4 Ups & 6 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Jan 20)

Ups...

4. MJF Ascendent In Inner Circle Turmoil

While far from a perfect match, The Inner Circle's Tag Team Challenge was well laid-out and generally did a good job of incorporating each of its moving parts, with MJF and Chris Jericho taking the victory when the former rolled Sammy Guevara up with a handful of tights.

MJF spent much of the early action on the apron, only tagging in when it suited him. This meant tagging out at the bell, not giving Guevara the gratification of a brawl. Things like this made Maxwell the most important piece here, which was the right move: The Inner Circle only started squabbling when he came along and the group's growing rift stems directly from his actions.

Also, that Sammy Hagar inset promo. Lovely stuff.

The Inner Circle had two segments earlier in the evening. The first saw Jericho rubbishing MJF's suggestion of further dissent in the ranks following the tag bout, promising it would bring the group closer together. Later, MJF approached the IC when their leader was absent, talking them down by asserting that he only wants what's best for the group, even acknowledging that he respects Sammy despite their disagreements. Good, solid stuff to present MJF as the snake in the grass - which is exactly what he is.