New World Champion crowned at AEW Worlds End
For the first time in two years and for the second time in his career, MJF can call himself AEW World Champion.
He won the title in the four-way main event at Saturday’s Worlds End pay-per-view from Chicago nearly two years to the day when he lost the title to Samoa Joe at the first-ever Worlds End. Fittingly, Joe was the champion going into tonight’s show.
The end came when Joe was hit with two Buckshot lariats by Hangman Page, but on the third, MJF jumped in the ring and kicked him low. He then hit the Heat Seeker on Joe to get the pin and win to complete the circle.
The match also featured interference with Joe’s Opps teammates Hook, Katsuyori Shibata and Powerhouse Hobbs getting involved. Shibata and Hobbs were taken out by Swerve Strickland while Hook avoided getting punched by Page. Strickland didn’t factor into the finish after he was pushed off the top rope by MJF as he was about to hit a Swerve Stomp on Joe.
MJF’s first run lasted a record 406 days from November 2022’s Full Gear through the aforementioned Worlds End show in December 2023.
MJF made his surprise return earlier this month to interject himself into what was a three-way between Joe, Strickland and Page, using his contract from the Casino Gauntlet match at All In: Texas to do so.
He also has his first title challenge set up as the perennial Dynamite Diamond ring winner will defend against the new ring winner Bandido on the Maximum Carnage episode of Dynamite on Wednesday, January 14. MJF will also appear on this Wednesday’s New Year’s Smash Dynamite.
The win ends the second title run for Joe which started at November’s Full Gear with his win over Page who was in his second run with the gold.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.