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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Feb 18, 2023 10:05:22 GMT -5
I think he was a bit off at first but has figured it out over the past few weeks.
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coleslaw
Don Corleone
Steve Sniffs
Posts: 2,028
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Post by coleslaw on Feb 18, 2023 10:24:41 GMT -5
Honestly, there's been a few things in the last year that's soured me on MJF.
-the autograph signing no-show, whether it was a shoot or a work. Felt like it took away from Wardlow's moment at DoN
-that shoot promo the Dynamite after DoN
-"The Bidding War of 2024"
-the face turn that never was
-getting outshined by Ricky Starks, as mentioned above. Starks should've at least taken the ring from him, no idea why their match was for the ring AND the title.
-the "Liv" promo was trash. Delivered well, but the content was stupid.
Honestly think he could benefit from dropping the title and reworking his act. Personally, he's one of my least favorite acts in AEW at the moment
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Post by Dave the Dave on Feb 18, 2023 10:34:23 GMT -5
I didn’t need him to be baby face, but that little run and obviously the Punk stuff, showed he’s capable of way more than his usual MO.
He’s got a lot of talent, but some of the shit he says just is so lame. Online he’s especially lame. All the times he references being dumb when he was a kid, well with some of the shit he chooses to say, I don’t know that is in the past.
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Post by Milkman Norm on Feb 18, 2023 10:37:37 GMT -5
His need to remain a heel isn't working. When you have to resort to saying the things he said during the break to get heat and then fans still want to say your catchphrase it's time to stop fighting it. But I suspect they'll keep on doing just that and my interest will continue to wane.
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pinja
Unicron
Posts: 3,006
Member is Online
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Post by pinja on Feb 18, 2023 10:49:40 GMT -5
His character is easy to antagonize, but he doesn't seem like enough of a principle that beating him means more than just a match victory. Part of the reason were his convoluted months since the Punk feud. In theory he is a rich kid that should be beaten by a working class face. But then he also cut multiple promos about his rough upbringing. He himself had to work himself up and that is part of his character. So there is less space for a clear anti-thesis to MJF. His character does not seem mature enough to get away with that. He is an asshole and a great wrestler, but compared to Roman I feel the end of his reign will not clear the world of a great terror, but a pain in the ass.
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Wieners=$$$
Hank Scorpio
Gif Master Extraordinaire
I Miss You Peanut😥
Posts: 6,082
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Post by Wieners=$$$ on Feb 18, 2023 11:16:58 GMT -5
I've said it before, MJF needs toadies. He needs yes men to make him appear cooler than he is and take his beatings. He needs someone to feed into his ego, and help piss off audiences, so when a babyface attacks them, MJF can still scurry away while his henchman gets the beatdown giving the audience something to cheer.
Unfortunately, Swerve is currently using this gimmick, and in my opinion it's a miscast. Swerve should be the solo act, while MJF should have the fodder like Parker and Trench.
This "I have infinite money cheat to bribe others to do my dirty work," is a nice one-off, but it has been overused. Much like his dick kick.
It also doesn't help that Bryan Danielson is just better. He is currently having a "fighting champion" run, without a belt.
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Allie Kitsune
Crow T. Robot
Always Feelin' Foxy.
Celestial Princess in Exile.
Posts: 46,149 
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Feb 18, 2023 11:32:45 GMT -5
There's something that just always feels kind of _off_ to me about MJF's act, and I think that maybe it's that it's kind of just all over the place now.
The most fundamental part of it is the whole "Obnoxious Jerk Rich Kid Bully" aspect, but then he also tends to try to temper that with his stories about how he got bullied as a child/teenager, himself.
He shows what he's capable of on the mic, but then pulls back and insists on going for low-effort, low-hanging fruit most of the time.
He keeps going back to the same well over and over again with his feuds (Aside from the Punk feud).
It feels like there's a meta part of this where he's sandbagging his own growth as a performer just because he thinks that would be another reason to make people dislike him.
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Post by Can you afford to pay me, Gah on Feb 18, 2023 11:34:28 GMT -5
A part of it not working right is because we seen the same storyline 3 other times with MJF. We seen it with Cody, We saw it with Jericho, and Warlow. MJF putting people in front of him that that person has to win to face him and ext. Its copy and paste and makes it boring. So why would a 4th time with that angle anybody think that would be exciting? Yes the matches where great but MJF angle just been boring but its something we seen 3 other times.
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Post by Milkman Norm on Feb 18, 2023 11:37:23 GMT -5
Related to the lack of toadies, it's the kind of gimmick where he should run from fights so fans want to see him get destroyed but we've already seen that. We've seen him do several high profile jobs. The whole thing just seems kind of backwards to me.
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Kalmia
King Koopa
Happy to be here
Posts: 11,707
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Post by Kalmia on Feb 18, 2023 12:05:50 GMT -5
There are several things not clicking.
As others have said, MJF's promos don't make narrative sense. He's trying to tell promos rooted in truth but he contradicts himself. The fans who felt sympathy for him during the Punk angle when he talked about being bullied for being Jewish see him talk about being the rich football star in the Liv promo and instead of thinking "what a heel" don't care as much.
