6 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dynamite (7 June - Review)

4. MJF Vs. Adam Cole Heats Up Instantly

MJF Adam Cole
AEW

Exposition is the signature move in a pro wrestling promo. It is stuck in a form that has always played to the back row, but MJF did exposition very, very well last night.

Aware that he had just one week to build a shocker of an Eliminator match on Dynamite next Wednesday, he told the Adam Cole story through his fandom of it. MJF was an Adam Cole "mark" glued once upon a time to ROH on HDNet. In a deft speech, he put over Cole in a personal, meaningful way - he didn't just read out his opponent's Wikipedia page - and buried him for not living up to the grand expectations set from his time in ROH and NXT. A well thought-out spiel built to a great subversion of a line, in which MJF hit Cole with the Karrion Kross. Cole's response bordered on the underwhelming until he conjured the amusing image of himself and MJF pissing in cups at the same time to see whose is hot.

This worked; luring MJF into a fury, their first match is set for next week. This was long, but very effective. The building loved it. The verbal sparring was world class.

The choice to have MJF cut off Cole's "Boom!" entrance appeal was ingenious, too. MJF had drawn positive reactions as the most entertaining Pillar during Double Or Nothing: this was an inspired means of conducting the heat where it belonged.

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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!