7 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (June 5 - Results & Review)
3. MJF Returns With Killer Promo
MJF opened the show with a promo. He was masterful.
He teased several potentially incredible matches, but not in an obvious way. He established his credentials as the best in the world, drawing the ire of one of his targets later in the night. He said Kazuchika Okada can't be the best, since he can't be arsed to buy a gym membership. He said Swerve Strickland can't be the best; his promos aren't good enough. He also - with a great mocking accent - said that Will Ospreay can't be the best, bruv, because he hasn't beaten all of the names MJF has throughout his AEW tenure: CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Adam Cole, Cody Rhodes, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jon Moxley...
(Jericho's star has fallen from such a steep height that the mention of his name amongst this crop was almost surreal).
MJF's dig at Ospreay's teeth was hardly imaginative, but it was well-delivered. Rush interrupted, and again, MJF did the thing you have to do, but not in a way that felt forced. When he put Rush over, he did so with such conviction that he actually elevated his imminent opponent without just ticking off the checklist. MJF likely hand-picked Rush on this evidence.
In a welcome deviation from the traditional MJF interview segment, Rush didn't trade barbs in a formal back-and-forth. He lunged at him, sparking a rare good pull-apart brawl. Rush is the perfect opponent with which to unleash MJF's promised new babyface act. He said he won't do kangaroo kicks anymore. Instead, it's looking like he's going to narrowly survive an absolute pasting.
A potent injection of star presence, and an excellent tease of MJF's short and long-term directions. A home run of a TV return.