5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dynamite 200 (August 2 - Review)

3. MJF & Adam Cole Take Their Spot

MJF AEW

The hottest angle in the company confirmed its rightful place atop the Wembley Stadium supercard as Adam Cole signed on the dotted line to face MJF for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship at All In London.

But this was more than a contract segment, because of course it was.

Continuing on from his undiluted babyface act on Saturday's Collision, MJF emotionally stumbled through another retelling of his traumatic past to draw out Cole to put over his growth and make the match official. The tension between them remains unbearable - 'The Salt Of The Earth' has realised that he can't work Cole like he did CM Punk (which puts over Cole's intellect tremendously well) so he's working all of us harder than ever before to try and get the advantage he needs. Or is he? Is this a legitimate babyface turn? That these can yet again be questions asked in good faith is another victory for the Champion.

Meanwhile, Cole's smarts not leaving him resulted in a hug including a balled-up fist to MJF's back. Was he literally showing his hand here? A raging Roderick Strong didn't seem to think so, which was both knowingly hilarious and also a detail that remains prevalent in the main story.

Kudos to all three. In a product that's felt too freewheeling for a card that feels undercooked, the top stars fighting for the top prize have got their houses in order.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett