Tag: MJF

MJF tweets for first time in 2024, takes shots at The Rock

It should be no surprise that MJF has the most perfect timing possible for a return to social media during WrestleMania week.

Leave it to MJF to wait until WrestleMania week to be active on social media again — and to use it to offer his two cents on the hottest angle in pro wrestling right now.

The former AEW World Champion hasn’t wrestled since dropping that title so Samoa Joe at Worlds End on Dec. 30, and he’s stayed off X since the day before that.

But on Wednesday, The Rock offered to buy a painting of one of his recent attacks on Cody Rhodes from MJF’s ex-fiancée, Naomi Rosenblum, and MJF wasn’t going to stay silent about that.

The “steal my glorious idea” crack is a reference to the time four years ago in AEW when MJF made Rhodes take 10 lashes from his own belt to get a match against him.

And as viewers of “Young Rock” surely know, Dewey is Dwayne Johnson’s childhood nickname.

Because MJF has made his alleged 2024 free agency such a core part of his on-screen persona for so long, the comments section of his tweet are full of fans hoping it’s some kind of signal that he’s jumping to WWE. MJF has kept his contract status with AEW intentionally vague, though some industry insiders believe he’s already re-signed with the company and is simply laying low while he recuperates from several injuries that plagued him toward the end of 2023.

Regardless, he’s as shrewd a performer as there is in the pro wrestling business, which means he knows a return to social media targeting The Rock during the busiest wrestling week of the year is guaranteed to get people talking. Well played, MJF.

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The top pro wrestling stories to watch in 2024

Here’s your guide for what to watch for in WWE, AEW and the pro wrestling industry in the year ahead.

To say 2023 was an eventful year in professional wrestling would be an understatement.

However, there is plenty of intrigue on the horizon in 2024. Here are the stories to watch as we enter a new year.

AEW Worlds End 2023 live report: The Devil in the details

Get the vibe of AEW Worlds End from amidst the live crowd from Wrestling Junkie’s Rob Wolkenbrod.

LONG ISLAND, NY — Entering Worlds End, it felt like a pay-per-view AEW needed to hit out of the park. The second half of the company’s 2023 left something to be desired, with lagging ticket sales, unfortunate injuries to Adam Cole, Kenny Omega and MJF, and backstage controversies remaining constant.

Filling the Nassau Coliseum wasn’t an issue Saturday night; AEW fans loaded the arena waiting on their favorite “scumbag,” the culmination of the Continental Classic and the next step of Christian Cage and Adam Copeland’s feud. The rest of the card had little fanfare since AEW glued it together within the last week, and it showed from the start of the main show until the main event matches.

At the same time, Worlds End was always billed as a three-match show featuring the three longest-running storylines in AEW. Along with the impending reveal of the Devil, the final 90 minutes of the five-hour show held all the eggs in the basket.

But even though fans were awaiting the identity of the person under the mask, questions loomed about MJF’s injury status. Was it his final night wrestling for a while? Did AEW extend his contract into 2024 and beyond? Tony Khan said he can’t comment on the AEW future of the Long Island native after the show, so take that as you will.

AEW answered questions beyond that during Worlds End, though, creating an interesting night of pro wrestling to close 2023.

AEW Worlds End results from Long Island:

