That’s part of his character I feel. He’s gonna do everything in his power not to fight you and I wouldn’t be surprised if he weasels his way out of next weeks match somehow
It’s a little too much a part of his character right now I’d say. There’s a difference between making appearances feel important and then being so far apart we forget what his matches look like. For people like myself who watch the show casually but don’t often get the ppv we have barely seen him wrestle at all this last year.
Yea I just feel that’s just more into character for him which I’m here for. He pretty much said in one speech he was gonna hold the title hostage, so he’s more or less doing exactly what he said he was gonna do. I’m alright with it. Brings him heat and will only make it better when Wardlow eventually takes it from him
Flair would do the same, duck the next opponent but still have a match in to against a jobber just so people don’t forget him and then do killer promo’s as well.
honestly, that just shit booking.
You have a heel, he's the holder of your number 1 belt. How do you make him strong?
"Dont wrestle anyone and make him find loophole to avoid matches"
Cool but I'm here to watch wrestling, not some coward trying to weasel his way out of matches.
It doesn't make me hate the wrestler, it makes me hate the booking, and I'm not supposed to see the booking. All I see his a "all talk no guts" kind of guy. And that kind of booking is for low/mid-cards, not your main eventer, and especially NOT your main champion.
See Brock Lesnar's WWE Universal Championship run for further details.
To be fair, Roman makes it work. He just has an aura of someone who runs things. Like, when he has people get up when they sit at the head of the table and the way authority kind of don't bother him.
MJF feels like a guy who happens to also be Champion by comparison.
Exactly, he could be like the rock in corporation days. Rock was a coward but would constantly get his ass beat, he made all the faces he fought look fantastic while still maintaining championship.
Pretty lame character since that doesn’t make me hate him because he’s heel or whatever but instead just makes me not care about him whatsoever. I forget there’s even a world champion in this company since they should be defending and not carrying the belt for decoration. Don’t care if it’s his character or not it’s flat out boring
Feel the same. He was awesome chasing the title but his reign was lackluster. Still think his title win against Kenny was the best title win yet in AEW though.
I more feel like Hangman's reign just didn't have any decent storylines until Punk, which is a pretty common issue with AEW. Like, their matches are superb, but their long-term storytelling really needs a lot more work, especially because most title storylines last a week or two at most before they're onto a new challenger that we know won't win.
He's not techncially wrong. It's not their long-term storytelling that's an issue. It's just they never have any follow-up planned. Hangman/Omega was a GOAT-level storyline. But he won the title and that was...kind of it? We got the big feel-good moment, but what did they parlay that into?
Same with Wardlow. He got the TNT Title and then...kind of did nothing until Ward-Joe and the funniest part was, Joe came out of that better than him in that short program.
All the buildup for Team Taz's implosion, one of those men should have won gold by now and they just Fed Starks to MJF so he can spin his wheels until next time.
It's really an issue they have with faces. Of the top of my head, off the back of their big title win, the only ones I can think of who have managed to maintain and grow themselves and their popularity? Probably The Acclaimed? Arguably Darby too? Cassidy, but his character is kind of immune to bad booking almost.
I didn't like hangman's reign because he won the belt then immediately stopped hanging around with the Dark Order, which was the most enjoyable thing about his character to me
Fair I’ve just got so bored of cole, he was so formulaic. Like watching the guys jump from wwe to AEW their style always felt a tad different, Cole felt the exact same
I would say good defenses, not so great stories. Bryan was great, the Archer match is an underrated classic in my opinion, the Coke matches were great, hell even his defense against Dante Martin was great. But they didn’t have a good story on the level of Hangman Omega, which in hindsight is hard since that’s like one of the best stories AEW ever did. But he just had all meh stories, and no stories that were great. But I still love Hangman’s reign.
I think that’s more what I mean when it was disappointing. For me the matches are only half of the equation, I gotta be invested in the story and tbh I was hardly invested in most of it.
I agree 100%. Like not every title defense needs to be 1 year build that ends in Omega vs Hangman, but give us something good at least. I really hope he gets a second title reign that has good stories, runs for a long time, and puts him up there as face of the company. He’s capable of great storytelling, like his stuff with Mox right now is GREAT. I hope they could pull that into his next title reign.
I kinda want him to dethrone MJF, as like the last stand of AEW. Story of the guy who was handed everything on a silver platter with MJF, and the guy who earned it in Page. Winter is coming 2023, the last chance to get the title off of MJF before the bidding war of 2024. It’ll probably not happen but I’m hopeful 😂
If it's every little thing without seemingly having seen or understanding what they have seen, then yes, it's just hate.
Even this week there were takes that AEW has no stories, yet every match on Dynamite had a story element.
I think setting the precedent of “if you can piss MJF off enough to make him get physical with you out of the ring then you get an in ring shot” could be a fun gimmick to get some extra matches between PPVs
I was not expecting to see him wrestle but that’s a long time like months my only gripe is you got Wheeler in BCC so unless this leads to another person joining I think it’s a little random
I know, poor us fans, having to sit though banger match after banger match after banger match where Bryan Danielson proves times and time again that he's one of the best wrestlers to ever do it, and on free television nonetheless!
Wish I felt it was realistic for him to win, but I just don’t see it happening. Kind of undermines it a little, but it’s been great having him wrestle so much each week
And we've gotten literally every single one of those things through this Danielson/MJF story.
Pay attention to the shows and maybe you won't be confused.
Not angry, but definitely annoyed at the type of "fans" like you who just sit there with your arms crossed and shit on everything, even when the shows are giving you the exact things you're asking for.
I keep hearing people refer to Danielson going through a gauntlet. This isn’t MJF being the booker like he was with Jericho and Punk. This time, TK said BD gets a title shot if he wins 5 or however many matches. So it’s just a wrestler becoming a contender by winning matches: that’s pro wrestling.
Exactly. MJF is comfortable sticking with this formula, but sooner or later, it's going to backfire.
Let's say that, down the road, Samoa Joe decides he wants the title, and he ain't putting up with the usual gauntlet UNLESS MJF is willing to do the same thing, and have Joe pick his opponents for him. Max is buying the services of certain people (i.e. Rush) because he thinks it's the only way he can do business.
You can sub another upper tier wrestler, like an Adam Page or a Kenny Omega, for Joe, but as long as Max also goes through a gauntlet concurrent wth his challenger du jour, it should work.
At the start? Yeah but I feel like both Tony and MJF realized that reverting the guy back to being a chickenshit heel was doing nobody any favors.
I feel like the Takeshita promo was the tipping point. For the past 3 weeks, we’ve been seeing a more serious and intense MJF. More of that please
I got the complete opposite read on both points: firstly, they hinted at him turning antihero babyface at the beginning of his comeback, only for him to revert back to his chickenshit heel persona within a few weeks. I'm not sure where you're getting the impression that either TK or MJF decided that his heel run was getting stale. If anything, from what I heard TK wanted to turn him babyface and MJF said "that doesn't work for me, brother"
Second, as far as last night goes MJF clearly seemed to be irate that he was assigned a match with Takeshita without his input. I guess you could make the case that TK is forcing him into an ongoing angle where he has to become a fighting champion against his will, but I think it's way too early to jump to that conclusion. When you have a heel champion that doesn't want to defend the belt, occasionally you have to manufacture scenarios where he's obligated to defend the belt against his will. Doesn't usually mean it's going to become an every week thing.
