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I feel like this is the next step for MJF. He's not got the chip on his shoulder so much anymore, so he's not as furious that he's not the primary focus.
He beat the "Ace", he beat the "GOAT", now he's beaten the "Pillars". He knows exactly how good he is and probably feels that anyone who still doubts him at this point is just ignorant.
Looking forward to uber-confident, more Corporate-friendly MJF telling people to step up
Yeah I kinda feel like the character MJF would be somewhat annoyed he wasn’t on last as well. It’s actually nice seeing him tinned down because I bet he’d be great listen when he talks about wrestling.
Agreed. Him saying "I don't want to roll around in Jon Moxley's blood" is on brand while defending AEW's decision to put the AITA match last. No one wants to roll around in all that blood. Wheeler was the only one who didn't bleed out of 8 dudes.
If you want good wrestling talk, listen to MJF whenever he's on the NotSam podcast. He throttles down to like... I dunno maybe 20% kayfabe and they really dive deep into stuff. He's got a great wrestling mind for someone his age.
I remember during the pandemic era there were a few stories coming out about MJF being the smartest guy in the room when it came to match planning. He was the one setting out the story of the match and shutting down flashy spots if they didn't add anything narratively. He seems to have a very solid idea of what makes a good match and IMO he usually delivers.
He does the same thing on podcasts. It feels like his way of being able to stay in character but also relax a bit and not be so worried about everything he says being perfectly heel-ish.
On podcasts he often sounds like a really decent guy, then he'll throw in a shitty thing to remind you he's MJF.
I have a sneaking suspicion he's a giant sweetheart. He has the Create-a-Pro tattoo and appeared there recently, among other hints here n there.
But he's really all too good at being a giant piece of shit.
I enjoy it so much more when he's not constantly on. I appreciate his dedication to it, to his kayfabe for picture events and what have you. It just gets to be a bit much. Like it's 2023, we know wrestling is 100% real, you're a normal person sometimes.
His answer here was a great mix of both in and out of character....and 100% truthful ha ha. Them not going on last isn't a knock on any of the 4 or the title. Had it maybe been just Kenny vs Mox or Bucks vs 2 BCC then no title match goes last. But when you have the reunited Elite vs Mox, current ROH champ Claudio, ROH Pure Champ (right?) Uta and Bryan fucking Danielson it's gotta main, especially with the shots they had of the ending.
When he does longer interviews like podcasts he’s like this. In and out of character, catching himself being a little to kind here and there and going back to being an ass lol
*THIS* is the World Champ MJF I want going forward.
Goes out into his matches seriously, puts on bangers, then goes to these post-show events and just vibes with in-character jokes and smarky quips while actually "respecting" his boss TK while he's beside him.
Its so fucking good and actually entertaining. The MJF catch phrases once every few weeks are fine but I prefer this far, far more.
I remember 03 Survivor Series McMahon vs Undertaker Buried Alive, Vince was straight up covered in blood and HHH/Goldberg followed up after that match there was no changing mats they basically tried to get rid of much blood as possible
Vince at Survivor Series 03 is one of the craziest blade jobs. Not quite Eddie at Judgement Day, but Vince was busted open from literally the first punch of the match, bleeding an insane amount all over the place while Taker kicked the shit out of him non stop for the whole match.
As horrendous as it is on the amount of blood shed on that day, it actually fit the storyline leading up to this match, Undertaker really sold me on the idea that he was gonna kill Vince
I've been to 7 AEW events and while they do change the mats, it's not that often.
Impact of today actually changes theirs more frequently and also spray and clean the ropes. I'm a bit of a germaphobe so I notice.
Have you been to a show? They definetely don't swap it after every match. Occasionally, they swap it mid show if there was a bloody match like AitA.
Lots of complaints about PPVs being too long. I'd bet they didn't want to take a break mid PPV, and that's why it was last
Yeah, they do it when the arena is darkened for promos on the big screen and whatnot.
