25 Worst Wrestling Moments Of 2023

22. Roderick Strong, MJF & Adam Cole Jump The Shark

Things went so awry between these 3 that it's easy to forget just how well things started in their storyline. MJF and Adam Cole are 2 of wrestling's best talents despite coming from separate times in the business. Cole was one of the best wrestlers of the independent boom that led to AEW's formation, and MJF has been arguably the best superstar since the company's inception.

Their union as 'Better Than You Bay Bay', including capturing the ROH tag titles, was rare in that it felt like it had immense star appeal and indy credibility in equal measures. Roderick Strong has the latter himself, but less of the former, and so his role in their story as Cole's jilted ex-friend seemed like a good fit, especially when shouting "Adam!" in a comedic way got as over as it did.

It's in the last story beat that things began to fall apart.

Segments felt like excuses for Roddy to shout Cole's name, and Adam's unfortunate series of injuries meant that creative had to pivot from their original plans several times. With Tony Khan still finding his feet as a writer and storyteller, storylines around these 3 superstars circled the drain for far too long and actually regressed everything that had worked about Cole and MJF's excellent work in building a story with momentum (in a year AEW so badly needed it).