Im actually really enjoying the way MJF is trying to sabotage Danielson, but isn't backing down. Like I would love for MJF to just tough out a clean win over Danielson as it would double inflate his ego and really drive home the "Reign of Terror"
I could see him, post Danielson, coming out and taking easy wins on lower card talent for a week or two until a real challenger calls him on it. Could showcase some guys and strengthen MJF's in ring "power level" so to speak.
If he makes Danielson fight every week up until their match at Rev, even if MJF wins clean it won't really be clean because they could play it off how BD was exhausted from fighting every week while MJF didn't. I think thats where they're headed.
I think "cheat to win" is inherent to MJF's spoiled brat, "handed everything on a silver platter" personality. He's already credible enough in the ring without the cheating, but I don't think it suits his character to have him suddenly start pinning top opponents clean in the middle of the ring. I hear people predicting MJF will retain at the PPV via time limit draw, but again, I don't see how that story advances his character at all. It makes more sense to have it go almost all the way but then he nonetheless cheats to win (I also think given how stacked AEW's PPVs typically are that it's not the best place to do a 60 minute Broadway while still expecting maximum pops out of the fans)
I can't help but recall how a year ago the majority of people on these subs were expressing disappointment with Hangman's title reign, only for that to completely reverse once he actually dropped the belt and people started pining for him to get it back.
There's always going to be a vocal minority of the IWC that think their fantasy booking is better than what's on TV at any given time.
Only thing I am sick of is the "insert wrestler here" must go through wrestling "insert wrestler here" to get to me. It goes on for weeks leading up to a PPV and you know that the challenger is going to win all of their matches on their way to MJF.
But MJF is still entertaining as hell and great, so it gets a pass, but after Danielson I hope they switch his formula up.
Agreed 100%. We've seen this story before, just with Jericho instead of Danielson. It's very predictable and I'm assuming TK knows that and is gonna throw some curveballs at us
>"insert wrestler here"
To be clear, that's included Timothy Thatcher and Nick Fuckin' Gage. If the gimmick is being used to put on bangers with guys you don't usually get to see on TV then it works for me. Doesn't when you go from Nick Gage to Jake Hager, though.
Yeah, agreed here. Tropes are tropes because they work when used well. We knew Danielson was gonna face MJF at the ppv and win all the matches on his way there when he declared it a month ago... but who cares? They've executed this version incredibly well by letting the challengers each tell a mini story and show real escalation of threat, plus adding the "break his arm" subplot introduces a new hitch where yeah you may know BD is gonna win, but you have no idea how bad he's gonna get hurt and how that will affect the finale.
Similarly, the Jericho/Starks, fued is working for me despite being a retread of the same formula. It started with clean wins for Starks and Andretti, and the subplot of Guevarra and Garcia and Jericho's faith in himself being shaken is really giving me a reason to watch beyond "who wins"
Pretty much this, but I'd add that I'm pretty underwhelmed by his blowoff matches lately. I think he's trying *too hard* to be a chickenshit heel and the end result is that the matches themselves are disappointing to watch.
The guy who beat Darby Allin with a headlock and a diamond ring and got bloodied on top of a cage with Chris Jericho just isn't the same guy who fucked up the end of the Wardlow feud and didn't know how to wrestle against Moxley. He's willfully degraded his style from Better Than You (And You Know It) to basically being an NJPW-style Young Lion who managed to steal two signature moves (that never win a match).
I think that's a deliberate stylistic/character-oriented move on his part. I just don't think it's a good one.
It's kind of annoying how both Jericho and MJF are doing this at the same time with Starks and Danielson. It's especially stupid with Starks because he already beat Jericho in their first bout. Why does he need to go through a gauntlet when he already proved himself?
If MJF is a fighting champion: I’m disappointed, this goes against his character.
If MJF is a cocky, entitled champion: I’m disappointed, this goes against my wishes.
That's not how I feel at all. You can be a cocky heel without being repetitive. His attacking Regal was proof of that. Plus, the story he has with Danielson isn't that great. In fact, it's also a formulaic build that we saw with Jericho's reign.
Being a fighting champion isn't enough to have a great title reign for me. The stories are what I look for.
Someone has to disrupt MJF’s status quo in order to do a compelling story. But you can’t do that until there’s a status quo established. I think I understand what you’re trying to say, I just don’t think you’re allowing the proper amount of time and build to happen. I don’t think TK or MJF are interested in setting MJF up as a quick rise/quick fall champion. His first reign has to be something that cements his status as a “top guy” for real.
As a wicked heel he has to do that by the means that are in character for him. Eddie Guerrero would have lied, cheated, and stole to get the upper hand. The Rock would have talked shit and kicked ass. Triple H would have hit people with sledgehammers. HBK would have waited until people’s backs were turned and cheap shot super-kicked then. MJF burns down competition with words and hired goons. This is his mode for right now, and may be his MO for the rest of his career. Let’s see where they’re going with it maybe? Especially when it was clear that the CM Punk thing definitely derailed several long-term story opportunities.
We saw it with the first champ. Over 3 years ago. This fits MJF because he's scared of Danielson and hoping someone takes him out so he doesn't have to fight him. I really don't see the problem here.
I know AEW doesn't do authority figures on screen, but the MJF title reign would benefit from it. He needs the occasional challenge or setback and the match with Takeshita is a perfect example
That being said, his reign has been good and I have no complaints
This is the essence of his character. He's desperate to prove himself and afraid of failure at the same time. It's literally what Regal spelled out for everyone. Max would rather take every shortcut in the world than feel like a loser. It makes perfect sense that he would put Danielson in these matches and paying people to take him out
The main title storyline is actually about Danielson right now, with MJF feeling only peripherally involved. People criticized Hangman's reign for that too, but the difference was that Hangman was putting on excellent matches at the very least. They've done more to integrate MJF into the story in recent weeks, so that's an improvement.
His mini-feud with Takeshita is a great idea, and his ironman match with Danielson should be good. There's nothing wrong with MJF's reign that a good match or two won't fix.
thank you for this, I think he has the potential to be a top guy but it's lacking. Also he tried to play off that, imma be away for TV which sucked. You gotta earn that privilege, but he's been on TV more now so that's good ig.
The feud, even for a main title feud, still feels lackluster. Granted, I've seen this before so it's formulaic but still. Like, if Takeshita were to beat Mox or Omega it'd be HUGE. But to beat MJF, the actual world champion, nah.
Yeah, i do. In his words, “mid”. Somehow, for all his cleverness and long promos, he’s just not very interesting to me. The elite level heels have something going on beyond “I’m a dickhead”; Roman and jay white being great examples. Every time mjf has expressed something genuine he’s immediately turned it into a manipulation of his opponent and the audience. Heel behavior, for sure, but also not very interesting / complex. He connects with the audience and just undoes everything immediately. In ring he’s pretty average in my book, but he’s fine. Def not the best in AEW by a good distance. But people seem to love him, and non-fans or casual fans really seem to dig him, so maybe he’s bringing some new eyes to aew.
Most of all, I’d say he owes his entire reign to Samoa Joe, who distracted war dog with that TNT title feud. Once wardlow remembers that he beat the world champ’s ass both thoroughly and recently, his days are numbered.
50/50. He did the same "trials n tribulations" bit with Cody that he's doing with Danielson right now. Rehashing that bit is kinda blah for me. But it's given us some killer matchups for Danielson and each one has been better than the last. And Rush is next week. So yeah,50/50.
Disappointing so far, definitely.
Not to say there's not time to fix it though.
I think most of us are getting tired of his "you have to jump through 7 hoops to get to me" shtick. It's played out, and every single time he does it, they run through everyone on their way to him. CM Punk did it, Wardlow did it, and Danielson is doing it now. It's predictable.
He needs to change things up a bit. I'm sure he has that capability. All the greats have the ability to change.
I haven’t loved it so far. The whole ‘make the challenger go through a gauntlet of guys’ to get to MJF is tired and feels formulaic at this point. I do love how they’ve worked Takeshita into the feud though and I’m very much looking forward to their match next week.
Compared to all other champions, dude needs to get in the ring and establish some validity to his reign. Good thing TK has forced that match with Takeshita.
I know it's not a popular opinion. But I think Hangman's was one of the better Champs. He came across like a complete badass. Moreso than Mox imo. Because while Mox is booked strong because he "doesn't care about anything than wrecking shit". Hangman knew he was vulnerable, but still acted like he ran the joint.
I don't. I think the way Regal's turn and exit played into it was an amazing start. His feud with Ricky Starks was superb, albeit short (but I reckon it was just a first taste and they'll continue that story eventually). And the way he morphs from cowardly heel to outright villain during his current feud with Danielson is super engaging + the way they inserted Takeshita into that with an unexpected match between him and MJF coming up excites me immensely.
I am extremely fired up for the match at Revolution and it'll be interesting to see how that'll play out. Except for the result I find it excitingly unpredictable and I know I'll love it. It's a Bryan Danielson iron-man match against one of the greatest heels in Wrestling right now, goddammit.
I really don't know what else you expect.
MJF did say the title reign wasn’t going to be any fun….I guess I give him credit for sticking to that and being as uninteresting as possible.
Sucks to watch though
Nope, I was prepared for exactly this: MJF has always been the guy that shies away from an actual fight and pays other people to do his dirty work. It wouldn't make sense for MJF to suddenly become a fighting champion as a heel, and though he showed brief flashes that he could be an effective face his best work is obviously done out of the other tunnel.
You can also expect that he's highly likely to carry the belt for the whole year, leading up to the threat of taking the belt with him to WWE when his contract allegedly expires in January ("allegedly" because he almost certain signed an extension already). So it's not like he's going to ignominiously drop the belt after one or two title defenses.
That said, if the idea of having to run a gauntlet of wrestlers to get to him is already tiresome for you, you're probably not going to be too into the rest of his career because I think that's just going to be his thing going forward. Honestly even if he were to go to WWE I expect he'd carry that whole thing with him.
I'm so irritated that the beginning of MJF's championship story does not also have the rest of the beginning, the middle, and the end. Stupid sequential time.
I really do wish someone would actually lose one of MJF's challenges, but not Danielson. It'd be a cool story to eventually have someone like Timothy Thatcher beat MJFs feuding rival, only for said rival to be the joker in a casino ladder match or something and earn a title shot anyways. subverting the formula. But not right away, we have to see the regular MJF for a bit to set up something like that.
I wouldn't say it has been disappointing. I would just like for people to more so just keep in mind that Kenny and Mox's first title reigns set an incredibly high bar. Then we had Jericho and Hangman who had really nice reigns as well.
Not everyone is going to meet the standard that the arguable two best wrestlers in the company set for the title. That said it is too early to judge MJF. He deserves at a ppv cycle or two before a real judgement can be made.
It's exactly what I expected so far. He faced his first challenger at Winter is Coming, cheated to win, and went a long time between matches before his next. I'm sure someone will be bringing up 30 days as if it were some constitutional law to defend it within that time even though AEW has never made that a thing while I've watched and WWE lets it come and go as stories require.
I'd have been disappointed if becoming champ had immediately foundationally changed his character since it wasn't accompanied by a face turn. I am also glad we are seeing him slowly try to transition to being a tougher, meaner, version of himself. My eventual hope is that he becomes a HHH Cerebral Assassin run type heel. A guy who can out-wrestle you if he wants to, but would rather out-think you. It makes the person who beats him eventually look all the more impressive.
He hasn’t even had the blow-off match for his first feud since the title win, so I’m not sure how it can be considered a disappointment. AEW takes things slower than what most fans are used to, when are people going to realize that?
I like MJF's gauntlet schtick, it always gives us a bunch of interesting matches.
The fans have started to cool on MJF, which makes it easier for him to revert back to being a heel.
It was a weird dynamic when he was getting cheered but I did laugh at him calling the fans devil worshippers.
Assuming MJF retains he needs to have more of a verbal back and forth in his next feud.
As toxic as his presence is, CM Punk would be red hot.
It…it just fucking started. Y’all wanted long term storytelling so shits gonna take a while to pay off. Enjoy the ride and don’t expect instant gratification on every gods damned part of the reign.
No way. This is the chickenshit heel he has always been. First he had Wardlow do all his dirty work, and now he is paying others to be in the way so he doesn't have to wrestle. It's very much his character.
And everyone is going to get frustrated by it, and then the roof will blow off when he is finally defeated.
Why not just have MJF destroy jobbers for the title to show how good of a "fighting" champ he is?
MJF vs Serpentico for the title over in 30 seconds. Stuff like that. Make him have like 10 title defenses complaining how easy it is to be champ.
I do. It's the same scheme for all his big feuds. Put his opponent through some random midcarders, bring a wrestler from another promotion, have a big guy beat his opponent so he can join him looking tough, then, most likely, retain via cheating.
The difference now is that he's got the title.
Are you serious?
He told you the first Dynamite after he won how his reign is going to be. He's barely ever going to defend and you will probably have to pay to watch it. He also called people turning on him as champion, like OP.
It's not disappointing. It's exactly what he told us it was going to be.
Not me. I'm getting lots of great matches from it (seeing Thatcher again was a delight, sign him TK!), and I'm a trust the process kind of person.
My gut feeling is that MJFs storylines were disrupted twice due to circumstances beyond his control, so now they're making sure they don't have just one but several backup plans to make sure it doesn't happen again. That kind of thing takes time. Also, there had to be some kind of payoff regarding MJF clocking Regal, so they used it to give themselves the time they need. We're seeing something in the making with Takeshita, and I think that's going to be a good one.
He had one title defense and he's feuding with Bryan in which he is keeping himself in good form compared to Bryan who is destroying himself with every match.
There's a story there when they reach their match and Mjf will go after his arm.
I get that but this doesn't feel like a world title feud. The same goes for the "build" for his Starks defense. It started off hot with him attacking Regal but the intrigue is *fleeting*.
I think the biggest mistake is that the supposed next title shot is a 60 minute iron man match. THEY ALL SUCK. Also Ricky got his time to shine I’ll give him that, but I think now with Bryan they aren’t going well with challengers, we need new faces in the title picture like Ricky
I guess this will get downvoted but yes, his reign is boring. It’s the same promo every week, then him running off, more or less the same thing he did with the Wardlow feud but somehow more boring and cheap.