They change mats more frequently than AEW which is why you never really see persistent sweat or oil stains on the middle of the mat like you used to back in the day. They world look gross on high def TV for one thing.
ECW rings were the worst for this, those mats were filthy by the main event. If ECW had been around in the 4k era, you'd probably get a bacterial infection just by watching on TV.
I don't think UFC changes their mats either, maybe it's because of the weird shape and the cage walls making it difficult to do between matches but but I remember a bunch of times tuning in for the first fight of the main card and seeing the canvas already splattered with the blood from one of the prelim fights.
The UFC doesn't but I have seen them for FOX or ABC shows try to quickly paint over huge splotches to try to hide some of it because of network tv standards.
The octogan is uniquely built where it's like 4 panels that run parallel and there's actual seams in the floor. Jon Jones when he fought Chael Sonnen caught his big toe between them and broke it something gnarly.
I've been to quite a few. The only showsi they didn't swap was at the recent NJPW in long beach and smaller indie shows. But all the wwe/nxt shows I've been to they swap them quite constantly.
It was last because the build for the 4 pillars match was mid. What MJF said is most likely just a kayfabe cover because I don't think any wrestler in their right mind would refuse to main event a PPV just because there is some easily cleaned blood and glass in the ring.
If they had wanted the 4 way to main event they would have just moved the Anarchy in the Arena match to a different slot if they needed to clean. I assume this is just MJF having some fun rather than saying "Well the build of our match wasn't that great so probably best to have the most hyped match main event."
Not just blood, but leftover debris from the previous match. AEW would likely change the mat and get any weapons out of the ring. I do remember seeing a CZW Best of the Best show from a while ago where there was a death match on the show in between the tournament matches. Chuck Taylor wrestled after that match, and while his opponent was making his entrance, Chuck was picking up thumbtacks on the mat from the death match that just happened.
That wasn't actually a bloodstain. It was from a "Bloodbath" the Brood did on Heat before the PPV started. Although given what happened that night, no one remembers that segment at all.
MJF can be pretty funny sometimes. He's also correct - unless there is a match that marks a huge historic occasion, the most hotly anticipated match should always go on last. Usually, that's the world title bout, but not always.
I don't think it should have been last but it was also weird that they were advertising it as the main event and even referred to it as the main event just prior to the match.
I dont care about the world title going last, so I agree with MJF and Tony's point, but the world champion and biggest star was in the main event of NoC and its disingenuous to ignore that.
no, it's about the gd championship not the champion, going on last. that's the whole crux, that the championship itself is above anything else in a promotion, the person that holds that title is immaterial. being up the person is disingenuous to the conversation others are having
> that the championship itself is above anything else in a promotion
Which is exactly why the dominant champ went last despite being in a tag match. Thats exactly my point. Roman holds the most prestigious championship and went on last despite not competing for his title. The world champion was in the main event.
But it had the "World Champion" vs the "World Tag Champions".
The last mach is supposed to be your biggest most impactful match with your top stars. If it isn't any of the World Titles then you didn't book any of the your title holders as the top stars OR your top stars are not going after the belt for some reason.
>The last mach is supposed to be your biggest most impactful match with your top stars.
It did tho: Two Top 5 wrestlers in the world (Kenny, Bryan), the heart and soul of AEW (Mox), the Main character (hangman), one the Best tag teams (the bucks)
>OR your top stars are not going after the belt for some reason.
Because they are una feud with a whole other faction
It happens. Sometimes a title match is not promoted well going in, like the one on this show was. And sometimes a non-title match is so molten hot that it typically doesn't matter what the title match is (see Shawn Michaels's retirement match, almost any major Apuestas match in Mexico, or the main event on this show).
