Adam Cole isn’t coming back anytime soon? - 3 Reasons why MJF turned heel on AEW Dynamite
Tonight on AEW Dynamite, MJF shocked the world by reverting to being a heel, at Daniel Garcia's expense. This was not entirely surprising as this was how many fans knew him, and this was him just going back to his roots.
He brought back everything tonight that his heel self once used to do. Everything from the Dynamite Diamond Ring, to his cheeky low blow, and to him being unhinged in dishing out pain to his victims. But just why did he turn heel and what impact will this have moving forward?
#1. To fully go back to his best version after having a lackluster run as a babyface
Around mid-2023, fans witnessed MJF go from one of the biggest heels in the business to a babyface. a twist that no one expected. He initially got a great reaction, especially with him doing stuff the fans loved, but eventually many realized that he was better off with his old persona.
In several of his feuds from that point on, he was a more watered-down version of himself and someone who now surprisingly had morals. While we still got the part of himself that ran his mouth, a lot of his heel tendencies were not present anymore.
Tonight's heel turn may be to make his transition back to his old self complete. At Double or Nothing a month and a half ago, he made his return and said he was going back to riding solo. Tonight was his full transformation to the 2020 to early 2022 version of himself.
#2 MJF is looking to play the heel, while Will Ospreay rises as a red-hot babyface at All In
Two weeks ago, the former AEW World Champion and Will Ospreay came to the aid of Daniel Garcia when he was jumped by The Cage of Agony with Hechicero. They then had a quick face-off for the first time.
It seems that this was the first seed for their feud to be planted. Last week, the two were once more in the same ring as they were one-upping one another when it came to giving Daniel Garcia a better opportunity.
After MJF's heel turn tonight, Will Ospreay has emerged as someone who would look to retaliate against him. This could be a feud that could be showcased at All In next month. With tonight being a great start to the buildup, both men could enter the pay-per-view as the top heel and top babyfaces in AEW. This would also be a dream match come true.
#3 To move on from The Devil storyline with Adam Cole
One of the biggest storylines in AEW in 2023 was the Devil storyline which saw Adam Cole adopt this persona to make MJF's life a living hell. However, due to Cole sustaining a major leg injury, they could only do so much before the star had to go on a break.
It seemed as if the plan was to have the former NXT Champion turn on Friedman at some point, and for them to have a grudge match, potentially with the AEW World Championship being on the line. Due to Cole's injury, they decided to make the reveal and write MJF off TV until a time would come when they could run it back.
When asked, Tony Khan did not give a definite answer for Adam Cole's status, so the likeliness of this feud happening once more is a little lower, and thus it may be better for MJF to move on to another feud to maintain intensity and heat of his character.
While this storyline may take most of MJF's next few months, it still remains to be seen how AEW handles the return of Adam Cole and resolve his existing issues with MJF.