Everything about this is screaming big fight. Both men have more pyro and theatrics in their entrances, and there’s cool lighting during their in-ring entrances. MJF has a little trouble getting his robe off, cracking a smile.
The two men step together and have a few words, then head to opposite sides of the ring to put on their Better Than You Bay Bay shirts. The fans, already cheering, get even louder for that.
Lots of hip tosses and headscissors leave no one with an advantage. They shake hands at the urging of the crowd. MJF does a little Ric Flair mixed with Rick Rude, and Cole comes right back with his signature pose.
MJF leads a “sportsmanship” chant but uses it to trick Cole as he rushes in. Adam slaps him for that, then lets go with a series of strikes and an enzuigiri. Cole gets the first near fall and looks like he’s in control.
Cole pulls MJF’s trunks and his hair to maintain his edge. The champ finally gets tired of being made a fool but still can’t do the dive to the floor. His hesitation allows Cole to land a superkick, covering for a two count.
An irritated Cole says “I had you beat,” referring to their Dynamite match that started this whole story, and he takes off MJF’s shirt. The champ finally gets rolling with a series of offensive moves, including plenty of corner punches … and a bite.
Buoyed by the crowd’s support, MJF decides to try the suicide dive and looks shocked when it turns out fine. He rolls Cole back into the ring to cover for two.
MJF and Cole do the rolling pinfall thing until Cole is caught and powerbombed onto the champ’s knee. Is MJF trying a Panama Sunrise? Maybe, but Cole superkicks him and hits the Heatseeker, and the champ needs to get his foot to the rope to disrupt the count.
On the outside, MJF is hurled into the steel steps, then given a brainbuster on top of it. He barely beats the 10 count to keep the match going, then rolls back outside to get out of the crosshairs of a Panama Sunrise.
MJF needs to regroup and clears off the announce table. He wants to Tombstone Cole through the table but decides he can’t do it. Cole has no such issues, hitting the same move on a table that doesn’t break. The crowd starts up an “a–hole” chant, then MJF kicks out at two.
Things still look bad for MJF even after he manages to slow Cole’s attack, leaving them both on the canvas. They yell out “double clothesline” and connect, then pin each other’s shoulders at the same time. The ref, Bryce Remsburg, tells Justin Roberts it’s a draw, which is what he announces.
Cole refuses and grabs the mic to ask for five more minutes, the same thing he asked Max once before. MJF says no … but only because it’s not enough time: “We’re going until we have a winner in f–king Wembley.”
Right after the match restarts, however, Remsburg takes a bump, and MJF gets a chair. Both men toss the chair back and forth to each other, then they try to one-up each other to make it look like they’ve been hit by the other. MJF rushes forward and tries to pin Cole, who kicks out once and then again after a Heatseeker.
They head out to the apron, where Cole hits a straitjacket German suplex that looks painful. So does a Panama Sunrise on the floor. Cole rolls the champ back into the ring but still can’t seal the deal.
Cole tries another Panama Sunrise in the ring, but MJF throws Remsburg in the way and the ref takes the move. MJF gets his Dynamite Diamond Ring from his trunks but can’t bring himself to use it. Roderick Strong runs down and punts MJF in the crotch, and Cole hits the Panama Sunrise. Cole drops the Boom as well, but Remsburg is still out. He eventually comes to, but his count is slow and MJF has time to kick out.
With Strong urging him on, Cole takes his team shirt off and lurks with the title belt. But he, too, has a crisis of conscience and tosses the belt away. That proves costly, as MJF catches Cole with a small package and holds on for the three count.
As Cole looks on the verge of tears, MJF crawls over and tells Cole the fans still love him and he got lucky. MJF goes to get their ROH tag team titles, but Cole chucks his away when offered.
MJF is clearly hurt, and throws his belt to Cole, saying he was always just after his title. Strong returns too, but Cole throws the world title down and they end up in a long hug in the center of Wembley.