  • Willow Nightingale def. Kris Statlander by pinfall in a solid match with a bumpy finish at the end.
  • A vignette teases Serena Deeb’s return to the ring.
  • Killswitch wins the battle royal to become the No. 1 contender to the TNT Championship. Not sure anyone expected Trent Beretta to be the runner-up over Danhausen, and it made the ending anticlimactic.
  • Hook def. Wheeler Yuta by submission to retain the FTW Championship.
  • Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia and Mark Briscoe def. Jay White, Jay Lethal, Brody King and Rush by pinfall. Danielson and White stepping into the ring together created one of the best pops of the night, and King was very over with the crowd.
  • Miro def. Andrade El Idolo by submission in a relatively slow-paced match. During the post-show press conference, Tony Khan confirmed that El Idolo’s contract with AEW will expire at the end of the year, making that the former WWE United States Champion’s final match with the company.
  • Toni Storm def. Riho by pinfall to retain the AEW Women’s Championship. Storm’s impeccable character presentation highlighted a fine match.
  • Swerve Strickland def. Dustin Rhodes by pinfall. The atmosphere changed on a dime when “Big Pressure” played, waking a mild crowd from the last two matches. Rhodes also replaced Keith Lee, who was replaced an hour before the show due to injury.
  • Sting, Darby Allin, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara def. Konosuke Takeshita, Will Hobbs, Ricky Starks and Big Bill by pinfall. Boos toward Chris Jericho dominated this match, with various chants his way that made it to air and some explicit ones the live broadcast might not have registered.
  • Julia Hart def. Abadon by pinfall to retain the TBS Championship. A “This is spooky chant” rang out early, but the match work kept the crowd quiet.
  • Adam Copeland def. Christian Cage to win the TNT Championship. This show needed a hard-hitting, storytelling-focused match, and the crowd was lively for it. Copeland’s cross body in the crowd received a wild reaction, but the “We want fire” chants were arguably the popular aspect of the night.
  • Christian Cage def. Adam Copeland to win the TNT Championship. The live crowd had mixed feelings about Cage winning back the title within minutes after Killswitch gave up the contract. It surprised many, but it also served as a way to keep the feud going and shift the momentum back in the Patriarch’s favor.
  • Eddie Kingston def. Jon Moxley by pinfall to win the Continental Classic. This was the grueling, hard-hitting match everyone expected with stiff strikes and some tough spots, including the suicide dive that seemed to hurt Kingston more than Moxley.
  • Samoa Joe def. MJF by submission to win the AEW World Championship, ending the 27-year-old’s record title reign, in a match where the now former champion was clearly hurting and even had an audible scream of pain. After the match, Adam Cole revealed himself as the Devil, with Wardlow, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett as his goons.

AEW Worlds End live notes from Long Island:

  • Allowing Sting to receive an ovation in one of his last matches was a nice touch and a needed atmosphere changer after a forgettable eight-man tag match.
  • The reveal of Cole as the Devil was deemed anticlimactic by some of the crowd. It failed to elicit a huge reaction, perhaps because people had suspected Cole to be the man behind the mask all along. However, at times, the proper call doesn’t need to send shockwaves.
  • Throughout the night, the crowd felt like a sleeping giant. They wanted something to cheer for, and they wanted to react loudly. It arguably took until Copeland vs. Cage for that to happen, though, which was too long.

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Who is the AEW Devil? Identity revealed at Worlds End

The AEW Devil and the masked men were finally revealed in the final moments of Worlds End.

Sometimes it’s the people who you trust most who can hurt you the most. MJF learned that the hard way at AEW Worlds End Saturday night on Long Island, when his main event loss was followed by a more painful turn of events — the heartbreaking reveal of the Devil.

It happened right after MJF was defeated by submission, losing his AEW World Championship to Samoa Joe. He was supported throughout the match by Adam Cole, who was at ringside despite still being on crutches. The only sign that something might be amiss is when MJF asked Cole for his Dynamite Diamond Ring and his friend was slow to produce it, giving Joe a chance to recover.

After the match, Cole appeared to console MJF until the ring was surrounded by the Devil’s masked men. They were both quickly overpowered, and they took turns telling one of the assailants with a steel chair to hit them and spare the other.

Just as it looked like a decision would be made, the lights went out … and came back up to find Cole sitting on the chair with the men beside him. They unmasked to reveal their identities as well: Roderick Strong, The Kingdom and Wardlow. To remove any doubt, Cole took out and held up a Devil mask, then Wardlow powerbombed MJF to end the show.

According to Fightful Select (subscription required), MJF will likely take time off now to heal up from a variety of injuries, so both his title loss and a resolution to the Devil storyline made sense. It may not have been as wild a reveal as some guesses floating around, but it’s one that should benefit the wrestlers involved and sets the stage for a red hot MJF-Cole feud sometime down the road.

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AEW Worlds End results: MJF loses title, best friend thanks to Adam Cole betrayal

In front of his hometown fans, MJF had a bad night at AEW Worlds End.

Samoa Joe is all business on his way to the ring, but MJF gets an extended entrance with a funny video featuring Long Island natives. His entrance gear says “Most Magical Place in the World” under the arms. Joe gets a bit of a surprise when Adam Cole’s music hits and he comes out on crutches to support his friend. Or so we think, anyway.

Once the bell rings, MJF does a little Ric Flair-style strut, and he has both a brace and tape on his left shoulder. That doesn’t stop him from stomping and kicking away in the corner, but Joe quickly sends him to the mat. Joe throws a series of right hands as the fans get on him.

