6 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (11 Jan - Review)
3. MJF Continues To Own The Role As World Champion
The tone of MJF Vs. Bryan Danielson will intensify in the weeks to come; for now, it is important to establish that MJF is a deluded coward, and that Danielson is an enthusiastic pro wrestling doyen who'd happily work a match for free. At present, the babyface challenger feels insurmountable ahead of the Revolution pay-per-view. This is important, particularly when the reality is that an AEW World title switch is a remote possibility.
MJF needs to show ass at this phase of the storyline, and he showed a cheek each to Danielson and Konosuke Takeshita.
His verbal jabs at Takeshita were very good in an intentionally witless way. "Take-a-sh*t-a" is the special brand of stupid that works almost because it's so obvious, and the idea that he hasn't watched a single match of his was a great choice. He needs to further distance himself from the hipster crowd who wanted to cheer him between All Out and Full Gear, and he did so at the same time as feeding the babyface a comeback line. Takeshita saying "I said, "Kiss my ass"" in perfect English was a great twist.
The burial of various LA celebrities dragged a bit, but publicity is publicity. Also, Takeshita looked a bit of a mug by actually obeying the order to get out of the ring.
Still, MJF's Olympian-level sprint out of dodge at the mere sight of Danielson was glorious slapstick.