MJF

Maybe All Elite Wrestling viewers should have seen it coming.

AEW has always had an eye on the long-term picture. Its top stars—global sensations like Kenny Omega—have taken a backseat to others while building up the brand.

So it's only right that MJF took down Cody at AEW's Revolution pay-per-view Saturday night.

This probably wasn't what most fans had envisioned, not after Cody went through all of the stipulations to even get the match. He didn't touch the man who betrayed him, he bested his monster bodyguard in a steel cage and he took lashes on live television.

All to lose.

It was supposed to be a heroic moment for Cody, one that sent him triumphantly into different feuds and whatnot. MJF, finally getting his, would go back to defending the AEW diamond ring and doing more heel work, not really suffering at all from a loss.

But the upset, with MJF slyly using the diamond ring as a weapon at a crucial moment to steal the win?

Now that's building something special for the future.

These two aren't done with each other. MJF got the dastardly win to keep the heat from fans on him for a long time. And much, much worse for Cody, everything MJF said in the months before this long-awaited feud rang true. Rest assured that MJF is going to let the world hear it in the weeks and months to follow.

Cody is perhaps even more interesting here. We've seen flashes here and there of potential heel work from him in the past. Is this what pushes him over the edge? Does the good guy and face of the company end up stooping to MJF's level?

Either way, with how creative the buildup for this one was via MJF's stipulations, fans shouldn't have too many complaints about more between these two. And it works in tandem with still giving AEW a reason to keep them away from the title scene. Yes, Cody said he would never challenge for it again anyway, but we all know that's going to change at some point. For now, it works either way.

Cody's loss comes at a time when all the AEW big-time stars continue to take a backseat. Omega, for example, is technically a tag team champion, but it's a muted role for a guy who was single-handedly selling out massive arenas around the globe before AEW started. The Young Bucks haven't performed as expected while putting others over. Ditto for Lucha Bros. One could also apply this to Jon Moxley, who spent longer than expected away from the main title scene.

At this point, it wouldn't come as much of a surprise to see MJF tossed into the main event scene after this, perhaps shelving the Cody feud for a bit. Fans saw some fun hints of MJF interacting with Chris Jericho's The Inner Circle in the past, and his bouncing off them in a fun manner could make for an unforgettable feud.

Either way, it's hard to complain about MJF's fate. He's a guy fans will pay to see lose. He's one of the best talkers in the business and proved against Cody he can hang in the ring. He's generating perhaps more interest in the company than anyone else via the win, whereas a loss would have killed off interest in both him and the feud.

Which loops back to praise for Cody because it isn't all possible without the willingness to take the loss and keep things moving in this direction. He's one of many doing it right now, and enabling MJF makes the short term interesting (there are only so many pay-per-views per year) but the long term prosperous for all.

The fact AEW was able to keep this feud so interesting for so long and understand it still has oh-so much to give—and that MJF is a top guy—is a testament to the background work put into the promotion. While the anticipated Cody-MJF result probably didn't please every onlooker, it's a critical step in an important right direction when viewed from almost any angle.

And the most important of all is MJF's standing as one of the best in the world.

Cody hoped to get his long-awaited revenge on MJF on Saturday, but it was MJF who came out on the winning end of their grudge match at AEW Revolution.

MJF used his Dynamite Diamond ring to knock Cody out and pin him for the win.

For nearly four months, Cody was obsessed with getting his hands on MJF after his protege turned his back on him at Full Gear and cost him a chance to win the AEW World Championship.

MJF was in Cody's corner for the title match against Chris Jericho at the pay-per-view on Nov. 9, and he threw in the towel when Cody was locked in the Walls of Jericho. MJF initially seemed remorseful, but it was all a ruse, as he attacked his mentor after the match.

The loss was a huge blow to Cody, not only because he fell short of the AEW world title on that day but also because he vowed to never challenge for the belt again in the event of a loss.

During the aftermath, Cody made it clear he would be willing to do anything to get a match against MJF, and the villain got the most out of that.

MJF stipulated Cody could not get physical with him until Revolution, that he must allow himself to be lashed 10 times on live television and that he must defeat Wardlow in AEW's first-ever steel cage match.

Avoiding contact with MJF was difficult given the fact that he attempted to goad Cody on numerous occasions, but The American Nightmare managed to refrain and satisfy that portion of the demands.

Taking 10 lashes wasn't as easy, but with Brandi Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes and The Young Bucks urging him on, he somehow made it through, although MJF took advantage of the opportunity by hitting him with a low blow for good measure.

The final piece of the puzzle was popped into place last week when Cody outlasted the massive, powerful Wardlow in a steel cage match, which officially set the stage for his clash with MJF.

