AEW made a big MJF decision to try and survive in the ratings, says legend (Exclusive)
MJF is indisputably AEW's top guy, as he recently became the longest-reigning world champion in the company's history. He did so after beating Kenny Omega on free TV, a decision which Bill Apter believes had sound reasoning behind it.
MJF defended the AEW World Championship against The Cleaner on the October 28th episode of Collision in a match that many felt should have been on a major pay-per-view.
While MJF and Omega delivered a phenomenal world title contest, fans and pundits said Tony Khan might have made a mistake in giving away the bout on free television without weeks of build-up.
On this week's episode of The Wrestling Time Machine, Bill Apter noted that AEW might have presented Omega vs. MJF on Collision, keeping in mind the stiff competition from the MLB World Series and College Football, which generally gets a lot of viewership.
Apter, though, agreed with co-host Mac Davis that AEW could have spent time on the feud but stressed that Omega and MJF didn't disappoint as far as the in-ring action went.
"They were up against the World Series and College Football, if I remember correctly. They were trying to survive in the ratings, to say. Could they have dragged it out and made it a different event after the World Series and all that? Maybe, but I agree with you. That match was an excellent professional wrestling match." [From 00:40 onwards]
Is MJF running out of friends in AEW?
It's pretty evident that All Elite Wrestling's programming heavily revolves around Maxwell Jacob Friedman and his quest to be the best world champion in wrestling.
The 27-year-old star was involved in a high-octane main event segment on Dynamite this week as he sent a message to his Full Gear opponent, Jay White. MJF, however, was left stunned after multiple masked assailants were shown carrying out a backstage attack on The Acclaimed.
Dynamite ended as Samoa Joe, who had vacated his ROH World TV Title earlier in the show, taunted MJF about his apparent friends being systematically targetted.
In addition to defending his championship at Full Gear, MJF will also team up with a partner of his choosing to take on Austin and Colten Gunn for the ROH World Tag Team Title.
With The Devil piling on the pressure on MJF, have you been captivated by Tony Khan and his team's creative direction? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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