MJF defeated Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear in order to join The Inner Circle.
During a hard fought bout in which Maxwell Jacob Friedman battled for the right to sit under Chris Jericho’s wing, the young gun countered everything Jericho threw at him and even emptied his tank to trump the inaugural AEW World Heavyweight Champion.
MJF countered a Codebreaker into a DDT for a heart stopping near fall. Jericho poked Friedman in the eye to gain an upper hand. Maxwell took to the injured elbow of Le Champion, countering the Judas Effect into Salt of the Earth for another gripping submission attempt.
Nothing seemed to work for either man. Chris Jericho wasn’t going to induct MJF unless absolutely necessary and arguably the greatest heel in the game today had promised to do whatever it took to be a part of the clan.
In the end, it was an error on Jericho’s part that sealed the deal. After the pair entered into a heated argument following MJF trying to steal a disqualification victory Eddie Guerrero style, the savvy youngster shocked Jericho with a roll-up for the victory.
It may have been messy and somewhat questionable, but MJF lived up to his promise and earned his spot in The Inner Circle against the wishes of all already inducted.
Following the bout, Jericho hugged the star and welcomed both him and Wardlow into the fold.
It’s going to be fascinating to see where the storyline goes from here. With the rest of the bloc against MJF joining their ranks, he could be the catalyst that tears them apart. On the other hand, this could be a ruse for the group to keep their enemy close resulting in a MJF babyface turn.
Wherever AEW decide to go with this, it’s going to make a true star of the man who calls himself Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
You can read full results from AEW Full Gear here.