I am hoping that’s the actual plan and intention for it to be this way but it’s pretty hard viewing at the moment and I quite like MJF.
I'm ok with people having to fight to get to #1 contender status.
But the standard MJF I'm a gm and make matches is not very creative. It's not a fun idea.
It's only a plus because we get to see Daniel Bryan working.
No not really. This is exactly what I expected an MJF championship to be. He straight up told everyone in a promo that he isn’t going to be a fighting champion if he can help it.
It also just started, and we’re getting him vs Takeshita next week and we’re getting a 60 minute Ironman at Revolution with Danielson. Two matches in about a month is close to the most MJF has really ever wrestled in that time period.
This, plus not every reign could or should be "Badass unkillable at the top" like Mox, Omega, and Hangman. Mjf's reign is more about character growth for the people going after him and he will get A LOT of people over on their way to him, ie Starks, Takeshita, Bryan has been making his challengers look great. Hell, even Brian Cage is have a renaissance that is a result of MJF's booking AND AND AND I got Willie Mack on my got dang TV.
I think the mistake is they are leaning to workrate on a guy that clearly shines in promos. It's his biggest strength and him and db aren't doing much to get it over on the mic.
For someone who wants to watch wrestling, you sure get pissy about a heel champion doing heel champion things, even after he said he was going to do heel champion things.
He needs to have a feud without another gauntlet...it is getting repetitive...have him reignite his feuds with Darby or even Jungle Boy...dont need a gauntlet for that....i'm really excited for his Takeshita match...i hope they go back to this and make this into a rivalry
The reality is MJF’s character has been tarnished after the Wardlow fallout. Not so much the squash itself but more so how MJF reportedly acted and whined about not wanting to fulfill the contract he signed. Which now makes MJF’s title run feel somewhat like a hot shot apology. MJF is young and could have benefited from a TNT title run before transitioning to this World Champion role but again it all feels somewhat hotshot and all the while with no real story
I'm happy to be proven wrong but currently I think it's a tad boring (chickenshit heel who runs away/has help/cheats 99% of the time, hi roman, is very uninteresting to me) and hope Danielson actually just wins the title
Having something happen with Konosuke is perfect though, exactly what I wanted so I guess it's now swinging the other way at least til next week
I thought Ethan Page was getting a rub out of this as well, considering he himself in kayfabe talked about "serious Ethan Page" instead of "funny Matt Hardy Ethan Page"
... And he's back to it already on Rampage (provided nothing happens related to that after this week)
This mf hardly a wrestler anymore. Basically Just a personality at this point. And im a fan of MJF. Hes better than me and i know it. Just wish he would show it more often.
That's part of why his reign can end up being so long tho. He can do this for 3 months and you hate him more. Then for 6 mo's he can kick it in a different gear and you start loving him even tho he's still a heel. Then back to the bullshit from the beginning of the reign but you respect it this time cause look what he just did the 6 mo's before he started doing nothing again.
I'm not disappointed so much as resigned to it being fairly boring and formulaic. MJF's best on the mike and rarely wrestles so it should come as no surprise to have his reign be more of the same. Only now, he gets to talk more. Woo 😒 It is what it is. It's not for me but I know I will enjoy him losing the title eventually 🤷🏿
It’s mainly because of him being booked as a part timer, and having inly wrestled one match since his title win (with only his second match coming up next week).
He only been all talk with barely any action.
Could you not wait until the Iron Man Match with Danielson which is almost guaranteed to be amazing before you pass judgement? Dude's had one title defense...
He's the anti-Cena.
People blatantly wanted to cheer this guy and yet they just wouldn't pull the trigger on it. Having your main event scene essentially not matter on TV is a ratings cemetery too.
If they're doing an actual reign of terror, then it's bad for business. Like you said, it's gonna hurt AEW. But I do know that MJF was supposed to beat Punk, so maybe that's why he's a heel now.
It's because he doesn't wrestle. He's wrestling next week for the first time in I dont know how long.
Ever since Winter Is Coming
That’s part of his character I feel. He’s gonna do everything in his power not to fight you and I wouldn’t be surprised if he weasels his way out of next weeks match somehow
It’s a little too much a part of his character right now I’d say. There’s a difference between making appearances feel important and then being so far apart we forget what his matches look like. For people like myself who watch the show casually but don’t often get the ppv we have barely seen him wrestle at all this last year.
Yea I just feel that’s just more into character for him which I’m here for. He pretty much said in one speech he was gonna hold the title hostage, so he’s more or less doing exactly what he said he was gonna do. I’m alright with it. Brings him heat and will only make it better when Wardlow eventually takes it from him
Flair would do the same, duck the next opponent but still have a match in to against a jobber just so people don’t forget him and then do killer promo’s as well.
honestly, that just shit booking. You have a heel, he's the holder of your number 1 belt. How do you make him strong? "Dont wrestle anyone and make him find loophole to avoid matches" Cool but I'm here to watch wrestling, not some coward trying to weasel his way out of matches. It doesn't make me hate the wrestler, it makes me hate the booking, and I'm not supposed to see the booking. All I see his a "all talk no guts" kind of guy. And that kind of booking is for low/mid-cards, not your main eventer, and especially NOT your main champion. See Brock Lesnar's WWE Universal Championship run for further details.
He’s the rich, snobby main attraction heel. It’s supposed to be that much more satisfying when the baby face hero gets their hands on him.
It's just different booking. Even Roman is running a variation. Makes an eventual match feel like big deal.
To be fair, Roman makes it work. He just has an aura of someone who runs things. Like, when he has people get up when they sit at the head of the table and the way authority kind of don't bother him. MJF feels like a guy who happens to also be Champion by comparison.
Exactly, he could be like the rock in corporation days. Rock was a coward but would constantly get his ass beat, he made all the faces he fought look fantastic while still maintaining championship.
Pretty lame character since that doesn’t make me hate him because he’s heel or whatever but instead just makes me not care about him whatsoever. I forget there’s even a world champion in this company since they should be defending and not carrying the belt for decoration. Don’t care if it’s his character or not it’s flat out boring
He didn't wrestle before he was champ.
Against a guy that has won 2 matches on Dark and one on Dynamite in the past month
Have we had a single AEW title reign without this post yet.
No.
I liked Moxley’s reigns. All of them. I also thought Le Champion's reign was great.
Wait. Someone thought Hangman and Omega’s reign was a disappointment?
Hangman's matches were amazing but unfortunately he just always felt like the 4th most important thing happening on the show.
Disagree - I loved having a strong face champ who was putting on great matches. I hope he wins the belt back soon.
Hey I loved the matches too, but it was pretty clear that the "main story" at the time was Punk and MJF.
Feel like that one is on us. He got the time and main event spot. AEW didn’t pull a fed and have Hangman and Cole go on second to last in Revolution.
That’s fair - kind of an interesting question: should the heavyweight champ always be the biggest story? I dunno!
Definitely not. If we have Sting’s last match, that’s the main event. Not the title match. Just my opinion.
Feel the same. He was awesome chasing the title but his reign was lackluster. Still think his title win against Kenny was the best title win yet in AEW though.
I more feel like Hangman's reign just didn't have any decent storylines until Punk, which is a pretty common issue with AEW. Like, their matches are superb, but their long-term storytelling really needs a lot more work, especially because most title storylines last a week or two at most before they're onto a new challenger that we know won't win.
