The ever-divisive MJF/Adam Cole/ancillary characters saga continued on last night's show, but the formal announcement of Samoa Joe as the Champion's World's End Challenger felt like the beginning of the end of 'The Salt Of The Earth's title reign even if he doesn't lose in December.
Joe at long last getting his second shot reflects another wall closing in, and with Wardlow battering AR Fox (or anybody else in his path), Roderick Strong and Cole's relationship formally collapsing and The Devil chuckling his way through the whole sorry scene, time at the top appears limited for MJF.
And all of that assumes that he beats Joe on December 30. Their first match drew a big crowd and viewing audience when it main evented Grand Slam in the summer, and arguably has higher stakes now as a more unpredictable offering second time around. And there are questions still being asked even as this big one was answered too - why has Cole gone to bat for Joe as both partner and challenger over and over again? And why now has he finally severed ties with Roddy Strong? And who, for Satan's sake who - it's Jack Perry, right? - is The Devil?
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
