Championship twice and NJPW's IWGP World Heavyweight Championship once, Castagnoli won the ROH World Championship twice, Danielson won the AEW World Championship once, and Yuta won the ROH Pure Championship three times. Once Pac joined, he, Castagnoli, and Yuta won the AEW World Trios Championship.

On September 7, 2024, the stable turned on Danielson and was joined by Pac and Shafir, changing the name to Death Riders. Moxley defeated Danielson to win his fourth AEW World Championship, and formally kicked Danielson out of the group after beating him down.

Background

Original logo as the Blackpool Combat Club, left, 295x295px
Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley had their first interaction together in December 2007 when Danielson defeated Moxley at Mad-Pro Wrestling's (MPW) Rise Up event in Chillicothe, Ohio. This match was later referred to by Moxley in a February 2022 promo when the two began feuding with each other in AEW. They next met in August 2010 at Heartland Wrestling Association's (HWA) Road to Destiny event before Moxley challenged Danielson at Dragon Gate USA a month later. Danielson, who was employed by WWE under the ring name Daniel Bryan at the time, defeated Moxley during both matches. In 2011, Moxley signed with WWE and was renamed Dean Ambrose; he wrestled in its development territory, FCW, which later became NXT. He became a successful member of The Shield after his main roster debut, and would wrestle Bryan in various matches throughout the 2010s. Both men became successful world champions for WWE before reverting to their respective names after leaving WWE (Moxley in 2019 and Danielson in 2021) with both men joining AEW. During that period, prior to the Blackpool Combat Club's establishment, William Regal was also employed by WWE as a wrestler and general manager for NXT; during this time, he helped to train and teach both Danielson and Moxley, and even feuded with Moxley.

History

Blackpool Combat Club (2022–2024)

Formation and various feuds (2022–2023)

On the February 2, 2022 episode of ''Dynamite'', Danielson told Moxley that he wanted to form a tag team, which Moxley accepted on the condition that they wrestle each other first. Danielson was defeated by Moxley at Revolution on March 6, after which the two began brawling. Regal, once a mentor to both men, made his AEW surprise debut to break up the fight and force them to shake hands. The two formed a team with Regal acting as their manager, later being named the Blackpool Combat Club (BCC) in honor of the English town where Regal began his career.

On the April 8 episode of '' Rampage'', Moxley defeated ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta in a non-title match. After the match, Regal offered Yuta a handshake, and subsequently invited him to join the group, which Yuta accepted. At Double or Nothing on May 29, the BCC teamed with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz to face the Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Angelo Parker, and Matt Menard) in an Anarchy in the Arena match, but lost.

At Forbidden Door on June 26, Claudio Castagnoliwho defeated Regal in his final match nine years priorjoined the BCC and made his surprise AEW debut as Danielson's handpicked replacement due to the latter suffering an injury, defeating Zack Sabre Jr. Later in the main event, Moxley defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the interim AEW World Championship. The BCC would then team up again with Kingston, Santana and Ortiz, and beat the Jericho Appreciation Society in a Blood and Guts match at the eponymous event. At Death Before Dishonor on July 23, Castagnoli defeated Jonathan Gresham to capture the ROH World Championship.

On the August 24 episode of ''Dynamite'', Moxley quickly defeated lineal AEW World Champion CM Punk to win his record-setting second AEW World Championship, but lost it back to Punk at All Out on September 4. On the following episode of ''Dynamite'', Yuta lost the ROH Pure Championship to Daniel Garcia, thus ending his reign at 159 days. Moxley and Danielson were inserted in the AEW Grand Slam Tournament of Champions to crown a new AEW World Champion as previous champion CM Punk was stripped of the title. At Grand Slam on September 21, Castagnoli lost the ROH World Championship to Chris Jericho, while Moxley defeated Danielson in the tournament final to win the vacant championship, becoming the first ever three-time AEW World Champion.

At Full Gear, Moxley would lose the title to MJF after Regal secretly handed his signature brass knuckles to MJF to punch Moxley with while the referee was distracted, betraying the group and aligning himself with MJF. Just 11 days later, MJF betrayed Regal and severely injured him with the brass knuckles. Following this, it was reported that Regal was set to leave AEW; in-storyline, Regal revealed that he betrayed the BCC to teach them their final lesson, which was to never trust anyone. His last appearance was a pre-taped segment aired on the December 7 episode of ''Dynamite''. Despite Regal's betrayal and subsequent departure, the stable kept the "Blackpool" in their name.

