MJF made his return during “AEW Dynamite” to execute his Casino Gauntlet contract, inserting himself within the World Championship match between Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, and “Hangman” Adam Page at Worlds End.
Joe dethroned Page at Full Gear in November to start his second reign with the title, because of an assist from Hook to re-join The Opps, with Strickland returning afterwards to align with Page against the brand new champion and The Opps. Strickland and Page had since worked together to fend off Joe’s Trios Championship partners, Katsuyori Shibata and Powerhouse Hobbs, during “AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming” before establishing their joint pursuit of the title at the top of the month.
This week, the three competitors sought to sign the contract and ensure the match, which they did after exchanging some selection words; notably, Page and Strickland presented a united front against Joe, proclaiming that he had made a mistake before the lights had gone out.
MJF’s music then played to mark his return to AEW after three months, having last loss to Mark Briscoe in a Tables n’ Tacks match at All Out in Toronto. He signed his contract, the one which he had earned winning the Casino Gauntlet at All In back in July, confirming that he had been inserted into the title match. He then had words for every of his opponents, likening Strickland to Sean “P Diddy” Combs and referencing his time with WWE, and reasoned that he desired to be within the match to embarrass Page and his two biggest rivals.
Page defeated MJF in a title defense at Forbidden Door in August, while Joe dethroned MJF for his first title at Worlds End 2023, with Joe later dropping the title to Strickland for his first reign at Dynasty 2024.