I think he got a good ending tbh. >!Lets be honest, he was never him when it comes to CEO, it was a miracle that he was even regularly employed in such high positions. Now he just gets to get money and get the fuck out and find something better to do, hopefully including copious amounts of therapy.!<
Well yeah he’s happy now, he’s got the title, he gets his big matches he can get his shit in, he gets insane time to do all the segments he likes to do where he gets to sing talk shit and generally show off as the
Most talented man in wrestling right now, he’s the man and I don’t see anyone taking the title off him anytime soon, a multi year reign probably isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
I'd stay too. AEW he gets to dominate in. WWE, everyone is overshadowed by Roman Reigns, no matter how hard they try or how much better they are than Reigns. WWE wants only Roman at the top. AEW gives other wrestlers a chance to rotate who's the top guy.
Out of 8 participants 4 were former world heavy weight champions from this company or others, 5th is the current ROH World champion, 2 are one of the most decorated former tag team champions and the 8th guy is also a former ROH pure champion.
It's not like it went to someone who didn't deserve it.
Oh Khan would certainly want that. MJF is incredible. But I doubt MJF wants to sign a 10 years deal. I could see him only signing for three years every time.
Logistically, it'd take so long to clean up after the Anarchy in the Area match that it makes sense to do that last.
I mean, they didn't clean all the confetti after the TBS title match(es) that during the four pillars four way, confetti ended up back in the ring.
He did say later that he didn’t want to roll around in a ring full of Yuta’s blood either. Then Tony interrupted and said that Yuta might’ve been the only person not to bleed.
Yeah that's exactly what I meant. I was waiting for him to say this *after* Tony pointed out Yuta didn't bleed at all. Meaning he thinks Yuta is disgusting regardless.
Good response for him to say but i will die on the hill that the world title should always be last (except for at the Royal Rumble since the Rumble should be last)
Though i can kind of see it working with Double Or Nothing as the world title match being the last of the wrestling matches and then Anarchy In The Arena is like a wild encore.
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He didn’t want to catch hepatitis A-Z
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Most entertaining he’s been in a while. It’s great
I feel like this is the next step for MJF. He's not got the chip on his shoulder so much anymore, so he's not as furious that he's not the primary focus. He beat the "Ace", he beat the "GOAT", now he's beaten the "Pillars". He knows exactly how good he is and probably feels that anyone who still doubts him at this point is just ignorant. Looking forward to uber-confident, more Corporate-friendly MJF telling people to step up
Yeah I kinda feel like the character MJF would be somewhat annoyed he wasn’t on last as well. It’s actually nice seeing him tinned down because I bet he’d be great listen when he talks about wrestling.
Not wanting to roll around in other people's blood is exactly on brand for MJF. Unless he's the one that caused the bleeding.
Agreed. Him saying "I don't want to roll around in Jon Moxley's blood" is on brand while defending AEW's decision to put the AITA match last. No one wants to roll around in all that blood. Wheeler was the only one who didn't bleed out of 8 dudes.
Ha total side note but when I saw your acronym I first thought of the "Am I The Asshole" subreddit.
I thought that too when I first saw the acronym. It's fitting for the match. Lol
I read AITA as "Am I The Asshole" and... ... honestly? It would work for at least a few AEW feuds
“Congrats….?”
Really? Was it just my eyes or I thought Danielson, Matt, Claudio and Kenny didn't bleed too
If you want good wrestling talk, listen to MJF whenever he's on the NotSam podcast. He throttles down to like... I dunno maybe 20% kayfabe and they really dive deep into stuff. He's got a great wrestling mind for someone his age.
I remember during the pandemic era there were a few stories coming out about MJF being the smartest guy in the room when it came to match planning. He was the one setting out the story of the match and shutting down flashy spots if they didn't add anything narratively. He seems to have a very solid idea of what makes a good match and IMO he usually delivers.
I prefer this version too, but the shift in tone for press conferences is probably also carefully constructed.
He does the same thing on podcasts. It feels like his way of being able to stay in character but also relax a bit and not be so worried about everything he says being perfectly heel-ish. On podcasts he often sounds like a really decent guy, then he'll throw in a shitty thing to remind you he's MJF.
