MJF Deceives, Bloodies CM Punk Ahead Of AEW Revolution
Dog collar match between Punk and Max gets even more personal, if you can believe it.
One of the most talked-about segments of AEW Dynamite last week came when Maxwell Jacob Friedman apparently bared his soul to talk about how he idolized his current rival CM Punk as a child, how he was bullied, and when Punk walked away from wrestling in 2014, it devastated him and led him to becoming the villain he is today.
The revelation sat heavy with Punk, who came to the ring Wednesday to talk about MJF's confession, and how it moved him, but he couldn't help but feel he was being "gaslit" by an insincere guy who has done a lot of vicious things in AEW to Dean Malenko, Brian Pillman Jr. and Darby Allin, to name a few. He asked rhetorically if he's Dr. Frankenstein and Maxwell is the monster.
MJF came out and listened to Punk talk about "I used to be you," describing some of the heelish things he did in WWE in feuds with Undertaker and Jeff Hardy, then offered a handshake. Friedman responded by hugging him... and then kicking Punk low.
The Pinnacle rushed out and prevented anyone from interfering as MJF unloaded on the Second City Savior with a Heatseeker, then busted him open with the diamond ring. Shawn Spears put the dog collar on Punk and hung him over the top rope while Max wiped his blood on his shirt and called Punk a "stupid old man," and himself the devil, word-for-word aping a 2005 Ring of Honor Punk promo that kicked off the original Summer of Punk.
"I'm going to show you and all these mindless sheep that I'm the devil himself!" @The_MJF delivers a bloodied @CMPunk a chilling message! Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS right now! pic.twitter.com/lWOernyu4H
Advertisement— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 3, 2022
This was a fantastic segment that looked like it had the makings of a breakthrough therapy session before the rug was pulled out in gruesome fashion. It wasn't just a low blow - it was an absolute mauling with it made clear that MJF was outfoxing and outmanoeuvring one of the cleverest men in the business by toying with his emotions. Throw in the outright copying of Punk's ROH promo and you have the cherry on top of this feud ahead of their dog collar match at Revolution.