8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (January 3 - Results & Review)
5. Giving The Devil His Due
There was a lot of pressure on Adam Cole to follow up on the big World's End reveal of himself as the one responsible for torturing MJF (and stealing his Devil mask) over the last few months. The former NXT Champion managed the spot, and the "Undisputed Kingdom" roll-out well.
Explaining just enough about the hows and whys without going so far to remind you that wrestling can fundamentally be quite stupid, Cole highlighted that sooner or later one of them was going to end the friendship in brutal and heartbreaking fashion so it might as well have been him. Laying out the intent of all the individual members of the stable (and rebooting the original MJF/Wardlow dynamic without realising he's become everything he hates), Cole brought all his usual poise despite still being unable to physically interject himself until his broken ankle has recovered.
This caused problems when the new group had were outnumbered by Bullet Club Gold and The Acclaimed, but multiple strange bedfellows now have it out for Cole, Wardlow, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett after all their misdeeds.
It provides a strong return for MJF too, unless the words about his demise already spoken by the new Champion prove to be true...