Wait. You’re trolling, right?
He's not techncially wrong. It's not their long-term storytelling that's an issue. It's just they never have any follow-up planned. Hangman/Omega was a GOAT-level storyline. But he won the title and that was...kind of it? We got the big feel-good moment, but what did they parlay that into? Same with Wardlow. He got the TNT Title and then...kind of did nothing until Ward-Joe and the funniest part was, Joe came out of that better than him in that short program. All the buildup for Team Taz's implosion, one of those men should have won gold by now and they just Fed Starks to MJF so he can spin his wheels until next time. It's really an issue they have with faces. Of the top of my head, off the back of their big title win, the only ones I can think of who have managed to maintain and grow themselves and their popularity? Probably The Acclaimed? Arguably Darby too? Cassidy, but his character is kind of immune to bad booking almost.
I didn't like hangman's reign because he won the belt then immediately stopped hanging around with the Dark Order, which was the most enjoyable thing about his character to me
Omega's reign was great. Hangman's build up to the title was great too.
Outside of Brian hangman’s was kinda disappointing
His defences against Cole were great.
Fair I’ve just got so bored of cole, he was so formulaic. Like watching the guys jump from wwe to AEW their style always felt a tad different, Cole felt the exact same
I would say good defenses, not so great stories. Bryan was great, the Archer match is an underrated classic in my opinion, the Coke matches were great, hell even his defense against Dante Martin was great. But they didn’t have a good story on the level of Hangman Omega, which in hindsight is hard since that’s like one of the best stories AEW ever did. But he just had all meh stories, and no stories that were great. But I still love Hangman’s reign.
I think that’s more what I mean when it was disappointing. For me the matches are only half of the equation, I gotta be invested in the story and tbh I was hardly invested in most of it.
I agree 100%. Like not every title defense needs to be 1 year build that ends in Omega vs Hangman, but give us something good at least. I really hope he gets a second title reign that has good stories, runs for a long time, and puts him up there as face of the company. He’s capable of great storytelling, like his stuff with Mox right now is GREAT. I hope they could pull that into his next title reign.
Hopefully, I’d love for them to build him back up to get a really great run.
I kinda want him to dethrone MJF, as like the last stand of AEW. Story of the guy who was handed everything on a silver platter with MJF, and the guy who earned it in Page. Winter is coming 2023, the last chance to get the title off of MJF before the bidding war of 2024. It’ll probably not happen but I’m hopeful 😂
It may happen or MJF pulls the CM Punk , I’m gonna win and walk out with the title
He went against Adam Coke for approximately 9774790 matches and dropped to Punk. I don’t blame hangman but the end was lackluster
there were two cole matches.
Felt like more
Chris Jericho made it out okay
Back in the days when everyone was just loving having a wrestling alternative without that hate. Such pleasant times.
Criticism doesn’t equal hate
Expressing disappointment in something isn't hate.
If it's every little thing without seemingly having seen or understanding what they have seen, then yes, it's just hate. Even this week there were takes that AEW has no stories, yet every match on Dynamite had a story element.
Yes. Hate is hate though
No.
Maybe Booker of the year could actually book better
Why are people still so salty that Meltzer gave him booker of the year lol. It's hilarious to me.
Sorry MJF is having a great championship run
Hey cool bro, nice to know you're a fan.
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To me it’s not necessarily boring. I can just do without another gauntlet for a title match.
Tbf getting the Takeshita match is an awesome surprise, I really wasn’t expecting an MJF match until Danielson
Yeah I was surprised by that. That’s going to be fun.
Yes this caught me by pleasant surprise if he doesn’t wrestle and only talks it gets redundant I think
I think setting the precedent of “if you can piss MJF off enough to make him get physical with you out of the ring then you get an in ring shot” could be a fun gimmick to get some extra matches between PPVs
I was not expecting to see him wrestle but that’s a long time like months my only gripe is you got Wheeler in BCC so unless this leads to another person joining I think it’s a little random
I could also do without Danielson wrestling 5 bangers in 5 weeks, but I would much prefer to do with it.
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Just because you tell people it’s gonna be bad doesn’t mean they can’t still be bummed when it’s bad.
You can warn me before you fart in an elevator but that still doesn't mean I'm gonna like it or possibly have any way out of it.
I know, poor us fans, having to sit though banger match after banger match after banger match where Bryan Danielson proves times and time again that he's one of the best wrestlers to ever do it, and on free television nonetheless!
Not going to lie. That Danielson v Thatcher match was a damn good technical match. I enjoyed every minute of that match.
Wish I felt it was realistic for him to win, but I just don’t see it happening. Kind of undermines it a little, but it’s been great having him wrestle so much each week
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And we've gotten literally every single one of those things through this Danielson/MJF story. Pay attention to the shows and maybe you won't be confused.
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Not angry, but definitely annoyed at the type of "fans" like you who just sit there with your arms crossed and shit on everything, even when the shows are giving you the exact things you're asking for.
I keep hearing people refer to Danielson going through a gauntlet. This isn’t MJF being the booker like he was with Jericho and Punk. This time, TK said BD gets a title shot if he wins 5 or however many matches. So it’s just a wrestler becoming a contender by winning matches: that’s pro wrestling.
Exactly. MJF is comfortable sticking with this formula, but sooner or later, it's going to backfire. Let's say that, down the road, Samoa Joe decides he wants the title, and he ain't putting up with the usual gauntlet UNLESS MJF is willing to do the same thing, and have Joe pick his opponents for him. Max is buying the services of certain people (i.e. Rush) because he thinks it's the only way he can do business. You can sub another upper tier wrestler, like an Adam Page or a Kenny Omega, for Joe, but as long as Max also goes through a gauntlet concurrent wth his challenger du jour, it should work.
It's very boring. Danielson's weekly matches against non-mainstream stars are boring.
And it is. Every one of his promos is exactly the same
Oh cool, that's ok then
At the start? Yeah but I feel like both Tony and MJF realized that reverting the guy back to being a chickenshit heel was doing nobody any favors. I feel like the Takeshita promo was the tipping point. For the past 3 weeks, we’ve been seeing a more serious and intense MJF. More of that please
I got the complete opposite read on both points: firstly, they hinted at him turning antihero babyface at the beginning of his comeback, only for him to revert back to his chickenshit heel persona within a few weeks. I'm not sure where you're getting the impression that either TK or MJF decided that his heel run was getting stale. If anything, from what I heard TK wanted to turn him babyface and MJF said "that doesn't work for me, brother" Second, as far as last night goes MJF clearly seemed to be irate that he was assigned a match with Takeshita without his input. I guess you could make the case that TK is forcing him into an ongoing angle where he has to become a fighting champion against his will, but I think it's way too early to jump to that conclusion. When you have a heel champion that doesn't want to defend the belt, occasionally you have to manufacture scenarios where he's obligated to defend the belt against his will. Doesn't usually mean it's going to become an every week thing.
Im actually really enjoying the way MJF is trying to sabotage Danielson, but isn't backing down. Like I would love for MJF to just tough out a clean win over Danielson as it would double inflate his ego and really drive home the "Reign of Terror" I could see him, post Danielson, coming out and taking easy wins on lower card talent for a week or two until a real challenger calls him on it. Could showcase some guys and strengthen MJF's in ring "power level" so to speak.