On the March 8, 2023 episode of ''Dynamite'', Danielson announced that he would be going home to be with his family after his loss to MJF at Revolution. After Castagnoli and Moxley defeated The Dark Order members John Silver and Alex Reynolds, the three remaining BCC members continued their assault and attacked Dark Order members Evil Uno and Hangman Page, turning the stable fully heel for the first time. Danielson returned on the March 29 episode of ''Dynamite'', seemingly to convince his BCC teammates to stop their attack on Kenny Omega, but he instead joined them in attacking Omega and turned heel. On the May 10 episode of ''Dynamite'', during a steel cage match between Omega and Moxley, Omega's manager Don Callis betrayed Omega by stabbing him with a screwdriver and allowing Moxley to win. The Elite (Omega, Page, and The Young Bucks) challenged the BCC to an Anarchy in the Arena match at the Double or Nothing event on May 28, which the BCC won after assistance by Callis and Konosuke Takeshita, who attacked Omega during the final moments of the match, allowing Wheeler to get the pin on Omega. At Forbidden Door, the BCC teamed with Takeshita and Shota Umino in a losing effort against the team of The Young Bucks, Page, Eddie Kingston and Tomohiro Ishii, while Danielson defeated Kazuchika Okada by submission, despite suffering an arm injury that sidelined him for 3 months. The Blackpool Combat Club's feud with The Elite ended at Blood & Guts on July 19, where Moxley, Castagnoli and Yuta teamed up with Takeshita and Pac, in another loss to The Elite in a Blood and Guts match following Pac and Takeshita leaving the match.

Championship reigns and pursuits (2023–2024)

Following their feud with The Elite, at All In on August 27, the BCC teamed with Santana and Ortiz to face Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo and Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta) and Orange Cassidy in a Stadium Stampede match, but they lost. At All Out on September 3, Danielson made his return from injury as a face and defeated Ricky Starks in a No Disqualification Strap match, Castagnoli and Yuta defeated Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata in a tag team match, while at the main event, Moxley was able to win the AEW International Championship from Cassidy. At Grand Slam on September 20, Castagnoli lost the ROH World Championship to Kingston in a Winner Takes All match that also put the Strong Openweight Championship on the line. After the match, Claudio finally shook Eddie's hand after years of animosity between the two, showing a sign of respect and a face turn, while Moxley lost the AEW International Championship to Rey Fénix. On the September 30 edition of AEW Collision, the Blackpool Combat Club turned face when they teamed with FTR and were defeated by Big Bill and Ricky Starks and Aussie Open in an All-Star 8-men tag team match. On the November 25 edition of AEW Rampage, Yuta defeated Shibata to win the record 3-times ROH Pure Championship.

On April 12, 2024 at Windy City Riot, Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, becoming the first wrestler to become a world champion in WWE, AEW, and NJPW, in what NJPW promotes as the "Global Grand Slam Champion". On the April 27 episode of ''AEW Collision'', Castagnoli unsuccessfully challenged Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship. Moxley successfully defended his championship against Powerhouse Hobbs, Ren Narita, and Shota Umino, before being challenged by both Konosuke Takeshita to an Eliminator match at Double or Nothing on May 26, and Evil for Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall. Danielson, meanwhile, joined Team AEW against The Elite for the Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing. At the event, Moxley pinned Takeshita to win the Eliminator match; however, The Elite defeated Team AEW when Danielson was pinned by Jack Perry.

Yuta, who'd been sidelined with an injury since February, returned to action in AEW on the June 5 edition of ''AEW Dynamite''. On June 9 at Dominion, Moxley defeated Evil to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship before being challenged by Tetsuya Naito for a rematch at Forbidden Door. Moxley would lose the championship back to Naito on June 30 at Forbidden Door, subsequently going on hiatus following this loss. That same night, Danielson began his participation in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament with a first round victory over Shingo Takagi. Danielson defeated Pac at Dynamite: Beach Break on July 3, then "Hangman" Adam Page on July 10, to win the tournament and earn a match against Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship at All In. Also on July 10, Castagnoli competed in a Global Glory Four-Way match to earn an AEW International Championship match at All Out, however Pac won the match. On July 31, Danielson addressed speculation on his intentions to wind down his career, declaring that if he failed to win the AEW World Championship from Strickland at All In, he would never wrestle again. On the August 21 episode of ''Dynamite'', Castagnoli challenged Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship; the match ended in a 20-minute time limit draw.

