After he and Adam Cole failed to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championships from FTR, MJF showed his respect to the Top Guys.
The July 29th edition of Collision saw the unlikely team of Cole and Maxwell Jacob Friedman get their much-anticipated shot at the Tag Team Titles. While Cole and Friedman were able to counter Shatter Machine several times, they still couldn’t pull off the victory. In the end, Dax Harwood rolled up Friedman for the pinfall win.
After the match, Friedman looked like he was about to attack Cole with his title, but instead, he threw it down and the pair hugged in the ring.
After the show went off the air, the Salt of the Earth took to the mic to praise his opponents, recalling that when they were all in The Pinnacle together, he didn’t realise how great they were.
“There was a group; it was called The Pinnacle. I think it’s fair to say we had, as a group, a whole lot more left in the tank. Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way we wanted it to. That was because, at the time, I was too arrogant to realise just how great FTR is.”
“I’ll make no bones about it. Me and Cash, at one point in time, you and I got along. Me and [Dax]… But I gotta tell you, after tonight, sure, we’ve got some differences. I’m a New York yuppie. You’re a real Southern. You hit hard. I do eye pokes. I’m old money, you’re new money, but if there’s one thing that I can say we have in common, it’s that we love professional wrestling.”
Continuing, Friedman proclaimed them as the “best tag team in the world.”
“Tonight, whether it means anything to you or not, the AEW World Champion wanted to see you and you [points to Dax and Cash], now more than ever, it is apparent you two are the best tag team in the world.”
He finished by calling for unity between Collision and Dynamite, saying everyone involved is really on “team AEW.”
“I don’t want to hear about Collision vs. Dynamite. I don’t want to hear about Kaboomers vs. Colliders. At the end of the day, what this sport needed was an alternative, and that’s why this company was made. The way I see it, we are on team AEW.”
The two teams then celebrated in the ring with pizza and tequila as MJF danced to FTR’s theme music.
EXCLUSIVE: MJF & Adam Cole and FTR’s post-match!
Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT!@The_MJF | @AdamColePro | @DaxFTR | @cashwheelerFTRpic.twitter.com/PTc9hewRX6
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 30, 2023
What else happened on AEW Collision?
Elsewhere on the show, CM Punk made waves as he revealed that the red bag he has been carrying around since June contained the AEW World Championship belt he won from Jon Moxley at All Out last September.
He then proclaimed himself the “real AEW World Champion” as he was never defeated for the title. This prompted Ricky Starks to make his way to the ring and stake a claim to the belt as he now holds two victories over punk.
The pair then agreed to a match for the title on August 5th, with Punk adding a special guest referee, the legendary Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat.
H/T to Fightful for the above transcription