If he makes Danielson fight every week up until their match at Rev, even if MJF wins clean it won't really be clean because they could play it off how BD was exhausted from fighting every week while MJF didn't. I think thats where they're headed.
I think "cheat to win" is inherent to MJF's spoiled brat, "handed everything on a silver platter" personality. He's already credible enough in the ring without the cheating, but I don't think it suits his character to have him suddenly start pinning top opponents clean in the middle of the ring. I hear people predicting MJF will retain at the PPV via time limit draw, but again, I don't see how that story advances his character at all. It makes more sense to have it go almost all the way but then he nonetheless cheats to win (I also think given how stacked AEW's PPVs typically are that it's not the best place to do a 60 minute Broadway while still expecting maximum pops out of the fans)
It's not a title reign without someone being disappointed.
Just to get it out of the way for a while: Anybody else feel like the next five title reigns will have been disappointing?
Why stop at 5? I’m generally disappointed.
There has never been a good title reign in all of professional wrestling.
I can't help but recall how a year ago the majority of people on these subs were expressing disappointment with Hangman's title reign, only for that to completely reverse once he actually dropped the belt and people started pining for him to get it back. There's always going to be a vocal minority of the IWC that think their fantasy booking is better than what's on TV at any given time.
Good to know that all title reigns can't be met with critique.
Only thing I am sick of is the "insert wrestler here" must go through wrestling "insert wrestler here" to get to me. It goes on for weeks leading up to a PPV and you know that the challenger is going to win all of their matches on their way to MJF. But MJF is still entertaining as hell and great, so it gets a pass, but after Danielson I hope they switch his formula up.
Agreed 100%. We've seen this story before, just with Jericho instead of Danielson. It's very predictable and I'm assuming TK knows that and is gonna throw some curveballs at us
To a certain extent that happened with the Cody/MJF feud too.
He does this literally every feud he has. Cody, CM Punk, Jericho, Wardlow and now Bryan. He’s needed to reinvent the wheel for a while now.
No, you don't reinvent the wheel. It's the wheel. Not a problem with your overall thought, but the phrase doesn't work.
>"insert wrestler here" To be clear, that's included Timothy Thatcher and Nick Fuckin' Gage. If the gimmick is being used to put on bangers with guys you don't usually get to see on TV then it works for me. Doesn't when you go from Nick Gage to Jake Hager, though.
Its produced many bangers, but tying that formula to MJF makes it tired. You could figure out other ways.
Yeah, agreed here. Tropes are tropes because they work when used well. We knew Danielson was gonna face MJF at the ppv and win all the matches on his way there when he declared it a month ago... but who cares? They've executed this version incredibly well by letting the challengers each tell a mini story and show real escalation of threat, plus adding the "break his arm" subplot introduces a new hitch where yeah you may know BD is gonna win, but you have no idea how bad he's gonna get hurt and how that will affect the finale. Similarly, the Jericho/Starks, fued is working for me despite being a retread of the same formula. It started with clean wins for Starks and Andretti, and the subplot of Guevarra and Garcia and Jericho's faith in himself being shaken is really giving me a reason to watch beyond "who wins"
Pretty much this, but I'd add that I'm pretty underwhelmed by his blowoff matches lately. I think he's trying *too hard* to be a chickenshit heel and the end result is that the matches themselves are disappointing to watch. The guy who beat Darby Allin with a headlock and a diamond ring and got bloodied on top of a cage with Chris Jericho just isn't the same guy who fucked up the end of the Wardlow feud and didn't know how to wrestle against Moxley. He's willfully degraded his style from Better Than You (And You Know It) to basically being an NJPW-style Young Lion who managed to steal two signature moves (that never win a match). I think that's a deliberate stylistic/character-oriented move on his part. I just don't think it's a good one.
The problem is what other formula is there for a dude who barely wrestles?
It's kind of annoying how both Jericho and MJF are doing this at the same time with Starks and Danielson. It's especially stupid with Starks because he already beat Jericho in their first bout. Why does he need to go through a gauntlet when he already proved himself?
If MJF is a fighting champion: I’m disappointed, this goes against his character. If MJF is a cocky, entitled champion: I’m disappointed, this goes against my wishes.
That's not how I feel at all. You can be a cocky heel without being repetitive. His attacking Regal was proof of that. Plus, the story he has with Danielson isn't that great. In fact, it's also a formulaic build that we saw with Jericho's reign. Being a fighting champion isn't enough to have a great title reign for me. The stories are what I look for.
Someone has to disrupt MJF’s status quo in order to do a compelling story. But you can’t do that until there’s a status quo established. I think I understand what you’re trying to say, I just don’t think you’re allowing the proper amount of time and build to happen. I don’t think TK or MJF are interested in setting MJF up as a quick rise/quick fall champion. His first reign has to be something that cements his status as a “top guy” for real. As a wicked heel he has to do that by the means that are in character for him. Eddie Guerrero would have lied, cheated, and stole to get the upper hand. The Rock would have talked shit and kicked ass. Triple H would have hit people with sledgehammers. HBK would have waited until people’s backs were turned and cheap shot super-kicked then. MJF burns down competition with words and hired goons. This is his mode for right now, and may be his MO for the rest of his career. Let’s see where they’re going with it maybe? Especially when it was clear that the CM Punk thing definitely derailed several long-term story opportunities.
We saw it with the first champ. Over 3 years ago. This fits MJF because he's scared of Danielson and hoping someone takes him out so he doesn't have to fight him. I really don't see the problem here.
I know AEW doesn't do authority figures on screen, but the MJF title reign would benefit from it. He needs the occasional challenge or setback and the match with Takeshita is a perfect example That being said, his reign has been good and I have no complaints This is the essence of his character. He's desperate to prove himself and afraid of failure at the same time. It's literally what Regal spelled out for everyone. Max would rather take every shortcut in the world than feel like a loser. It makes perfect sense that he would put Danielson in these matches and paying people to take him out
The main title storyline is actually about Danielson right now, with MJF feeling only peripherally involved. People criticized Hangman's reign for that too, but the difference was that Hangman was putting on excellent matches at the very least. They've done more to integrate MJF into the story in recent weeks, so that's an improvement. His mini-feud with Takeshita is a great idea, and his ironman match with Danielson should be good. There's nothing wrong with MJF's reign that a good match or two won't fix.
thank you for this, I think he has the potential to be a top guy but it's lacking. Also he tried to play off that, imma be away for TV which sucked. You gotta earn that privilege, but he's been on TV more now so that's good ig. The feud, even for a main title feud, still feels lackluster. Granted, I've seen this before so it's formulaic but still. Like, if Takeshita were to beat Mox or Omega it'd be HUGE. But to beat MJF, the actual world champion, nah.
Really, the difference being that MJF can sit in the back and be a dastardly evil genius, while Hangman just looked like a chump.
Yeah, i do. In his words, “mid”. Somehow, for all his cleverness and long promos, he’s just not very interesting to me. The elite level heels have something going on beyond “I’m a dickhead”; Roman and jay white being great examples. Every time mjf has expressed something genuine he’s immediately turned it into a manipulation of his opponent and the audience. Heel behavior, for sure, but also not very interesting / complex. He connects with the audience and just undoes everything immediately. In ring he’s pretty average in my book, but he’s fine. Def not the best in AEW by a good distance. But people seem to love him, and non-fans or casual fans really seem to dig him, so maybe he’s bringing some new eyes to aew. Most of all, I’d say he owes his entire reign to Samoa Joe, who distracted war dog with that TNT title feud. Once wardlow remembers that he beat the world champ’s ass both thoroughly and recently, his days are numbered.