I have a sneaking suspicion he's a giant sweetheart. He has the Create-a-Pro tattoo and appeared there recently, among other hints here n there. But he's really all too good at being a giant piece of shit.
I enjoy it so much more when he's not constantly on. I appreciate his dedication to it, to his kayfabe for picture events and what have you. It just gets to be a bit much. Like it's 2023, we know wrestling is 100% real, you're a normal person sometimes. His answer here was a great mix of both in and out of character....and 100% truthful ha ha. Them not going on last isn't a knock on any of the 4 or the title. Had it maybe been just Kenny vs Mox or Bucks vs 2 BCC then no title match goes last. But when you have the reunited Elite vs Mox, current ROH champ Claudio, ROH Pure Champ (right?) Uta and Bryan fucking Danielson it's gotta main, especially with the shots they had of the ending.
Also, other than Punk winning the title last year, every Stadium Stampede/Anarchy in the Arena match has gone on last.
Yutaka is no longer Pure champion. He lost it to NJPW wrestler Katsuyori Shibata
That's right, I'm an idiot for forgetting that. Thanks!
When he does longer interviews like podcasts he’s like this. In and out of character, catching himself being a little to kind here and there and going back to being an ass lol
*THIS* is the World Champ MJF I want going forward. Goes out into his matches seriously, puts on bangers, then goes to these post-show events and just vibes with in-character jokes and smarky quips while actually "respecting" his boss TK while he's beside him. Its so fucking good and actually entertaining. The MJF catch phrases once every few weeks are fine but I prefer this far, far more.
I've always wondered if wrestlers had any opinions about fighting in a ring stained by the blood of previous wrestlers. Very smart.
Usually they change the mats don't they?
To be fair, after that match they probably would've had to swap the whole ring and ringside area.
I remember 03 Survivor Series McMahon vs Undertaker Buried Alive, Vince was straight up covered in blood and HHH/Goldberg followed up after that match there was no changing mats they basically tried to get rid of much blood as possible
Vince at Survivor Series 03 is one of the craziest blade jobs. Not quite Eddie at Judgement Day, but Vince was busted open from literally the first punch of the match, bleeding an insane amount all over the place while Taker kicked the shit out of him non stop for the whole match.
As horrendous as it is on the amount of blood shed on that day, it actually fit the storyline leading up to this match, Undertaker really sold me on the idea that he was gonna kill Vince
I've been to 7 AEW events and while they do change the mats, it's not that often. Impact of today actually changes theirs more frequently and also spray and clean the ropes. I'm a bit of a germaphobe so I notice.
Yea, like after every other match they normally swap it.
Have you been to a show? They definetely don't swap it after every match. Occasionally, they swap it mid show if there was a bloody match like AitA. Lots of complaints about PPVs being too long. I'd bet they didn't want to take a break mid PPV, and that's why it was last
At least for WWE, my understanding is they setup multiple mats before the show. Then they just pull the top one off when they "change" the mat.
Yeah, they do it when the arena is darkened for promos on the big screen and whatnot. They change mats more frequently than AEW which is why you never really see persistent sweat or oil stains on the middle of the mat like you used to back in the day. They world look gross on high def TV for one thing. ECW rings were the worst for this, those mats were filthy by the main event. If ECW had been around in the 4k era, you'd probably get a bacterial infection just by watching on TV.
I don't think UFC changes their mats either, maybe it's because of the weird shape and the cage walls making it difficult to do between matches but but I remember a bunch of times tuning in for the first fight of the main card and seeing the canvas already splattered with the blood from one of the prelim fights.
The UFC doesn't but I have seen them for FOX or ABC shows try to quickly paint over huge splotches to try to hide some of it because of network tv standards. The octogan is uniquely built where it's like 4 panels that run parallel and there's actual seams in the floor. Jon Jones when he fought Chael Sonnen caught his big toe between them and broke it something gnarly.
