10 Ups & 1 Down From AEW WrestleDream

Ups...

10. MJF Is Still Very, Very Over, But...

WD Righteous
AEW

MJF is so over that his work is guaranteed to be loud and, by that metric, successful.

Dissenting voices online don't like it, feeling it is too "WWE" or that there's an insincere quality to his babyface work. That might be the point, in the case of a super long con, but even if it isn't, the MJF character is mimicking behaviours because that is what real, insecure people do when trying to make a connection. MJF shakes the ropes because he has seen other babyfaces doing it.

If that's a pretentious take on another comedy-tinged house show opener special, that is because there wasn't a great deal to it. MJF set up his babyface comeback and, intriguingly, a physically impossible spot in his pre-match promo, promising to body slam Dutch and stick Vincent's head up his "fat ass". He did both of those things, sort of, in a match that was cursed to begin with.

It existed to prolong the money-spinner that is Better Than You Bay-Bay, but now that team are on indefinite hiatus, this feels like it's actually beneath MJF. This was loud, and improbably dramatic, but did the fans actually suspend their disbelief - or were they just happy to play along with the novelty of watching MJF live?

The match was advertised, and the paying audience went banana.

That is the strictest definition of objective success, but is BTYB so over that this is it now on every other PPV for the duration of Adam Cole's stint on the sidelines?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!