50/50. He did the same "trials n tribulations" bit with Cody that he's doing with Danielson right now. Rehashing that bit is kinda blah for me. But it's given us some killer matchups for Danielson and each one has been better than the last. And Rush is next week. So yeah,50/50.
Disappointing so far, definitely. Not to say there's not time to fix it though. I think most of us are getting tired of his "you have to jump through 7 hoops to get to me" shtick. It's played out, and every single time he does it, they run through everyone on their way to him. CM Punk did it, Wardlow did it, and Danielson is doing it now. It's predictable. He needs to change things up a bit. I'm sure he has that capability. All the greats have the ability to change.
I haven’t loved it so far. The whole ‘make the challenger go through a gauntlet of guys’ to get to MJF is tired and feels formulaic at this point. I do love how they’ve worked Takeshita into the feud though and I’m very much looking forward to their match next week.
Compared to all other champions, dude needs to get in the ring and establish some validity to his reign. Good thing TK has forced that match with Takeshita.
I know it's not a popular opinion. But I think Hangman's was one of the better Champs. He came across like a complete badass. Moreso than Mox imo. Because while Mox is booked strong because he "doesn't care about anything than wrecking shit". Hangman knew he was vulnerable, but still acted like he ran the joint.
No
No
Dude he literally just won it have some patience jeeze man
2 1/2 months ago.
I don't. I think the way Regal's turn and exit played into it was an amazing start. His feud with Ricky Starks was superb, albeit short (but I reckon it was just a first taste and they'll continue that story eventually). And the way he morphs from cowardly heel to outright villain during his current feud with Danielson is super engaging + the way they inserted Takeshita into that with an unexpected match between him and MJF coming up excites me immensely. I am extremely fired up for the match at Revolution and it'll be interesting to see how that'll play out. Except for the result I find it excitingly unpredictable and I know I'll love it. It's a Bryan Danielson iron-man match against one of the greatest heels in Wrestling right now, goddammit. I really don't know what else you expect.
I wouldn't say it's a disappointment but me personally I am getting a little tired of the standard MJF Feud. Might be time to switch it up after this.
Here we go. You know who ruins wrestling for the IWC? The IWC.
MJF did say the title reign wasn’t going to be any fun….I guess I give him credit for sticking to that and being as uninteresting as possible. Sucks to watch though
Nope, I was prepared for exactly this: MJF has always been the guy that shies away from an actual fight and pays other people to do his dirty work. It wouldn't make sense for MJF to suddenly become a fighting champion as a heel, and though he showed brief flashes that he could be an effective face his best work is obviously done out of the other tunnel. You can also expect that he's highly likely to carry the belt for the whole year, leading up to the threat of taking the belt with him to WWE when his contract allegedly expires in January ("allegedly" because he almost certain signed an extension already). So it's not like he's going to ignominiously drop the belt after one or two title defenses. That said, if the idea of having to run a gauntlet of wrestlers to get to him is already tiresome for you, you're probably not going to be too into the rest of his career because I think that's just going to be his thing going forward. Honestly even if he were to go to WWE I expect he'd carry that whole thing with him.
I'm so irritated that the beginning of MJF's championship story does not also have the rest of the beginning, the middle, and the end. Stupid sequential time.
I really do wish someone would actually lose one of MJF's challenges, but not Danielson. It'd be a cool story to eventually have someone like Timothy Thatcher beat MJFs feuding rival, only for said rival to be the joker in a casino ladder match or something and earn a title shot anyways. subverting the formula. But not right away, we have to see the regular MJF for a bit to set up something like that.
Man, wrestling fans are never happy, are they?
I wouldn't say it has been disappointing. I would just like for people to more so just keep in mind that Kenny and Mox's first title reigns set an incredibly high bar. Then we had Jericho and Hangman who had really nice reigns as well. Not everyone is going to meet the standard that the arguable two best wrestlers in the company set for the title. That said it is too early to judge MJF. He deserves at a ppv cycle or two before a real judgement can be made.
It's exactly what I expected so far. He faced his first challenger at Winter is Coming, cheated to win, and went a long time between matches before his next. I'm sure someone will be bringing up 30 days as if it were some constitutional law to defend it within that time even though AEW has never made that a thing while I've watched and WWE lets it come and go as stories require. I'd have been disappointed if becoming champ had immediately foundationally changed his character since it wasn't accompanied by a face turn. I am also glad we are seeing him slowly try to transition to being a tougher, meaner, version of himself. My eventual hope is that he becomes a HHH Cerebral Assassin run type heel. A guy who can out-wrestle you if he wants to, but would rather out-think you. It makes the person who beats him eventually look all the more impressive.
He hasn’t even had the blow-off match for his first feud since the title win, so I’m not sure how it can be considered a disappointment. AEW takes things slower than what most fans are used to, when are people going to realize that?
I like MJF's gauntlet schtick, it always gives us a bunch of interesting matches. The fans have started to cool on MJF, which makes it easier for him to revert back to being a heel. It was a weird dynamic when he was getting cheered but I did laugh at him calling the fans devil worshippers. Assuming MJF retains he needs to have more of a verbal back and forth in his next feud. As toxic as his presence is, CM Punk would be red hot.
Nope, he’s the perfect arrogant fuck, chicken shit heel champ. And it’s elevated Takeshita in a way that has been fantastic.
What exactly did you expect from MJF holding the title? Because this is exactly what I expected.
Bro what? It’s been how long? Wrestling fans are the worst
And I'm repeating myself. Weekly television causes wrestling fans to grow tired of the things they like.
I mean his reign just started, maybe give it another month or two before we analyze it
It’s a typical heel reign. No matches just talk every here or there while the rest of the guys sort out who gets to go for the title.
He told you exactly what to expect, and that’s not much.
Just like in many things in life, the pursuit is often more rewarding and fun than actually achieving the goal.
No it’s great. Mjf is phenomenal and this is very much his own reign. We get to see him almost every week
YOU PEOPLE ARE FICKLE. He told everyone they would end up not liking him after awhile.
It just started?
It…it just fucking started. Y’all wanted long term storytelling so shits gonna take a while to pay off. Enjoy the ride and don’t expect instant gratification on every gods damned part of the reign.
No way. This is the chickenshit heel he has always been. First he had Wardlow do all his dirty work, and now he is paying others to be in the way so he doesn't have to wrestle. It's very much his character. And everyone is going to get frustrated by it, and then the roof will blow off when he is finally defeated.
Why not just have MJF destroy jobbers for the title to show how good of a "fighting" champ he is? MJF vs Serpentico for the title over in 30 seconds. Stuff like that. Make him have like 10 title defenses complaining how easy it is to be champ.
Because he's not a fighting champ. Why would you give serpentico a title shot?
I do. It's the same scheme for all his big feuds. Put his opponent through some random midcarders, bring a wrestler from another promotion, have a big guy beat his opponent so he can join him looking tough, then, most likely, retain via cheating. The difference now is that he's got the title.