Now it’s kicks to MJF’s chest and a legdrop on the already ailing arm. The challenger’s attack stays focused on the left arm until some head shots in the corner. Joe wants a Muscle Buster, but MJF wriggles free and dumps his foe over the top rope to the floor.

MJF tries an inside cradle and the surprise factor works for a near fall, as does a sunset flip and a schoolboy. Max wants a Kangaroo Kick but sees it countered, but his attempt to skin the cat on the ropes gets him kicked in the head.

A big suicide dive by Joe is on target, causing some concern from Cole. The challenger gets a two count and stays calm when the match continues on. A German suplex flows right into a dragon suplex and a release straitjacket German. Another cover follows, and MJF manages to get one foot on the ropes to get a break.

They head to the apron, where a headbutt drives MJF back and leaves him vulnerable to a Muscle Buster on the apron. Cole’s face is likely to be memed far and wide, though MJF manages to kick out from the ensuing pinfall attempt.

Finally, MJF launches a rally with a lariat and some biting in the corner. The Kangaroo Kick is countered for a second time, and Max collapses when he tries to get Joe up for a fireman’s carry. But he comes back fast with a rolling elbow and a double stomp on Joe’s arm, then a Heatseeker for a two count.

Several counters leave both men on the mat, where MJF is trying for the Salt of the Earth, using some of his own athletic tape to yank on Joe’s arm until the ref prevents it. Joe reverses the hold, and Cole is working hard to urge his friend to reach the ropes … and he eventually does.

Joe looks for the Coquina Clutch, and Max’s escape leads to a ref bump. MJF sees an opportunity, delivering a low blow and hoisting Joe for an F-5. Wow. The champ crawls and puts an arm over Joe’s chest, but the ref only recovers in time to count to two.

Cole slips Max the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but the Coquina Clutch has him in trouble. Bryce Remsburg checks on MJF’s arm twice, then three time. He doesn’t answer, and he’s lost it by submission.

Cole looks distraught as Joe leaves with the championship belt. He climbs in the ring while the crowd starts a “bulls–t” chant. They’re surrounded by the Devil’s masked men, who quickly take both of them captive. Both men tell a guy with a chair to hit them … but the lights go out.

When they come back up, Cole is sitting on a chair. The masked men unmask to show that they are The Kingdom, Wardlow and Roderick Strong. Wardlow drops MJF with a powerbomb as Cole holds up the Devil mask.

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AEW Worlds End results: All the winners from Long Island

Get live AEW Worlds End results for the year-ending pay-per-view from Long Island.

It’s time to see how AEW will look going into 2024, with plenty of big matches in store for AEW Worlds End. And in the hometown of AEW World Champion MJF, will he even leave Long Island with the title?

It’s a legitimate question given the status of his health and contract. There’s every chance that Samoa Joe could walk out of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum as the top champion in AEW, which is something not many probably would have predicted at the start of the year.

Many fans will also be watching to see if the Devil gets involved in the main event, with insiders suggesting their identity will be revealed before the end of the night. That only figures to make MJF’s chances of retaining his beloved Triple B even shorter.

Another highlight should be the Continental Classic final between Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley, two men who know each other extremely well even in an industry in which saying that is something of a trope. Can the Mad King throw off his bad luck in the biggest spots, not to mention his winless record against Mox, and finally come through?

We’ll also see both women’s championships defended (finally), another grudge match between Adam Copeland and Christian Cage, and much more from Long Island. We’re raring to go, so hopefully you are too.

AEW Worlds End results from Long Island:

(click or tap on any match with a link for full details)

