Maxwell Jacob Friedman has made a promise to his good buddy, Adam Cole.
On last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite, MJF told Cole that after they wrestle FTR for the tag titles on Collision, he’s going to give him another shot at the world title. However, Roderick Strong interrupted the segment shortly after and told Cole he can’t trust MJF.
After their match with #FTR for the #AEW World Tag Team Titles THIS SATURDAY on #AEWCollision, win, lose, or draw, MJF will give Adam Cole another shot at his #AEW World Championship title!
Cole and MJF went to a 30-minute time limit on the 6/14 Dynamite from Washington. Our own Dave Meltzer rated the match four and one-quarter stars. It’s not clear when or where MJF vs. Cole II will take place, however.
Following their title match, MJF and Cole were paired together in AEW’s Blind Eliminator tag team tournament. They defeated Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara in the finals of the tournament on last week’s Dynamite.
As of this writing, MJF’s title reign currently sits at 250 days (third all-time) with five successful defenses (fifth all-time). In less than four weeks, MJF will pass Jon Moxley’s first run with the title in terms of length. Moxley’s first title reign lasted 277 days with nine successful title defenses.
It’s a brand new We’re Live, Pal! with myself and Andrew Zarian.
This week’s show is available for free on YouTube. Just click above to watch.
I opened up the show by paying off my bet with Andrew. We showed the clip of the bet as well as Andrew’s winnings.
We then talked about AEW Collision and where the show is with the fanbase. Andrew talked about how happy WBD is with the show and how they look at the audience differently based on how people watch TV today.
We also went into how both AEW All In and All Out are going to be PPVs and what could happen if AEW goes toward a monthly pay-per-view model.
The “Better Than You Bay Bay” t-shirt introduced during the current MJF/Adam Cole storyline has been a major hit in terms of sales for AEW.
According to Dave Meltzer in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the new shirt has sold more than any other AEW shirt for the current year. It’s also the second highest-grossing shirt for the year behind an MJF button down that has a higher price point.
The shirt was introduced on Dynamite several weeks ago by MJF to a reluctant Cole, and the two opponents turned teammates in the Blind Eliminator tag team tournament have now become friends as part of the story.
The two first wrestled against each other in a mid-June Dynamite title eliminator bout that went to a 30-minute draw. After being paired up in the tournament against their wishes, they defeated The Butcher & Matt Menard in the quarterfinals, Big Bill & Brian Cage in the semifinals and then Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia in the finals on this past Wednesday’s Dynamite.
With the win, they earned a title shot against AEW Tag Team Champions FTR on the Saturday, July 29th Collision.
MJF & Adam Cole have earned an AEW World Tag Team title shot.
MJF & Cole defeated Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia on Wednesday’s Dynamite in the finals of the Blind Eliminator Tournament, winning a shot at FTR’s AEW Tag titles on the Saturday, July 29 edition of Collision.
After weeks of teasing their double clothesline spot, MJF & Cole finally connected with it on Garcia after Cole hit Garcia with a Panama Sunrise, and MJF scored the pin to set up the title match for next week’s Collision.
After the win, FTR’s Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler came to the ring for a staredown with the challengers.
FTR retained the Tag titles in a two-out-of-three falls match against Bullet Club Gold’s Jay White & Juice Robinson on last week’s Collision. They have held the titles since defeating The Gunns on the April 5 episode of Dynamite.
Cole & MJF defeated Matt Menard & The Butcher in the Blind Eliminator quarterfinals, and Big Bill & Brian Cage in the semifinals before defeating Guevara & Garcia to capture the tournament.
The AEW Blind Eliminator tournament finals are set.
MJF & Adam Cole will meet Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia on the July 19 edition of AEW Dynamite. The winner of that match will face the AEW Tag Team Champions in a title match on the July 29 edition of Collision, which will take place in Hartford, Connecticut.
MJF & Cole advanced by defeating Big Bill and Brian Cage in a tournament semifinal. Cole has been questioning MJF’s motives ever since MJF insisted on bonding with him, but it was shown on Wednesday’s Dynamite that Cole had been warming up to him. After they defeated Bill and Cage, the two cut a promo and finished by saying their respective catchphrases.