On August 25 at All In, Yuta and Castagnoli teamed with Pac in the Four-way London Ladder match for the AEW World Trios Championship, which they won. Later that same night, Danielson defeated Strickland to win the AEW World Championship for the first time. On the following episode of ''Dynamite'' on August 28, Danielson announced that as long as he was AEW World Champion, he would remain a full-time AEW wrestler, and that his full-time career would end as soon as he lost the championship.

Death Riders (2024–present)

While Danielson and the BCC resumed feuding with The Elite, Moxley, who returned from hiatus on the August 28 episode of ''Dynamite'', initially did not appear with his BCC allies and instead began a feud with Darby Allin, while forming an alliance with Marina Shafir in the process.

On September 7 at All Out, after Danielson retained the title against Jack Perry, Castagnoli and Moxley attacked Danielson while feigning celebration and attempted suffocation with a plastic bag, kicking him out of the group. After turning on Danielson, Moxley took over leadership of the BCC with Pac and Shafir as the newest additions.

On September 25 at Grand Slam, Moxley would defeat Darby Allin with Allin's guaranteed AEW World Championship match on the line. On October 12 at WrestleDream, Moxley defeated Danielson to win the AEW World Championship for the record-setting fourth time and ending Danielson's full-time career. On the November 6 episode of ''Dynamite'', the BCC officially rebranded to the Death Riders, a nod to Moxley's nickname in NJPW as well as the name of his finisher.

Moxley would successfully defend his title with assistance from the other members against the likes of Orange Cassidy at Full Gear, Cassidy, "Hangman" Adam Page, and Jay White in a four-way match at Worlds End, Powerhouse Hobbs at ''Dynamite'': Maximum Carnage, Cope twice at Revolution and on the March 19 episode of ''Dynamite'' in a street fight, and Swerve Strickland at Dynasty.

On April 16, 2025 at ''Dynamite'': Spring BreakThru, Castagnoli and Yuta with Moxley filling in for an injured Pac lost the trios titles to Powerhouse Hobbs and The Opps (Samoa Joe and Katsuyori Shibata), ending their reign at 234 days. Moxley retained the world title against Samoa Joe in a Steel Cage match at ''Dynamite'': Beach Break, with the assistance of Gabe Kidd. On May 25 at Double or Nothing, the Death Riders (barring Pac) teamed with The Young Bucks, losing to Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland, Willow Nightingale, and The Opps (Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Katsuyori Shibata) in an Anarchy in the Arena match.

Members

File:Jon Moxley Oct 2021.jpg, Jon Moxley (L)
File:Claudio Castagnoli, June 2022 (cropped).jpg, Claudio Castagnoli
File:Wheeler Yuta (2021-07-14) (cropped).jpg, Wheeler Yuta
File:Marina Shafir 2022 11 18 Rampage-54 (cropped).jpg, Marina Shafir
File:Neville Shakedown 2016 (cropped).jpg, Pac

Current

Former

Timeline

As of ,

Championships and accomplishments

*All Elite Wrestling
** AEW World Championship ( 4 times) – Moxley (3, current), Danielson (1)
** AEW Interim World Championship ( 1 time) – Moxley
** AEW International Championship (1 time) – Moxley
** AEW World Trios Championship ( 1 time) – Castagnoli, Yuta, and Pac
** Men’s Owen Hart Cup (2024) – Danielson
* Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
** International Gran Prix (2024) – Castagnoli
*DEFY Wrestling
** DEFY Women's Championship (1 time, current) – Shafir
*Game Changer Wrestling
**GCW World Championship ( 1 time) – Moxley
*New Japan Pro-Wrestling
**IWGP World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) – Moxley
* ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
** Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2022) – Moxley
** Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2022) – Moxley
*Ring of Honor
** ROH World Championship (2 times) – Castagnoli
** ROH Pure Championship ( 3 times) – Yuta
* ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter''
** Best Brawler (2022, 2023) – Moxley
** Best Technical Wrestler (2022, 2023) – Danielson
** United States/Canada MVP (2022) – Moxley
** Wrestler of the Year (2022) – Moxley

References

Notes

External links

*
*
*

Cagematch profile

{{All Elite Wrestling

All Elite Wrestling teams and stables
New Japan Pro-Wrestling teams and stables
Ring of Honor teams and stables