Daniel Garcia Says Moxley Helped AEW Regain Fan Goodwill

Daniel Garcia opened up about a rough stretch for AEW’s standing with its audience, giving Jon Moxley credit for helping turn things around, during a new sit-down interview on Alex Sagot’s Thrive podcast.

Garcia, one of the promotion’s longest-tenured homegrown stars, reflected on a period where he felt AEW had lost a meaningful amount of goodwill with its fanbase. He pointed to Moxley as a key figure in steering the company back in a positive direction during that stretch.

While Garcia didn’t detail every specific factor behind the dip in fan sentiment, his comments echo a broader conversation that’s followed AEW throughout parts of its run — chatter about booking direction, roster frustration, and shifting crowd reactions that has occasionally bubbled up on social media and in wrestling media. Moxley, for his part, has long been viewed as one of the most respected locker-room leaders in the promotion, someone both fans and peers point to when things need stabilizing creatively or backstage.

It’s notable that it’s Garcia making these remarks. He’s spent his AEW career largely tied to Moxley and the Blackpool Combat Club, first as a rising technician and eventually as one of the group’s most vocal members. That relationship has clearly shaped how Garcia views the promotion’s trajectory, and his willingness to speak candidly about a dip in fan goodwill is a rare bit of insider perspective from someone still very much on the roster.

AEW has weathered plenty of public scrutiny over the past couple of years, from pay-per-view shakeups to shifting television deals and roster turnover. Wrestlers crediting Moxley with steadying the ship isn’t new — he’s repeatedly been described as a locker-room anchor since returning to a featured role — but hearing it framed explicitly around reclaiming fan trust adds some texture to how talent inside the company have processed that turbulence.

Garcia didn’t frame this as a criticism of AEW leadership so much as an acknowledgment that the promotion has been through some visible ups and downs with its audience. That kind of candor from a current roster member is worth watching, especially as AEW continues to navigate a competitive wrestling landscape and works to keep its most passionate fans engaged.

Whether more from the interview surfaces regarding specifics — what exactly shifted, when it started to turn, or what Moxley did behind the scenes — remains to be seen. For now, Garcia’s comments serve as another data point in the ongoing narrative about Moxley’s value to AEW beyond just his in-ring resume.