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MJF Becomes Two-Time AEW Men's World Champion At Worlds End

His name is Maxwell Jacob Friedman, and he's once again the AEW Men's World Champion after winning a 4-Way Match at AEW Worlds End.
Rick Ucchino|
MJF
MJF | Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

The devil is once again on top of All Elite Wrestling.

In just his second match back after a months-long hiatus, Maxwell Jacob Friedman outlasted Samoa Joe, "Hangman" Adam Page and Swerve Strickland at Worlds End to capture the AEW Men's World Championship for the second time in his career.

Saturday night's main event 4-Way was truly chaotic, especially after The Opps ran down to the ring to provide an assist to their leader.

While Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata occupied Swerve and MJF on the outside, Samoa Joe delivered a Muscle Buster to Hangman, but he was able to kick out at two. A HOOK distraction then allowed Joe to lock in the Coquina Clutch, but Swerve was able to get free of the Opps and broke up the hold with a stomp off the top rope.

As The Opps were being escorted away from the ring by security, Swerve went up top again to try and finish off Samoa Joe with another stomp, but MJF sent him flying into the commentary desk with a well-timed shove.

Hangman would then blast Max off the ring apron with a big boot, which left him all alone to deliver a Buckshot Lariat to Joe — Only he didn't go down. 

Page then hit a second Buckshot Lariat on the big man, but again he remained on his feet. Hangman went for the trifecta, but after he flipped into the ring, MJF shoved Samoa Joe out of the way and kicked Page below the belt.

After MJF threw Adam Page out of the ring, he immediately corralled Joe in the ropes to spike him with the Heatseeker and pinned him to win the title.

How did MJF earn this opportunity?

MJF and "Hangman" Adam Page had a verbal confrontation last week on Dynamite.
MJF and "Hangman" Adam Page | All Elite Wrestling

MJF had been absent from AEW programming ever since he lost to Mark Briscoe in a Tables N' Tacks Match at AEW Full Gear back in September, but he made his surprise return at Holiday Bash on December 17 in Manchester, England and crashed the World Title contract signing.

He added his own name into the mix via the guaranteed contract he earned by winning the Casino Gauntlet Match at All In: Texas over the summer. While it wasn't the wisest decision, MJF says he chose to make Saturday's match a 4-Way so he could definitively prove that he's better than all of his greatest rivals.

It was two years at Worlds End that MJF's first run as the champion came to an end when he lost his beloved 'Triple B' to Samoa Joe. It's poetic that he was able to return the favor and win the title back from the Samoan Submission Machine at the exact same pay-per-view.

Joe surprised a great deal of AEW faithful when he won the AEW World Title off "Hangman" Adam Page at Full Gear last month. His second reign with the title came to an end after just 36 days.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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