  • Claudio Castagnoli, Mark Briscoe, Daniel Garcia and Bryan Danielson def. Brody King, Jay Lethal, Rush and Jay White by pinfall; King also got into it with Daddy Magic who was on guest commentary
  • Miro def. Andrade El Idolo by submission after CJ Perry turns on Andrade and assists her husband during the match
  • Toni Storm def. Riho by pinfall to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship
  • Dante Martin says he’s looking to become a titleholder and gets the latest pre-emptive challenge from Orange Cassidy
  • Swerve Strickland def. Dustin Rhodes by pinfall in an unusually long match after Strickland attacked Rhodes before the bell and stomped his ankle on top of a cinderblock
  • Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin and Sting def. Big Bill and Ricky Starks and The Don Callis Family (Powerhouse Hobbs and Konosuke Takeshita) by pinfall
  • Julia Hart def. Abadon by pinfall to retain the AEW TBS Championship, with Skye Blue making an assist
  • Adam Copeland def. Christian Cage by pinfall in a No DQ match to become the new AEW TNT Champion; after the match, however, Killswitch (who won the Battle Royal during the pre-show to earn a title shot) attacks Copeland from behind …
  • … and he hands the contract to Cage, who quickly fills it out tells the ref to start a new match, and spears Copeland to win the title back by pinfall
  • Eddie Kingston def. Jon Moxley by pinfall in the AEW Continental Classic final, becoming the first ever AEW Triple Crown Champion
  • Samoa Joe def. MJF by submission to become the new AEW World Champion, despite some attempted assistance by Adam Cole
  • After the match, the ring is surrounded by the Devil’s masked men, and Cole and MJF are quickly overpowered; the lights go out and come back on to find Cole sitting on a chair — he’s the Devil, and the masked men are Wardlow, Roderick Strong and The Kingdom

AEW Worlds End 2023 predictions: Who ends the year with a win?

Vaughn Johnson picks winners for all the matches on Long Island at AEW Worlds End.

Alas, we have reached the end of a roller coaster year for AEW with the promotion’s final pay-per-view offering, World’s End.

Will AEW end close out 2023 with a bang, or will it stumble to the year’s finish line?

Let’s run through the show match-by-match and offer some predictions.

MJF on people rooting against AEW: ‘You’re the f–king worst’

MJF says criticism of AEW is right and fair, but rooting for it to go out of business is dumb.

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Count MJF among the stars of the wrestling industry who believe there’s too much “us against them” mentality among the fandom at times.

Ahead of AEW Worlds End, where he’ll defend the AEW World Championship against Samoa Joe in what should be the main event, MJF published a piece called “I Have Some Things to Say, Please Read” on The Players’ Tribune. He spent part of it discussing his current uncertainty, both with his health (as he’s been battling injuries) and because in his words, “I know there’s some MJF fatigue.”

A lot more of it, however, is devoted to gratitude: to AEW for giving him a chance to become a star, and also just the fact that the company exists at all.

One thing MJF clearly doesn’t have time for is people rooting against AEW to the point that they wish it would go out of business.

So while I welcome anyone being critical of AEW (God knows I am)….. if you’re actually actively rooting against us? Against us EXISTING? Guess what, you’re the f–king worst. You’re rooting against workers. And that’s the truth. Because out of all the incredible things that AEW has done over these last five years, #1 with a bullet is ‘put MJF on TV.’ But #2 is ‘make the wrestling industry just a little bit better to work in.’

MJF isn’t the first person to make this point, and as AEW’s top champion, he’s got some unavoidable bias. That said, it’s hard to argue against it. WWE is and likely always will be the top wrestling company in the world. Having a strong No. 2 like AEW has been for the last five years not only ensures WWE has to stay on top of its game (and there’s no question it has drifted in the past when it has no challengers), it also ensures wrestler salaries stay high since there’s a chance someone else will bid against them for talent — not to mention it simply increases the number of good-paying wrestling jobs overall.

That should be something that everyone gets behind, though it seems some people out there have not received the memo. Kudos to MJF for doing what he can to spread the correct sentiment.

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Did MJF just write his goodbye letter to AEW?

MJF penned a heartfelt explanation of what makes AEW so important to him that also made his immediate future sound up in the air.

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The most intriguing thing about pro wrestling is that even when you’re pretty sure something is the case, there’s often a small chance it isn’t. Case in point: the contract status of AEW World Champion MJF.

MJF has done plenty to make us uncertain. Throughout his time as one of AEW’s top heels, he bragged about the “bidding war of 2024” while insisting that his deal with the company expired after this year and that he’d happily consider a move to WWE. Once he turned face as champion, that talk died down somewhat, but he revived it recently by suggesting he’d be a free agent on Jan. 1, though he preferred to stay.

The common sense take on the whole situation is that it was all part of the show. MJF has been the centerpiece of most of what AEW has done in 2023, first in his super popular bromance with Adam Cole, then with the long-running (some would say too long) mystery of the Devil after Cole went down to injury.

Surely, Tony Khan would never pin so much of what the promotion was doing on a guy who might not even be around come January.

And yet …

Here we are, just a day away from AEW Worlds End, where MJF is set to defend his championship in his hometown of Long Island against Samoa Joe, and he’s published a lengthy article on The Players’ Tribune that raises the same questions about him even more.

