Adam Cole/MJF Bromance Discussion Thread

[Alice Syndrome]

Honestly if there is a turn at this point, I'm expecting it to be Coke turning on MJF, and the Roddy clingy jealous guy act was him playing it up to throw Max off the scent.

[HMARK Center]

If Cole was the one to turn, it’d definitely put MJF into uncharted territory: on the one hand it’d add fuel to him going deeper into being a misanthrope, since he’d have finally opened himself to a real friendship only to be bitten by it, but on the other it’d probably hurt him in a way that nothing else has in kayfabe, since he’s made himself more emotionally vulnerable in front of others than ever, and thus would make him a bigger babyface because that’s automatic major sympathy.

There’s also the way other wrestlers would treat him; would a lot of them still not trust him? Still hold grudges or at least remember how he hurt, lied to, or otherwise mistreated them? Moxley and BCC would never accept him given how he won the belt in the first place; Punk, still skirting the line between face and heel, would probably tear into him, remembering their feud and playing up “you’re not even the real champ.” The other “pillars” wouldn’t likely want anything to do with him; hell, Jack Perry would laugh at him and say “I took your advice, and it’s working better for me than it is for you!”

Definitely an interesting potential idea.

[Citizen Snips]

Piggybacking off the above, what was the last “former heel had to actually earn trust” storyline? The last I’ve I can remember is Rollins having to get back into Ambrose’s good graces, I’m assuming there’s been one since then. I know they okayed with it earlier this year with KO and Sami but KO hugged him after like 2 weeks, that’s too forgiving.

[4real]

Gripping TV. This team is money. MJF being conflicted about hitting Cole with the belt is exactly what I wanted from this. Even if MJF does eventually turn I still want it to be conflicted rather than “LOL I got you all again, I am the devil!”

Where Roddy fits into all this is interesting as well. Just hope the ball is not dropped on this angle.

[ASYLUMHAUSEN]

Jul 30, 2023 11:22:43 GMT -5 HMARK Center said:

If Cole was the one to turn, it’d definitely put MJF into uncharted territory: on the one hand it’d add fuel to him going deeper into being a misanthrope, since he’d have finally opened himself to a real friendship only to be bitten by it, but on the other it’d probably hurt him in a way that nothing else has in kayfabe, since he’s made himself more emotionally vulnerable in front of others than ever, and thus would make him a bigger babyface because that’s automatic major sympathy.

There’s also the way other wrestlers would treat him; would a lot of them still not trust him? Still hold grudges or at least remember how he hurt, lied to, or otherwise mistreated them? Moxley and BCC would never accept him given how he won the belt in the first place; Punk, still skirting the line between face and heel, would probably tear into him, remembering their feud and playing up “you’re not even the real champ.” The other “pillars” wouldn’t likely want anything to do with him; hell, Jack Perry would laugh at him and say “I took your advice, and it’s working better for me than it is for you!”

Definitely an interesting potential idea.

Danhausen would still love him.

[dreidemy]

I hope this friendship never ends regardless of alignments

And I kinda wanna see MJF/Cole/Ricky vs CMFTR or just MJF vs Punk with a face pro AEW MJF

[Dub H]

Its wonders a good and fun story can do.

Regular here maybe will remember I was bored and unhappy with Cole for a looong time. But they made me watch Collision live(even if the end)for the first time. and by the ratings I wasnt alone there.

[Fade]

Aug 1, 2023 13:19:45 GMT -5 Dub H said:

Its wonders a good and fun story can do.

Regular here maybe will remember I was bored and unhappy with Cole for a looong time. But they made me watch Collision live(even if the end)for the first time. and by the ratings I wasnt alone there.

It’s actually the only time I’ve enjoyed Cole, other than when he just got here and teased the thing with the Elite. Like the dude. But haven’t been enjoying him really til now.

That tag match had me the most I’d been hyped for wrestling in a long time. And Max should have been tweener face since the title win.

[Dub H]

Aug 1, 2023 13:26:18 GMT -5 Fade said:

Aug 1, 2023 13:19:45 GMT -5 Dub H said:

Its wonders a good and fun story can do.

Regular here maybe will remember I was bored and unhappy with Cole for a looong time. But they made me watch Collision live(even if the end)for the first time. and by the ratings I wasnt alone there.

It’s actually the only time I’ve enjoyed Cole, other than when he just got here and teased the thing with the Elite. Like the dude. But haven’t been enjoying him really til now.

That tag match had me the most I’d been hyped for wrestling in a long time. And Max should have been tweener face since the title win.

Those are my exact same feelings, copy and paste

[daaave]

I've literally no idea where this goes next. Which is good. You'd assume they will go ahead with MJF/Cole for the title but could they do it as face vs face and make it interesting?

