The March 25 episode of “AEW Dynamite” saw the primary televised appearance of MJF since he defeated Hangman Page at AEW Revolution in a brutal Texas Death Match. He cut a terrific promo via a pre-tape last week, and now that he’s got his match set in stone for AEW Dynasty on April 12 against Kenny Omega, you’d think he’d have some things to say would not you?
What did MJF say exactly? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Well, he did technically say some things, but there was literally nothing of substance in any way. MJF comes out, mocks the people of Minnesota for having an accent that won’t his, reminds those who he beat Page, says the word “ever” so persistently it stops sounding like an actual word, and proceeds to do each of his catchphrases. That is it, that is the whole promo. I understand Maxwell Jacob Friedman is a heel and he’s meant to like himself and low cost heat, but you’ve got got a title match in three weeks and you are not even attempting to sell the match.
Actually, it isn’t until Kenny Omega, a person who looked absolutely exhausted on condition that he wrestled within the opening match, got here out that we got an actual promo. He claimed that when Swerve Strickland beat him, he learned something from it and applied it to the match he had earlier that night where he was capable of get his win back, implying that Omega has learned quite a bit since MJF beat a pre-diverticulitis version of “The Cleaner,” and that a rematch will probably be very different from their first bout.
Right there, Omega sells the match, making you ask yourself “Is he higher than he was in 2023? In that case, what could possibly occur at Dynasty? Who could be next in line? Who’s going to Wembley?” You already need to see this match, not due to MJF loving himself, but because Omega is able to go to war for the AEW World Championship, and the champion showed little to no real care in any way.
There will probably be a contract signing next week in Omega’s hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and I actually have a suspicion that segment will find yourself being significantly better for MJF than this one was. Sure, he’ll poke fun on the Canadian fans, probably make a hockey reference, but he’ll get the prospect to converse with Omega and cut an actual promo, moderately than simply pressing buttons on an MJF soundboard and calling that a promo. For a person known to be an absolute maestro on the microphone, this was a giant let down on an evening stuffed with lower than average promos. A minimum of the match at Dynasty will probably be good.
Written by Sam Palmer