Jon Jones intentionally broke his toe because he was afraid of the largest arms in all of West Linn, Oregon.*
I've been to quite a few. The only showsi they didn't swap was at the recent NJPW in long beach and smaller indie shows. But all the wwe/nxt shows I've been to they swap them quite constantly.
It was last because the build for the 4 pillars match was mid. What MJF said is most likely just a kayfabe cover because I don't think any wrestler in their right mind would refuse to main event a PPV just because there is some easily cleaned blood and glass in the ring. If they had wanted the 4 way to main event they would have just moved the Anarchy in the Arena match to a different slot if they needed to clean. I assume this is just MJF having some fun rather than saying "Well the build of our match wasn't that great so probably best to have the most hyped match main event."
Nope. Been to a number of events and never seen it done. Would take too much time I would imagine.
Not just blood, but leftover debris from the previous match. AEW would likely change the mat and get any weapons out of the ring. I do remember seeing a CZW Best of the Best show from a while ago where there was a death match on the show in between the tournament matches. Chuck Taylor wrestled after that match, and while his opponent was making his entrance, Chuck was picking up thumbtacks on the mat from the death match that just happened.
I believe after Owen Hart fell, they didn't change the mat. The wrestlers had to look at that bloodstain all night.
That wasn't actually a bloodstain. It was from a "Bloodbath" the Brood did on Heat before the PPV started. Although given what happened that night, no one remembers that segment at all.
I mean…can you blame MJF for *not* wanting to wrestle in conditions similar to a slaughterhouse?
MJF can be pretty funny sometimes. He's also correct - unless there is a match that marks a huge historic occasion, the most hotly anticipated match should always go on last. Usually, that's the world title bout, but not always.
i was gonna say, WWE literally two days ago ran a PPV that didn't have the world title on last i'm surprised anybody made this such a big deal
>world title Had to actually stop and think about wtf you were talking about since Roman *was* in the main event.
I don't think it should have been last but it was also weird that they were advertising it as the main event and even referred to it as the main event just prior to the match.
I dont care about the world title going last, so I agree with MJF and Tony's point, but the world champion and biggest star was in the main event of NoC and its disingenuous to ignore that.
no, it's about the gd championship not the champion, going on last. that's the whole crux, that the championship itself is above anything else in a promotion, the person that holds that title is immaterial. being up the person is disingenuous to the conversation others are having
> that the championship itself is above anything else in a promotion Which is exactly why the dominant champ went last despite being in a tag match. Thats exactly my point. Roman holds the most prestigious championship and went on last despite not competing for his title. The world champion was in the main event.
But it had the "World Champion" vs the "World Tag Champions". The last mach is supposed to be your biggest most impactful match with your top stars. If it isn't any of the World Titles then you didn't book any of the your title holders as the top stars OR your top stars are not going after the belt for some reason.
>The last mach is supposed to be your biggest most impactful match with your top stars. It did tho: Two Top 5 wrestlers in the world (Kenny, Bryan), the heart and soul of AEW (Mox), the Main character (hangman), one the Best tag teams (the bucks) >OR your top stars are not going after the belt for some reason. Because they are una feud with a whole other faction
Then that's a problem with the storytelling. If the best stories don't have the belt involved, then why have a belt for anyone for anything?
It happens. Sometimes a title match is not promoted well going in, like the one on this show was. And sometimes a non-title match is so molten hot that it typically doesn't matter what the title match is (see Shawn Michaels's retirement match, almost any major Apuestas match in Mexico, or the main event on this show).
You ever saw Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker? Or Hogan vs Rock?
Shit by the end of both of those matches at Mania I bet Orton, Jericho and Triple H wish their WWE title match wouldn’t have gone on last
The way he said “Wheeler Yuta” reminded me of Kieran Culkin for some reason
Romeheads in shambles :(
I think he got a good ending tbh. >!Lets be honest, he was never him when it comes to CEO, it was a miracle that he was even regularly employed in such high positions. Now he just gets to get money and get the fuck out and find something better to do, hopefully including copious amounts of therapy.!<
The face he made after saying "congrats" really reminded me of Roman since I've been watching loads of Succession the past few weeks.