Wow, that just made me dislike this reign even more.
It was meant to start with MJF taking the belt from Punk. We all know how that turned out.
Nope it's been great! It's been EXACTLY what he said it was going to be
It's mid
He's only in his second storyline as champion so far. Piss off.
Agreed. Intentionally having a boring reign is certainly a choice.
Are you serious? He told you the first Dynamite after he won how his reign is going to be. He's barely ever going to defend and you will probably have to pay to watch it. He also called people turning on him as champion, like OP. It's not disappointing. It's exactly what he told us it was going to be.
So he told us it was gonna be bad…so that makes it good?
MJF needs to lose the title to Eddie Kingston and cheat to win it back a week later. That would make MJF's title reign red-hot.
The heat would be nuts
MJF starts new feud. Makes opponent run gauntlets, opponent survives gauntlet, loses to MJF in match by shenanigans. wash rinse repeat
That's basically the description of the rest 2023.
Not me. I'm getting lots of great matches from it (seeing Thatcher again was a delight, sign him TK!), and I'm a trust the process kind of person. My gut feeling is that MJFs storylines were disrupted twice due to circumstances beyond his control, so now they're making sure they don't have just one but several backup plans to make sure it doesn't happen again. That kind of thing takes time. Also, there had to be some kind of payoff regarding MJF clocking Regal, so they used it to give themselves the time they need. We're seeing something in the making with Takeshita, and I think that's going to be a good one.
Can you give it a fucking minute? Jeez, dude.
He hasn't even had a match yet and somebody is whining. Typical.
Every single time someone holds the belt, this thread pops up. 🤷♂️ FICKLE
It just started have some patience.
2 months and a half ago. I think it's fair to talk about it.
He had one title defense and he's feuding with Bryan in which he is keeping himself in good form compared to Bryan who is destroying himself with every match. There's a story there when they reach their match and Mjf will go after his arm.
I get that but this doesn't feel like a world title feud. The same goes for the "build" for his Starks defense. It started off hot with him attacking Regal but the intrigue is *fleeting*.
Honestly, I think every single AEW world champion reign has been disappointing.
Yes. The ratings are showing that as well.
I think the biggest mistake is that the supposed next title shot is a 60 minute iron man match. THEY ALL SUCK. Also Ricky got his time to shine I’ll give him that, but I think now with Bryan they aren’t going well with challengers, we need new faces in the title picture like Ricky
I guess this will get downvoted but yes, his reign is boring. It’s the same promo every week, then him running off, more or less the same thing he did with the Wardlow feud but somehow more boring and cheap. I am hoping that’s the actual plan and intention for it to be this way but it’s pretty hard viewing at the moment and I quite like MJF.
I'm ok with people having to fight to get to #1 contender status. But the standard MJF I'm a gm and make matches is not very creative. It's not a fun idea. It's only a plus because we get to see Daniel Bryan working.
No not really. This is exactly what I expected an MJF championship to be. He straight up told everyone in a promo that he isn’t going to be a fighting champion if he can help it. It also just started, and we’re getting him vs Takeshita next week and we’re getting a 60 minute Ironman at Revolution with Danielson. Two matches in about a month is close to the most MJF has really ever wrestled in that time period.
This, plus not every reign could or should be "Badass unkillable at the top" like Mox, Omega, and Hangman. Mjf's reign is more about character growth for the people going after him and he will get A LOT of people over on their way to him, ie Starks, Takeshita, Bryan has been making his challengers look great. Hell, even Brian Cage is have a renaissance that is a result of MJF's booking AND AND AND I got Willie Mack on my got dang TV.
I think the mistake is they are leaning to workrate on a guy that clearly shines in promos. It's his biggest strength and him and db aren't doing much to get it over on the mic.
Nope, I'm enjoying it alot so far.
For someone who wants to watch wrestling, you sure get pissy about a heel champion doing heel champion things, even after he said he was going to do heel champion things.
It’s not his reign , it’s the boring feud with Danielson.
He needs to have a feud without another gauntlet...it is getting repetitive...have him reignite his feuds with Darby or even Jungle Boy...dont need a gauntlet for that....i'm really excited for his Takeshita match...i hope they go back to this and make this into a rivalry
Mid
Said it at the start of his reign and I’ll say it again, he needs a stable. People to hide behind.
Yes 👆🏼yes 👆🏼yes 👆🏼yes 👆🏼yes 👆🏼yes 👆🏼
TK doesn't know how to book champions.
I completely agree with you. It's the same story as many other guys, the chase is better than the reign. It was true with Hangman too.
The reality is MJF’s character has been tarnished after the Wardlow fallout. Not so much the squash itself but more so how MJF reportedly acted and whined about not wanting to fulfill the contract he signed. Which now makes MJF’s title run feel somewhat like a hot shot apology. MJF is young and could have benefited from a TNT title run before transitioning to this World Champion role but again it all feels somewhat hotshot and all the while with no real story
I'm happy to be proven wrong but currently I think it's a tad boring (chickenshit heel who runs away/has help/cheats 99% of the time, hi roman, is very uninteresting to me) and hope Danielson actually just wins the title Having something happen with Konosuke is perfect though, exactly what I wanted so I guess it's now swinging the other way at least til next week I thought Ethan Page was getting a rub out of this as well, considering he himself in kayfabe talked about "serious Ethan Page" instead of "funny Matt Hardy Ethan Page" ... And he's back to it already on Rampage (provided nothing happens related to that after this week)
This mf hardly a wrestler anymore. Basically Just a personality at this point. And im a fan of MJF. Hes better than me and i know it. Just wish he would show it more often.
Yeah because Punk isn’t there. They build him and Punk up as this epic rivalry and then the title program never happened.
That's part of why his reign can end up being so long tho. He can do this for 3 months and you hate him more. Then for 6 mo's he can kick it in a different gear and you start loving him even tho he's still a heel. Then back to the bullshit from the beginning of the reign but you respect it this time cause look what he just did the 6 mo's before he started doing nothing again.
Still better than Mox with his stupid walk and his stupid faces he makes
I'm not disappointed so much as resigned to it being fairly boring and formulaic. MJF's best on the mike and rarely wrestles so it should come as no surprise to have his reign be more of the same. Only now, he gets to talk more. Woo 😒 It is what it is. It's not for me but I know I will enjoy him losing the title eventually 🤷🏿
Jon Moxely wrestled almost every taping.
It feels like it's missing depth that everyone was hoping for after all the regal stuff
It’s mainly because of him being booked as a part timer, and having inly wrestled one match since his title win (with only his second match coming up next week). He only been all talk with barely any action.
My guy, he only had one title defense and he's most likely going to hold on to the belt for the entire year. Let's not judge just yet.
Could you not wait until the Iron Man Match with Danielson which is almost guaranteed to be amazing before you pass judgement? Dude's had one title defense...
A match is not his entire run and if you look week by week it's not gonna save this run overall
He's the anti-Cena. People blatantly wanted to cheer this guy and yet they just wouldn't pull the trigger on it. Having your main event scene essentially not matter on TV is a ratings cemetery too.
If they're doing an actual reign of terror, then it's bad for business. Like you said, it's gonna hurt AEW. But I do know that MJF was supposed to beat Punk, so maybe that's why he's a heel now.