The angle with Danielson has been a mess as well. You're going to punish Danielson and make things difficult for him by /checks notes/ getting the guy who loves wrestling to wrestle some dream matches. Right. The Takeshita and Bandido matches were bangers, but they did nothing for the story. Buying off Cage and Rush was better, as was MJF trying to wrench out Danielson's arm, but it was a little late.
MJF and AEW need to decide exactly who MJF is and stick to it. Aiming at being the worst person alive isn't a character. It's lazy. Sometimes MJF is a chickenshit heel and sometimes he's not. The guy who was evil enough to put his high school girlfriend behind the wheel of his crashed car should be absolutely unhinged and going to any lengths to take people out but MJF is too busy trying to be clever in his promos. Pick a lane and stick to it.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone.
Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,581
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Post by Bo Rida on Feb 18, 2023 12:09:34 GMT -5
There's something that just always feels kind of _off_ to me about MJF's act, and I think that maybe it's that it's kind of just all over the place now. The most fundamental part of it is the whole "Obnoxious Jerk Rich Kid Bully" aspect, but then he also tends to try to temper that with his stories about how he got bullied as a child/teenager, himself. He shows what he's capable of on the mic, but then pulls back and insists on going for low-effort, low-hanging fruit most of the time. He keeps going back to the same well over and over again with his feuds (Aside from the Punk feud). It feels like there's a meta part of this where he's sandbagging his own growth as a performer just because he thinks that would be another reason to make people dislike him. Yeah any depth and/or entertainment value are long gone and that has to be deliberate. It's the verbal equivalent of Orton spamming chinlocks. It may be designed to stop the cheers and get people to hate him however apathy is the more likely outcome which is far worse. Can't talk people into investing in something (emotionally or financially) if they've stopped paying attention. Suppose we'll see in the ratings and buyrates. |
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markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by markymark on Feb 18, 2023 12:27:31 GMT -5
I think he was a bit off at first but has figured it out over the past few weeks.
He shouldve been a completely sinister guy from the start, no Bidding War sht, just act like how he was in the Punk feud.
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Post by Mayonnaise on Feb 18, 2023 12:36:02 GMT -5
I think Punk f***ed it all up with Brawl Out. I think the plans TK had laid out with the Firm vs. Punk/Pinnacle and the title change would have had him going in a lot hotter and given a better focused after than we've gotten. Since then it's been a lot of the fly (for as much as it can be with TK) and it's hurt things.
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salz4life
Grimlock
Prichard is a guy who gets that his job is to service his boss.
Posts: 14,005
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Post by salz4life on Feb 18, 2023 12:43:17 GMT -5
Umm, put a mask on him?  Put him in a box... |
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markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 18,381
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Post by markymark on Feb 18, 2023 12:43:47 GMT -5
I think Punk f***ed it all up with Brawl Out. I think the plans TK had laid out with the Firm vs. Punk/Pinnacle and the title change would have had him going in a lot hotter and given a better focused after than we've gotten. Since then it's been a lot of the fly (for as much as it can be with TK) and it's hurt things.
The whole Gauntlet thing wouldve remained but Punk mic work wouldve definitely carried it because he is more creative than Danielson.
But like other have repeatedly said, TK isnt good at pivoting.
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Post by Milkman Norm on Feb 18, 2023 12:44:22 GMT -5
I think he was a bit off at first but has figured it out over the past few weeks. He shouldve been a completely sinister guy from the start, no Bidding War sht, just act like how he was in the Punk feud.
TBF though shoot mental health stuff over the summer made him a sympathetic figure, as did the contract information that leaked around the same time. He got a big pop for his return and that was before MuffinMania. Then the faux turn with all the Regal stuff and now I'm just meh. wrestlers turn heel, fans turn wrestlers face. They can fight it for a while but it usually ends with apathy, not heat. |
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markymark
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by markymark on Feb 18, 2023 12:49:28 GMT -5
He shouldve been a completely sinister guy from the start, no Bidding War sht, just act like how he was in the Punk feud.
TBF though shoot mental health stuff over the summer made him a sympathetic figure, as did the contract information that leaked around the same time. He got a big pop for his return and that was before MuffinMania. Then the faux turn with all the Regal stuff and now I'm just meh. wrestlers turn heel, fans turn wrestlers face. They can fight it for a while but it usually ends with apathy, not heat.
The issue if he turned face is that they dont have a lot credible heels that can go for the world title yet outside of Pac, Joe? and below them Swerve
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FinalGwen
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Particularly fond of muffins.
Posts: 16,434
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Post by FinalGwen on Feb 18, 2023 12:51:41 GMT -5
If I wanted to see a bigoted rich edgelord going for low hanging fruit all the time and thinking he's hilarious, I'd follow Elon Musk on Twitter.
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Post by Milkman Norm on Feb 18, 2023 12:55:50 GMT -5
If I wanted to see a bigoted rich edgelord going for low hanging fruit all the time and thinking he's hilarious, I'd follow Elon Musk on Twitter. 100%. There are lots of people in the real world, many of whom we can't talk about here, who I feel that way about. I don't need to see it in wrestling. |
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Post by Terry McConkey on Feb 18, 2023 12:57:40 GMT -5
I wonder if the endgame is a MJF-CM Punk rematch where Punk humbles MJF.
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