Rambling about Wrestling #5.5 (Keep it Brief #3)

Friendship between anyone will forever be a ticking timebomb. (Adam Cole and MJF promo on 08/16/23. Theorizing on who will turn on who.)

Characters Discussed: MJF, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, The Kingdom: (Matt Taven, Mike Bennet)

Brief Mentions: Aussie Open: (Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis)

It's obvious, and it's coming, and even though we know this to be true, we will not be ready for it. Because it's the Adam Cole turn on MJF. I'm still on a three-way split but heavily leaning on what I just said. The options are either Max on Cole (looking unlikely at this point), Cole turns on Max (more likely), or interference by The Kingdom which triggers either. I'm hoping for the third one to happen because I love misunderstandings that can easily be rectified.

As we saw on (08/16/23) AEW Dynamite after the surprise attack by Aussie Open on our Burberry Boom Boys in the ring. Max looked away from Cole to scare off Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, who were on the ramp, and Cole crouched down as if he was going to kick Max. And believe me, my heart rate was up the entire segment!

It was an already great promo highlighting the tension growing between the two. They both profess their feelings of friendship for each other yet again. Cole, with his earnest demeanor, tells Max what he wants. He tells him about his 15 years of experience, being at the top with a belt in other companies, and the fear of never wrestling again after coping with his head trauma. He ends with,

"Max I love you, but I need to win this match, more than you could ever imagine. And I'm just telling you this as your friend, and I'm telling you this out of love, the second that bell rings I don't know about you but I will do anything and everything to win that AEW World Title."

This is an absolute dream for Max, to fight someone he had dreamed of fighting since he was a young adult starting his wrestling training. But now, said the fight is within a stadium filled to the brim with 80,000 people. But, being himself, he tells Cole that the belt is his everything, and it's foolish to think he would give it up for their friendship. He says,

"And if you think, just because I'm your bud, I'm going to lay down August 27th; you're out of your god damn mind."

And being the physical acting enjoyer I am, I will bring it up. I don't like the vibe of his all-in promo material. These pictures, (first of all, what a contrast!) are MJF's promo photos for the All-In pay-per-view. The first is for the current All-In, and the second is his first appearance. But I'm stuck on the image of his current self.

MJF's (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) promotional image for the AEW pay-per-view event, All In. He is glaring at the camera while clutching the AEW world championship with both hands that is slung over his right shoulder.
MJF's (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) first promotional image for the AEW pay-per-view event, All In. He is smugly looking at the camera while holding his wrist.

He's clutching the belt and glaring at the camera, not being smug like his first appearance, a plain and straightforward hate glare at the camera. This, to me, is a sign of something to come. Because comparing it to his roster image, it's an entirely different vibe. And I know this could have been taken way earlier in June before his "face-turn," but I don't trust it, and I think that's the point; you're not supposed to be on his side. He watched and grimaced at Cole when he admitted he needed to win the belt before taking over the conversation, stopping Cole in his tracks when expressing his feelings because he couldn't let Cole take the only thing he had. Even with the more recent images, ala (08/23/23) has him smiling smugly. Why this specific promo image? What are they planning? Is there a plan at all? Why do they keep his body pose but edit his expression? 

(08/23/23) Promotional image for AEW Dynamite. Featuring Rene Paquette and MJF. MJF smiles smugly while holding his belt and looks directly forward with a tilted brow.

Continuing with the segment, the two finish talking, get attacked, and stomp out Aussie Open, but Cole crouches in a way that looks like he will kick Max.

MJF holds the AEW world championship belt, mocking the off-screen Aussie Open. Adam Cole stands behind him and seemingly crouches down in preparation to kick MJF.

The people in the crowd heckle and boo him as he bounces up and down, but as Max turns around, he stands up, and the two hug after a crowd chant to hug. I think Cole was preparing to bounce onto Aussie Open through the ropes. It could be played off like that; you never know. But how he quickly stood up and brushed it off into a hug is horrifically suspicious. And I hate it so much because we all know their friendship is going down the toilet.

The cutaway to The Kingdom gave me more juice for my third theory. Because Roderick Strong still wants to talk to Cole so do the other guys in the group, they have to interfere at some point because why else would they even be conspiring backstage? I'm sure they will talk on the 23rd, and we will get to see where Cole's true intentions lie. But with their interference, it's an honest realm of possibility. What if they mess it up for Cole and cause Max to retain it? Would Adam turn on them? Would Max turn on Adam because of the unwilling betrayal? What if they show up to support Cole, and he wants them to leave, but they cause Cole to win due to their interference? If that happens, would Cole still want to be Max's friend? Would Max leave him in the dust after being betrayed?

Could their break-up end up being one-sided? Could one want to be a tag team again, and the other hate his guts?

Oh, so many questions and theories, but what will it be in the end? Will they break up on the 23rd? At the end of Zero Hour? Or will they not break up, and we're all crazy?

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