Most of the article is a love letter to AEW, expressing gratitude for establishing a viable alternative to WWE, opening up more jobs for wrestlers and becoming a place where a 5-foot-8 guy without much experience could become a world champion. MJF gives props to Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Chris Jericho, among others, for making the company what it is today.

At the same time, it also very much sounds like a man potentially saying farewell. Early on, MJF says this:

I’m wrestling Samoa Joe for the world title on Saturday night, and I have no idea what’s going to happen after that. You’ll probably hear some stories about me over the next few days, about my contract, about the injuries I’ve been dealing with, about the condition my body is in, about who knows what else. I’m sure it’ll all leak. That’s fine.

He circles back to that tone toward the end of the piece as well:

I know our fans are a little tired of this run I’ve been on. And for the first time since this company started, I know there’s some MJF fatigue. Which is fine, by the way — no one stays hot forever.

Right now, though, as I’m writing this? It’s Wednesday morning. It’s three days before Worlds End.

It’s five days from five years of MJF in AEW.

And I don’t know what comes next.

The guess here is that it’s all still cover. MJF is legitimately battling through injuries and may need time off to recover. AEW certainly isn’t as hot as it was a year ago at this time, so there’s every possibility that Khan believes that discussion about MJF’s contract status — like we’re doing right now — is good simply because it keeps people talking about AEW.

Perhaps Khan and MJF have an agreement on a new deal that just hasn’t been signed yet so he can say he’s technically been telling the truth all along.

But because this is wrestling we’re talking about, where things that seem impossible happen on an annual basis (as with CM Punk getting fired by AEW and showing up back in WWE a few months later), we can’t completely count out the craziest scenario, which is that MJF is going to be a free agent soon. On the off chance that happens, The Players’ Tribune piece will be looked back on as his goodbye letter to the company that helped make him a star.

And if it’s not, it’s still a very compelling “’til we meet again” chronicle. Well played, champ.

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AEW Worlds End 2023 card: 6 title matches highlight inaugural event

Take a look at the confirmed match card for the inaugural AEW Worlds End.

This year, the AEW pay-per-view schedule has been in full swing. Since its inception, AEW has only held a few major shows per year, but they have now increased to almost one per month. This trend will continue with the final show for 2023, Worlds End, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Dec. 30 at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York.

MJF, AEW’s resident Long Islander, will headline the show by defending his AEW World Championship against Samoa Joe. This will be their second title match in New York within the past 90 days, with MJF aiming to extend his record title reign as the incumbent.

On the Dec. 23 episode of AEW Collision, Christian Cage accepted Adam Copeland’s challenge for a No DQ match for his TNT Championship. The two longtime friends turned bitter rivals may finally settle their explosive beef on Long Island.

Worlds End will also have the climax of the inaugural AEW Continental Classic, with the final match going down at the event. The winner will be crowned the first ever AEW Triple Crown Champion by virtue of winning the new AEW Continental Championship, the ROH World Championship and the Strong Openweight Championship (as the latter two titles were put up for grabs by Eddie Kingston). Fittingly, Kingston will be one of the finalists, going up against Jon Moxley.

Several other matches were finalized on the Dec. 27 episode of Dynamite.

Worlds End goes down on Saturday, Dec. 30. Check out the full card below.

Latest update: Dec. 29, 2023, 10:25 p.m. ET.

AEW Worlds End 2023 card:

  • 20-man Battle Royal for a future AEW TNT Championship match (Zero Hour pre-show match)
  • Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale (Zero Hour pre-show match)
  • Hook (c) vs. Wheeler Yuta – FTW Championship match (Zero Hour pre-show match)
  • Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston – Championship Final of the AEW Continental Classic for the inaugural AEW Triple Crown Championship
  • Julia Hart (c) vs. Abadon – AEW TBS Championship match
  • “Timeless” Toni Storm (c) vs. Riho – AEW Women’s World Championship match
  • Chris Jericho, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara and Sting vs. The Don Callis Family (Kyle Fletcher and Powerhouse Hobbs), Big Bill and Ricky Starks
  • Christian Cage (c) vs. Adam Copeland – No Disqualification match for the AEW TNT Championship
  • Keith Lee vs. Swerve Strickland
  • Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo
  • Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson), Mark Briscoe and Daniel Garcia vs. Brody King, Jay White, Jay Lethal and Rush
  • MJF (c) vs. Samoa Joe – AEW World Championship match