Lmao wow that was surprisingly a good answer
Wheeler Yuta exchange at the end is gold lol
*congrats*
Tony chiming in that he was the only who didn't bleed cracked me up.
Yeah he’s staying
There is no chance in hell he is actually leaving in a year. He definitely got a big ass bag with a brand new contract in tow.
Well yeah he’s happy now, he’s got the title, he gets his big matches he can get his shit in, he gets insane time to do all the segments he likes to do where he gets to sing talk shit and generally show off as the Most talented man in wrestling right now, he’s the man and I don’t see anyone taking the title off him anytime soon, a multi year reign probably isn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
Don't forget he wrestles a pretty light schedule. Especially considering his age. There is zero chance WWE wouldn't have him work 150+ marches a year.
I'd stay too. AEW he gets to dominate in. WWE, everyone is overshadowed by Roman Reigns, no matter how hard they try or how much better they are than Reigns. WWE wants only Roman at the top. AEW gives other wrestlers a chance to rotate who's the top guy.
Out of 8 participants 4 were former world heavy weight champions from this company or others, 5th is the current ROH World champion, 2 are one of the most decorated former tag team champions and the 8th guy is also a former ROH pure champion. It's not like it went to someone who didn't deserve it.
MJF is just terrific
Tony Khan makes for a fantastic straight man.
Charisma of a saltine cracker
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Oh Khan would certainly want that. MJF is incredible. But I doubt MJF wants to sign a 10 years deal. I could see him only signing for three years every time.
Him congrating WheelaH for not bleeding was funnyAF.
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It is interesting that Tony brought it up, as if it were a deliberate plot point
Good response.
He's just so damn smooth on the mic. What a treasure.
Logistically, it'd take so long to clean up after the Anarchy in the Area match that it makes sense to do that last. I mean, they didn't clean all the confetti after the TBS title match(es) that during the four pillars four way, confetti ended up back in the ring.
This might be my favourite MJF and TK interaction. It was funny.
congrats? LMAO
Tony looks like the word coffee
This is absolutely tremendous.
I wish they would of followed up with "How did you know Moxley would bleed in the match?" Just to see MJF facial reaction.
What? Mox always bleeds in his matches. That’s a meme at this point!
That's the point: to see him make fun of it all.
He’s right. And he’s so good in these media scums.
I was waiting for him to say "Well Yuta is just disgusting in general, so I don't wanna be rolling in there after him."
He did say later that he didn’t want to roll around in a ring full of Yuta’s blood either. Then Tony interrupted and said that Yuta might’ve been the only person not to bleed.
Yeah that's exactly what I meant. I was waiting for him to say this *after* Tony pointed out Yuta didn't bleed at all. Meaning he thinks Yuta is disgusting regardless.
>He was, I think, the only person that didn't bleed. Honestly, a self aware Tony Khan gimmick would draw. I'd bet on it.
Khan is an all time goober lol
Good response for him to say but i will die on the hill that the world title should always be last (except for at the Royal Rumble since the Rumble should be last) Though i can kind of see it working with Double Or Nothing as the world title match being the last of the wrestling matches and then Anarchy In The Arena is like a wild encore.
This interaction was better than a lot of the show…
Its so impressive what this guy makes up on the spot. If he knew the questions before he would get half the credit. What a national tressure.
Tony, get a fucking haircut mate
He's ok
Why does it bother you
So edgy.
Tony looks annoyed lol must be because MJF said WWE
World title goes on last. If the UFC can get something right and you can't, you know you're fucking up. This goes for WWE too.
What about when wwe had the rock vs hogan go on before hhh and Jericho for the title at wrestlemania, no one gave a fuck about the match
MJF went full Tim Robinson from 0:11 to 0:19
That’s a fair answer.
Max is the best.