Guevara and Garcia defeated Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy earlier in the show to advance. The finish had Prince Nana and Swerve Strickland becoming involved, attacking Darby Allin before escaping into the crowd. Guevara didn’t see the interference and hit the GTH on Allin for the win.
After two matches on AEW Rampage, the semifinals are now confirmed in the Blind Eliminator tag team tournament and will take place on this Wednesday’s Dynamite from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
In one, AEW World Champion MJF & Adam Cole will take on Big Bill & Brian Cage. Bill & Cage defeated Matt Sydal & Trent Beretta Friday to advance while MJF & Cole defeated The Butcher & Matt Menard on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
In the other, AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin will face Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Guevara & Garcia advanced Friday with their win over Jeff Jarrett & Matt Hardy while Cassidy & Allin edged out Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland on Wednesday’s Dynamite.
The eventual tournament winners will earn a future AEW Tag Team title shot.
Here’s the current lineup for Wednesday:
Chris Jericho vs. Komander
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament semifinal: Ruby Soho vs. Skye Blue
Blind Eliminator Tournament semifinal: MJF & Adam Cole vs. Big Bill & Brian Cage
Blind Eliminator Tournament semifinal: Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia
MJF and Adam Cole will team up for the first time on Wednesday.
It was announced on Friday’s Dynamite that the two will be in action in a AEW Blind Eliminator Tag Team title tournament quarterfinal. It wasn’t said who they would be facing. A second Blind Eliminator tournament match will also take place on the show, with Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee teaming up to take on Darby Allin & Orange Cassidy.
After Adam Cole and MJF went to a time limit draw in a AEW World Championship qualifying match, it was announced the two would be teaming up together for the tournament. On last week’s Dynamite, MJF offered Adam Cole a chance to bond with him. Cole seemed uninterested at first, but ended up agreeing. When Roderick Strong told Cole that he shouldn’t trust MJF, Cole agreed, saying he was just playing along.
We will also hear from Jon Moxley. Members of the Blackpool Combat Club brawled with the Elite and Eddie Kingston on Dynamite after the two parties agreed to a Blood and Guys match next month in Boston.
Here is the current card for next Wednesday’s show:
Blind Eliminator Tournament quarterfinals: Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland vs. Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin
Blind Eliminator Tournament quarterfinals: MJF & Adam Cole vs. ???
Jon Moxley segment
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament quarterfinals: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho
Ahead of their union in the impending blind draw Tag Team title eliminator tournament, AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole will appear on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.
After their recent draw in an AEW World title eliminator match, MJF and Cole learned last week they were chosen at random to participate in the tournament. The layout and rest of the field will be announced Wednesday.
MJF defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the title at last Sunday’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view while Cole had to withdraw from his bout with Tom Lawlor at the last minute due to an undisclosed illness.
It wasn’t specified if they would appear live or not.
Here’s the current lineup for Wednesday’s show from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada:
Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii
MJF, Adam Cole appearances
Tornado tag team match: Sting & Darby Allin vs. “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament first-round match: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho
Adam Cole has been removed from the lineup for tonight’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Tony Khan announced on Sunday that Cole is off the card due to illness and his match vs. Tom Lawlor has been canceled.
Khan wrote:
“Due to illness, @AdamColePro isn’t cleared tonight, therefore the Adam Cole vs @FilthyTomLawlor match is canceled. Despite the change, tonight will be an amazing show! Thank you to everyone watching #ForbiddenDoor, either here live in Toronto @ScotiabankArena or on PPV tonight!” Khan wrote.
Due to illness, @AdamColePro isn't cleared tonight, therefore the Adam Cole vs @FilthyTomLawlor match is canceled.
Despite the change, tonight will be an amazing show!
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door’s updated lineup has 9 matches on the main card and four on the pre-show.
IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega defends against Will Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against Jungle Boy
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm defends against Willow Nightingale
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyori Shibata in a four-way
Eddie Kingston, Tomohiro Ishii and The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta), Shota Umino and Konosuke Takeshita
Adam Cole vs. Tom Lawlor
Sting, Darby Allin & Tetsuya Naito vs. Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki & Sammy Guevara
Owen Hart Foundation men’s quarterfinal: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima
Zero Hour pre-show: Owen Hart Foundation women’s quarterfinal: Athena vs. Billie Starkz
Zero Hour pre-show: Mogul Embassay (Swerve Strickland, Toa Liona, and Kaun) vs. Trent Baretta, Rocky Romero, and El Desperado
Zero Hour pre-show: United Empire (TJP, Jeff Cobb, and Kyle Fletcher) vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, and BUSHI
Adam Cole now has a match for Sunday’s AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
Made on Friday’s edition of AEW Rampage, Cole will take on former NJPW Strong Champion Tom Lawlor on the pay-per-view from Toronto, Canada.
Cole came out for a promo and was interrupted by his recent rival/future tag team partner MJF. The AEW World Champion said he talked to Tony Khan and got Cole booked against Lawlor for Sunday. Lawlor and Royce Isaacs then attacked Cole from behind while MJF slowly made his way down to the ring, pretending to want to help. Once he finally got there, Lawlor and Isaacs took off.
Lawlor didn’t appear on last year’s Forbidden Door and this will be his first-ever sojourn in an AEW ring. Cole competed in a four-way for the IWGP World title at Forbidden Door where he sustained a concussion that kept him out of action until last March.
Here’s the current card for Sunday:
IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega defends against Will Ospreay
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against Jungle Boy
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm defends against Willow Nightingale
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Daniel Garcia, Zack Sabre Jr. and Katsuyori Shibata in a four-way
Eddie Kingston, Tomohiro Ishii and The Elite (The Young Bucks & Hangman Page) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta), Shota Umino and Konosuke Takeshita
Adam Cole vs. Tom Lawlor
Sting, Darby Allin & TBA vs. Chris Jericho, Minoru Suzuki & Sammy Guevara
Owen Hart Foundation men’s quarterfinal: CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima
Zero Hour pre-show: Owen Hart Foundation women’s quarterfinal: Athena vs. Billie Starkz
For the first time in show history, AEW World Champion MJF will appear on tonight’s Rampage in Chicago ahead of his title defense Sunday at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Adam Cole — MJF’s surprise teammate for the upcoming blind tag team eliminator tournament — will also be on the show to share some thoughts and perhaps find a dance partner for Sunday’s pay-per-view.
The Owen Hart Foundation tournaments will begin as the women kick things off. Past AEW Women’s title challenger Skye Blue will face Anna Jay A.S. in a quarterfinal battle.
Ahead of his challenge of NJPW World Champion SANADA on Sunday, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry will face SANADA’s stablemate Douki.
CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta & Yoh) will take on United Empire (Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher & Jeff Cobb) and Swerve Strickland in an eight-man match.
Former AEW Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed will also be in action.
**********
Taped in Chicago, Illinois.
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Chris Jericho were on commentary.
Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher & Jeff Cob and Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta & Yoh
This is sort of a rematch for a six-man tag last week, with Swerve Strickland and Yoh added to each side, respectively.
Beretta slid ouf a suplex attempt from Fletcher and took him down with a half-and-half suplex. Fletcher came back with a bodyslam. Beretta and Romero caught Fletcher with a double high knee. After a classic Roppongi Vice double team, The Best Friends and Rocky tried to give the people what they want, but the heels broke that up.
Ospreay took control of the match by giving Romero a tornado backbreaker. Cobb got the tag and a pretty noticeable pop. He took Romero down with a clothesline and hit a standing moonsault for a near fall.
After a split-screen break, Yoh squared off with Ospreay, who gave him a powerful chop. Ospreay hit a corkscrew kick and the crowd got solidly behind him. The match broke down and all the babyfaces ganged up on Ospreay, and they were finally able to give the people what they want! Yoh hit a falcon arrow on Ospreay for a near fall. Strickland took out Romero, and the United Empire ganged up on Yoh in the ring. Ospreay hit the Hidden Blade on Yoh to get the pinfall.
– Toni Storm promised New Japan Strong Women’s Champion Willow Nightingale she would “bend [her] over and make [her] humble” in their title match on Sunday. Storm’s title is the only title on the line in the match because hers is the only one that matters.
