The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.
Saturday night, in the main event of Full Gear, the devil revealed himself in the form of MJF. After weeks of vowing to win fairly, of claiming he had to win straight up to prove himself, he revealed collusion with William Regal and defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Championship after blasting his opponent with a pair of brass knuckles.
The match started interestingly enough, with the combatants reversing roles. Moxley worked heel throughout while MJF showed signs of the gutsy, resilient babyface whose destiny awaited him.
Late match referee bumps and the Regal sliding the aforementioned brass knuckles to MJF erased much of the goodwill the challenger built throughout and had fans greeting him with a mixed reaction as he covered Moxley, won the title and realized his boyhood dream.
The booking, while something fans had expressed interest in leading into the show, begs one major question: what becomes of Blackpool Combat Club?
Surely, Regal cannot preside over a babyface faction that will not be missing its leader in Moxley, especially when he just helped the bane of everyone's existence win the top prize in the company.
There is also no reason for the faction to carry the Blackpool portion of the name because none of the participants are actually from there, unlike founder Regal.
Moxley will likely go on that vacation that was cut short following All Out but what becomes of BCC and Regal's relationship with it in the meantime?
And, perhaps more importantly, is Regal now aligned with MJF or was this a one-off recognition of his talent and the competitor he grew into?
There is a ton of intrigue at the top of the card and while this was not a blow-away AEW show, that is exactly the sort of thing you want coming out of a pay-per-view event.
The match was solid enough, but the overbooking of the ending certainly dropped it down a peg.
Still, MJF is the new world champion, a role that was tailor-made for him the moment he put pen to paper on his AEW contract. He has earned this opportunity and, at just 26 years of age, has countless years as a top star in front of him.
MJF defeated Moxley to win the title
Top Moments
- Chants of "MJF" and "new champ" spilled from the stands prior to the opening bell.
- MJF teased a dive but, instead, ran the ropes and posed for the fans' adulation.
- Moxley beat down his challenger, then mockingly bowed as the fans rained down with a chorus of boos in his direction.
- MJF delivered a Tombstone piledriver on the ring apron but screamed in agony, his unprotected knee in excruciating pain. Moxley capitalized on the injury, countering his opponent's piledriver attempt with one of his own and driving him through a table on the floor.
- Moxley kicked the hell out of MJF's injured knee and applied the figure four.
- The champion delivered an avalanche Paradigm Shift, but MJF got his finger on the bottom rope, forcing the break in a spot similar to that of Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 33 versus Chris Jericho.
- MJF pulled referee Bryce Remsburg into the path of Moxley, then retrieved the Dynamite Diamond Ring. At the demand of William Regal, he tossed the ring away.
- Referee Paul Turner was bumped, too.
- Regal slid MJF the brass knuckles and the challenger proceeded to use them.
