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When MJF took the ring in the main event of All In at Wembley Stadium, fans of professional wrestling had to know they were in for a treat.
After spending an unusually large amount of time – by AEW standards, at least – building up the unusual friendship between the AEW World Champion and his “Brochacho” Adam Cole, the duo would have their relationship tested in one of the biggest main events of all time; a main event made all the more complicated by the fact that they had just won the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship a few hours earlier.
Though the match wasn't universally lauded by fans across the board, as some felt it was a bit too “sports entertainent-y” for the WWE adverse, for those who “got it,” the bout was a legit Match of the Year candidate, as it called back to so many different aspects of the storyline and ultimately kept the storyline going with even more layers added to the drama.
One personality who clearly fell into the second camp was WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff, who was incredibly impressed with where MJF is in his career now and where he has the potential to get once he really comes into his prime.
“So impressed. So impressed. I think MJF, we’re still not seeing the best of MJF yet. That’s still to come. He’s still a child, as far as his career. He’s got so much more to give, to grow, and to learn, and to experience along the way. It’s only gonna make him better every time he comes through the curtain. He’s already, in my opinion, the most valuable guy on that roster. Without a hesitation, he’s the most valuable person in that company, in my opinion, and he’s going to get more valuable,” Eric Bischoff said via Fightful.
“I think Adam Cole did a great job. I want to know who laid this match out. More importantly or specifically, who came up with this finish? I suspect I know. Not gonna drop a name, but I’m really curious if this conversation on this podcast creates more conversation on social media because the finish to this match was so well-layered. When I talked earlier about WCW disease, this is an example of the cure for WCW disease. I’ve often talked about the one thing WCW, even at the height of our success, the one thing we did not do a good job at was coming up with great finishes that provided almost a story within a story. This finish and the drama that ensued, and the execution of it, made this match stand out so far and above anything else, in terms of structure. As a story, both backstory leading into the match, even using the preliminary show as a foundation or a platform to continue it, but the execution of this, everything about it, the conceit of it. Who laid this out? I want to know. That person is one of the more valuable people in this company, in my opinion.”
Is MJF the most valuable person in AEW? At this point, it's pretty hard to argue for anyone but “Salt of the Earth,” given everything he brings to the table. And the best part? At 26, MJF is only going to get better with age.
MJF & Adam Cole’s Double Clothesline from AEW ALL IN on retro VHS CRT TV! pic.twitter.com/4UkCfkUbrV
— Dark Puroresu Flowsion (@PuroresuFlow) August 29, 2023
Eric Bischoff compares MJF's versatility to the “Olympic Hero,” Kurt Angle.
Discussing MJF's unique abilities as a professional wrestler, Eric Bischoff went into his own past and found a professional comp for the 26-year-old that should excite more than a few fans, as he's arguably one of the greatest performers to put shoulder to the mat in grappling history.
“It was so good. It was so well-done. I was thinking about this a little bit after watching it. I know this is not the right parallel to make, but Kurt Angle is one of my favorite performers of all time, as a producer, simply because on Monday, you could say, ‘Okay, Kurt, I need you to be a comedy wrestler. You need to go out there and make fun of yourself and have fun, and go out and have a great match.’ Then on Tuesday, you could say, ‘Okay, Kurt, I know we sent you out there, and you’re like a standup comic in your match, we wanted you to be funny. But now I want you to be the most deadly person on the planet.’ ‘Okay, I’ll go do that. ‘ He could go do both equally as well,” Bischoff noted.
“MJF has that depth. MJF has the ability and the depth of character. He was vulnerable here. This was a guy that didn’t give a s**t about anybody, it’s all about me, it’s all about the money, I don’t care about you, I don’t care about Tony Khan, I don’t care about the fans, I don’t care about my mom and dad. It was all ‘me, me, me, me.’ Now, in this storyline, he’s vulnerable. First time in his life he’s got a true friend, and it hurt him. This whole thing was hurting him, and Adam Cole did a great job as well. I think he over-acted a little bit, that’s just constructive criticism. I think if he would have dialed his facial expressions and his emotions back about 15%, which is unusual because usually I would encourage people to turn it up, but in Adam’s case, I think especially because the role that he played here, I think that he over-acted about 10 or 15%. Minor, minor thing. I just thought this whole thing was so good. The finish, the after-the-finish, the emotion that it created, the execution. I really, really, really enjoyed it.”
You know, while I never would have come up with it myself, Kurt Angle is a pretty good comp for MJF, as they're both from the North East, both have utilitarian style in the ring that gets relatively basic moves over, and even have an innate ability to play with the audience whether working face or heel. While MJF will probably never whip out a guitar and start playing “Jimmy Crack Corn,” he does have a musical number on his resume, with more to follow into the future if he so chooses.
