Wardlow has been AEW's TNT Champion for 82 days and counting. He took the belt off of Scorpio Sky on his second try in a Rochester Street Fight on the July 6th edition of Dynamite, defended the belt on four occasions, including versus Orange Cassidy at Fyter Fest and Jay Lethal at Battle of the Belts III, and has even used the strap to secure himself a big bout on All Out with FTR versus Lethal and The Motor City Machine Guns. While he's yet to face a challenger on a Pay-Per-View and has only hinted at the prospects of wrestling Samoa Joe in an all-out title-versus-title feud for the Ring of Honor Television Title, few would call his run with the belt a failure, as the Ohio native remains incredibly over and has seemingly every crowd in the country backing him up when he takes the ring.
And yet, at All Out, a dark cloud came over AEW, and now, for once, we're not talking about the backstage brawl between CM Punk and The Elite trio of Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks. No, on this particular occasion, the dark cloud is actually the return of MJF, who broke a summer-long absence with an assisted win in the Casino Ladder Match and a re-debut vignette where he heralded his return to the company that refused to pay him what he deserved – at least according to him.
With the Championship chip in his possession, it wasn't so much what MJF was going to do once he returned to AEW but how quickly he would have the AEW World Championship belt around his waist. Would he go all Money in the Bank at the end of Grand Slam and steal the belt away from Jon Moxley or Bryan Danielson? Or would he instead wait for the match to ultimately run its course and then focus in on Moxley as his next opponent?
Needless to say, after finally freeing himself from MJF's shadow, Wardlow may be stuck playing second fiddle to the “Salt of the Earth” once more… that is, unless he doesn't let that happen and uses his powerbomb to finally silence Staten Island's biggest mouth.
Only Wardlow can save AEW from MJF.
Speaking with Crayfish and S-P-D of the Dynamite Download, Wardlow was asked about the AEW's World Title Tournament that was used to decide on the next champion at Grand Slam and gave a very interesting response that is sure to turn some heads, as transcribed by 411 Mania.
“The state of the Heavyweight Title has been in shambles for months,” Wardlow declared. “And the only thing I’ll say about it, is if Wardlow was the AEW World Heavyweight Champion, he would still be the [laughs] AEW World Heavyweight Champion. It would have been the Summer of Wardlow, and it would have been the Fall of Warldow. And it would have been the Winter of Wardlow. And it would have been the Spring of Wardlow. And it would have been the f**king summer again. Like, I ain’t f**king going nowhere. Everybody wants to hot potato that sumb*tch; hand it to me, watch me take off.”
Oh snap, is Wardlow, the current TNT Champion, looking to upgrade his hardware, or better yet, double down on the straps within the AEW Galaxy like his former Pinnacle pals FTR? Or does the “Wardog” simply know that MJF, his former employer, is waiting in the wings with the promotion's championship poker chip waiting to corrupt the belt with his devilish intentions? While Wardlow didn't specifically mention the prospects of “Champion Jacob Freedman,” he was asked about him and had some not-so-nice things to say about his former business associate.
“Aw, f**kin’ Max,” Wardlow said. “So, you know, I’m man enough to admit that Max is very good at what he does, clearly. It doesn’t take away from the fact that he is truly, wholeheartedly, a piece of s**t. People really have no idea, like people have no clue. For the people that think it’s like, ‘Oh, he never turns it off. He’s just really good at his gimmick.’ No, it doesn’t turn off because it’s who he is. And then the people that are like, ‘Oh no, no no…’ They’re so blind, they’re so stupid, dude. [laughs]”
Well, Wardlow, it looks like you might be able to have your cake and eat it too, as MJF has an inside track to the AEW World Championship and the only thing that could step between that speeding train and the inevitable baby stroller at the end of the tracks is an equally unmoveable object in its path. After watching Wardlow perform a symphony of powerbomb on his former employer at Double or Nothing, the best way to keep the best off of MJF may be to get it on Wardlow instead.
Follow Us
Subscribe