I think it would be quite cool if they did a triple threat with Punk at Wembley where the winner wins title and whoever isn't pinned gets one on one title match at All Out following week. Maybe MJF pins Cole a little sly like, maybe steals a pin off Punk, tease MJF is going back to his old ways. Then do Punk vs MJF and Cole ends up helping MJF and they make up.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Aug 1, 2023 13:19:45 GMT -5 Dub H said:

Its wonders a good and fun story can do.

Regular here maybe will remember I was bored and unhappy with Cole for a looong time. But they made me watch Collision live(even if the end)for the first time. and by the ratings I wasnt alone there.

Exact same. I stayed up until 3am just to watch that match.

[markymark]

The top-selling items for month of July included MJF’s “Better Than You BAY BAY,” an AEW x NJPW collaboration, and Orange Cassidy’s “One Line” merchandise, all of which resonated with fans and contributed significantly to the overall sales figures.


1) MJF – Better Than You BAY BAY (Days in top 10: 31) [reverse rank value: 1545]
2) AEW x NJPW – Bullet Club Gold (31) [1471]
3) Orange Cassidy – One Line (31) [1389]
4) CM Punk – Best in the World Ringer T-shirt (28) [1355]
5) CM Punk & FTR – The Foundation (25) [1290]
6) CM Punk – Rowdy Ringer T-shirt (19) [1273]
7) The Elite – Golden Elite (17) [822]
8) The Acclaimed – Scissor Me Daddy Ass (15) [1181]
9) CM Punk Best In The World Lightweight Jacket (14) [664]

10) Sting (Retro USA) AEW Micro Brawler (12) [593]

Source: Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics

[Fade]

I’m a Maxamaniac brother jack dude!

[Feargus McReddit]

So ShopAEW has a special edition of the Better Than You Bay Bay shirt until next Tuesday and I unironically want to get it hoping it’ll get here before I have to leave for All In.

I have a way of getting it shipped to a An Post hub and then paying a fee to get it to Ireland from there so that won’t be too much of a big deal. I mean, it’s either that or I get a Double Clothesline shirt from the Global shop and it’ll at least have a chance of getting here on time.

So I’m All In (ha) on this team (until someone turns at Wembley and makes me sad).

[markymark]

One of the hottest storylines in the company is the tag-team union of Adam Cole and MJF. A random tournament drawing brought them together earlier this summer, and despite customarily residing on different sides of the good-guy/bad-guy spectrum, they have formed a bond — sometimes genuine, sometimes tenuous, but always entertaining.

The tag team’s T-shirt emblazoned “Better Than You, Bay-Bay” is AEW’s top seller of the year, and Tony Khan said the team’s popularity has surprised even him. MJF is scheduled for an interview segment tonight in Tampa.

“You hope that it gets hot, but this has gotten red hot, and fans are so excited about it that it’s one of the great success stories in AEW’s history,” Khan said. “It’s a story that may be relatable in some ways, fans may be living vicariously through it in other ways, but it’s great to see the whole world get behind this bromance between two dudes who nobody expected to see click quite like this.”

Many people expected the short-term team to lead to a quick breakup and an imminent world-title match between Cole and MJF, but there’s a groundswell of support online to keep the team together. Khan wouldn’t address that directly, but he said he rates the success of wrestlers and storylines through live reactions, online engagement and TV ratings.

“This is why I like having ideas and outlines,” Khan said. “You can judge where to go next based on the reactions of fans. Fans have grabbed a hold of MJF and Adam Cole and their story… which is really very captivating.”

Staging a pay-per-view at Wembley Stadium is the latest big swing that has connected for Khan and AEW. With more than 77,000 tickets distributed as of a Monday report, it’s just a few hundred shy of the largest attendance ever in Europe.

“It kind of reminds me of Max [MJF] and Adam,” Khan said. “When you make an attempt to do something so bold, pick a venue so large, the aim is to have a lot of success with this. Just as we expected the Max and Adam Cole tag team … to be very successful and it went beyond that, the same things also apply for All In’s success.”

www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/08/02/tony-khan-on-aews-200th-episode-adam-cole-mjf-tag-team-and-being-called-a-secondary-promotion-by-triple-h/

[Dub H]

Its crazy the top 5 Shirts h sold this week, has 3 Adam Cole MJF shirts. 1, 3 4(number 2 being the Bullet Club Gold Shirt). And number 5 is a new Sky Blue shirt which hey, good for her.

[markymark]

[Facetious]

Aug 2, 2023 23:13:03 GMT -5 markymark said:

NOOOOOOOOO 😭😭😭

[Starshine]

See I thought if MJF wasn't going to turn before All In that they'd go with a Punk title match first... now, I'm not really sure where things are going. But out of all the possibilities right now, Cole betraying MJF seems like such a potentially interesting direction to take things.

[Fade]

Aug 2, 2023 23:13:03 GMT -5 markymark said:

Oh no

Cole’s going to screw MJF at All In and win the AEW World title.

They’re going to take now to All In in making us sympathize with Max, as kinda evidenced tonight. Then, Cole betrays him and MJF’s “rejection” issues pivot the character into something different. Just spitballing.