– Adam Cole came to the ring for a promo but was interrupted by MJF (making his first-ever appearance on Rampage) from the entrance stage. MJF is so thankful that Cole encouraged him to take that title match with Hiroshi Tanahashi on Sunday, that MJF got Cole a match with “Filthy” Tom Lawlor for Sunday. And no sooner does MJF announce the match were Lawlor and Royce Issacs in the ring to attack Cole. MJF took his time getting to the ring to run off Team Filthy, but not before Issacs and Lawlor got their licks in. It was almost as if MJF wasn’t interested in saving his tag team partner.
The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn defeated three unnamed enhancement talents (0:50)
Nothing to this match. The Acclaimed won quickly with The Arrival and the Mic Drop.
After the match, Harley Cameron (from QTV) came out with men dressed in masks and black hoodies. The Chicago crowd wanted nothing to do with this and were quite vocal with this disapproval. Cameron wanted to join the Acclaimed. She wanted to sing with the Acclaimed and tried to sing for them, but Billy Gunn cut her off. Cameron tried to impress the Acclaimed with her rap skills and tried flirting with Anthony Bowens. Bowens asked if she’s been kicked in the head too many times by a kangaroo because he’s gay. Bowens’ proclamation drew the biggest pop from the crowd all night. There was a very loud “He’s gay!” chant in support of Bowens.
QT Marshall and Aaron Solo came out to really take this segment off the rails. Marshall declared Harley’s rap “incredible” and compared Max Caster to John Cena… in 2003. This distracted the Acclaimed and allowed one of the men to unmask as Johnny (Hennigan/Nitro) TV and take out Billy Gunn with a superkick. Solo and Marshall then took out the Acclaimed.
This was a trainwreck of a segment. But I could not look away.
– Swerve Strickland promo. He’s going to cut the line to MJF by taking his opponent for Sunday, Hiroshi Tanahashi, out on Collision tomorrow night.
Skye Blue defeated Anna Jay A.S. (w/ Matt Menard & Angelo Parker) to advance in the first round of the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament (7:52 aired)
Anna Jay A.S. dropped Blue with a DDT on the floor to take control of the match through the commercial break.
Skye Blue made her comeback after the break. Blue came off the top with a crossbody for a near fall. Jay hit a backstabber for a near fall. Blue hit Code Blue and got the pinfall. Blue looked great in this match and had the crowd behind her. Let’s hope she can keep this going outside of Chicago.
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry defeated Douki (w/ Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (10:11)
Douki dumped Perry to the floor and followed him out with a tope. Douki chopped Perry around ringside, who came back by whipping his opponent into the ring barricade and back-suplexing him onto the ring apron.
After a long split-screen break, Douki caught Perry with a flying forearm and a double stomp. Douki gave Perry a powerbomb out of a backslide for a near fall. Perry came back with a tiger driver for a near fall.
Douki rolled to the floor, and Perry set up the timekeeper’s table. He made went for a powerbomb, but Douki escaped and took out Perry with his own diver through the table. This got the crowd behind Douki, (they chanted “Holy Douki!”) and they even started booing Perry. Douki got a brainbuster for a near fall, then a springboard into a DDT for another near fall. I’m pretty sure there was a “We want Douki/Not Jack!” chant.
Perry came back with a superkick and a poisoned rana while the crowd booed his comeback. Perry hit the sliding elbow strike, then locked Douki in SANADA’S finisher, the Skull End, to get Douki to tap out. The crowd stopped booing Perry to sing and dance to his sown after the match.
After the match, SANADA (looking quite dapper in a suit with the IWGP World title over his shoulder) came to the ring to have a staredown with Perry.
World Champion MJF will team with Adam Cole in the AEW blind eliminator tournament for a Tag Team title shot.
AEW revealed on Wednesday’s Dynamite that MJF & Cole were the first two names drawn for the blind eliminator tournament, a modern take on the WCW BattleBowl/Lethal Lottery concept, where names are drawn at random and wrestlers often at odds will be forced to team.
MJF and Cole faced off in the ring on this week’s Dynamite in a promo segment, where Tony Schiavone revealed that Cole and MJF were the first names drawn for the tournament. The two went to a time limit draw in a World title eliminator match on last week’s Dynamite. Cole asked for a rematch on this week’s show, but MJF declined the offer.
The full bracket for the blind eliminator tournament will be revealed on next week’s Dynamite. The tournament winners will receive a shot at FTR’s AEW World Tag Team Championship.
