AEW Dynamite (Nov. 22, 2023) emanated from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. The Thanksgiving Eve show featured MJF’s devil, the opening night of the Continental Classic tournament, the return of Danhausen, and more on the fallout to Full Gear.
Get caught up on all the Dynamite details with the excellent play-by-play from Claire Elizabeth.
MJF’s devil
MJF retained the ROH World Tag Team Championship and the AEW World Championship at Full Gear. The devil (No, not the masked one) was given the spotlight for story time with Adam Cole, bay bay.
MJF put over Jay White as a world-class competitor, but nobody is on the level of the devil. MJF dubbed himself as the greatest world champion in AEW history. Cole discussed bad news that he’ll be out of action for a long time. That brought a sense of concern from Cole that he couldn’t be by MJF’s side. When talk turned to the masked devil, MJF threatened to send that person to hell. Speak of the devil, and the masked villain appeared on screen laughing at MJF’s tough talk.
Samoa Joe interrupted to confirm his deal with MJF. The champ thought about it and reneged on his word.
Cole slowed Joe down from choking MJF by urging Maxwell to honor the deal. Do what’s right to be a better person. MJF decided to give Joe his shot tonight, however, Joe didn’t bite. He didn’t want any excuses from MJF. Joe proposed they meet at the Worlds End PPV on December 30, and that will give time for MJF to be 100% healthy. MJF was game. The champ tried to puff his chest, but Joe treated him like a piece of property. Nobody touches Joe’s property without his say so. Joe will be watching MJF’s back to make sure he make it to Worlds End.
Mighty fine segment. MJF and Cole comically hammed up their injuries. Both used creative vocabulary to paint a picture with words. They even squeezed in a GI Joe public service lesson about honoring your word. MJF and Cole are molding the youth right before our eyes. What swell guys. Joe was pure menace, and MJF showed as much with a wide-eyed expression when being choked. MJF and Joe sold the importance of the PPV main event. This was a strong first step on the road to Worlds End.
Cole’s line of thought had me wondering if the ROH tag titles will be vacated. That didn’t happen here, however, Cole spoke as if he is being written off TV for recovery. So, does that mean MJF has to do the same song and dance defending the belts in Cole’s absence?
Once again, it is clear that Cole is not the masked devil, in my opinion. Sure, anything can happen in a wrestling storyline, so he can’t be ruled out 100% yet. However, I thought it was a pretty strong indication when the masked devil appeared on screen with Cole in the ring. I’m aware there are ideas to explain Cole as the masked devil, but it’s getting to the point of convoluted conspiracy theories that don’t match what has been presented on screen.
One man whose odds moved up the charts is Jack Perry. The masked devil’s laugh sounded like it could come from the mouth of Perry. I don’t believe Jungle Boy is the big reveal, but it is something to consider.
Another moment for Cole occurred backstage as he yelled at Roderick Strong that they aren’t best friends anymore. You could see poor Roddy’s heart break, even though, he was in denial.
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