The rivalry between the two men leading up to Revolution was old-school storytelling at its finest, as AEW managed to put off the desired result of Cody getting his hands on MJF for months while still providing the viewing audience with compelling television.

Saturday's match was the culmination of a long and winding road, but Cody's fans were deprived of seeing him give MJF what he deserved.

The win gives MJF a ton of credibility as a top heel, though, and given how popular Cody is, the loss could actually be a good thing for him in terms of giving him even more sympathy and more adversity to battle back from.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

All Elite Wrestling will be the focus of the pro wrestling world Saturday when AEW Revolution emanates from the Windy City, marking only the second AEW pay-per-view since Dynamite debuted on TNT.

The event will be headlined by an AEW World Championship match pitting Chris Jericho against Jon Moxley. Two other titles will be on the line as well, and the highly anticipated grudge match between Cody and MJF will also look to steal the show.

Here is a full rundown of the AEW Revolution card, along with some additional analysis regarding the top matches you won't want to miss.

Where: Wintrust Arena in Chicago

When: Saturday, Feb. 29 at 8 p.m. ET (Pre-show starts at 7 p.m. ET)

Watch: B/R Live and PPV

AEW Revolution Match Card

• AEW World Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Jon Moxley
• Cody vs. MJF
• AEW World Tag Team Championships: Kenny Omega & Adam "Hangman" Page (c) vs. The Young Bucks
• AEW Women's World Championship: Nyla Rose (c) vs. Kris Statlander
• Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes
• Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
• PAC vs. Orange Cassidy
• SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian) vs. Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson)

Top AEW Revolution Matches to Watch

Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley

The main event of Revolution will see the only world champion AEW has ever known put his title on the line against arguably AEW's biggest signing to date.

Ever since Moxley made his surprise debut for AEW at Double or Nothing in May, it seemed obvious that he and Jericho were on a collision course.

Jericho beat Adam "Hangman" Page to become the first AEW World champion at the next pay-per-view, and Moxley eventually beat Kenny Omega in an unsanctioned match, and it became clear at that point that Moxley was the next man up.

Moxley beat Sammy Guevara to earn a chance to become No. 1 contender, but Jericho and the Inner Circle stabbed him in the eye with a spike as revenge for refusing to join the group.

Even so, Moxley soldiered on and beat PAC to become No. 1 contender. He even beat Jeff Cobb, who Jericho and The Inner Circle brought in as a mercenary.

Moxley is one of the hottest babyfaces in wrestling, and the fans clearly want to see him win the title, but Jericho always has something up his sleeve.

It seems likely that Moxley will win since Jericho's band, Fozzy, starts touring in April, but if AEW really wants to swerve the fans, perhaps Jericho will find a way to retain.

Cody vs. MJF

There will be no titles on the line when Cody and MJF meet at Revolution, but it can be argued that no match on the card is more important to AEW fans.

MJF was once Cody's friend and understudy, but he screwed over The American Nightmare at AEW Full Gear by throwing in the towel during Cody's AEW World title match against Jericho and then hitting him with a low blow afterward.

That set a multi-month build in motion, with Cody saying he was willing to do whatever it took in order to get his hands on MJF.

MJF stipulated that Cody couldn't touch him until Revolution, had to take 10 lashes on live television and had to beat Wardlow in a steel cage match. It wasn't easy, but Cody accomplished every feat to set the stage for Saturday's bout.

Cody is a beloved figure in AEW, and MJF is likely the company's most-hated heel because of what he did to Cody. Not only did Cody lose to Jericho because of MJF, but he also gave up the chance to ever challenge for the AEW World title again.

There are some questions about MJF's in-ring ability given that he's still in the infancy of his career, but Cody has had some great matches in AEW, and the story surrounding this match should make it compelling even if it isn't a technical classic.

An argument can be made for both men to win. Cody has gone through hell and high water to get to this point, and the fans are hungry for him to prevail. At the same time, MJF is an up-and-coming heel who needs a defining win to take the next step.

This contest can truly go either way, and that should have fans glued to their screens.

Kenny Omega & Adam "Hangman" Page vs. The Young Bucks

In what could truly be the best all-around match on the show, Omega and Page will defend their AEW World Tag Team Championships against The Young Bucks.

While Omega and Page are both members of The Elite, they are something of an oddball team because of their differing styles and personalities. Even so, it didn't take them long to ascend to the top of the tag team division.

Omega and Page beat SCU on the Jericho cruise to win the titles, and they have since successfully defended them against SCU and The Lucha Brothers.

The Young Bucks won a tag team battle royal on Dynamite to become the No. 1 contenders and face two wrestlers who they consider friends. Things have been contentious between Page and The Bucks lately, though, and even Omega is at odds with them after initially being cordial.

It was assumed when AEW started that The Young Bucks would dominate the tag division, but they have yet to win the title and pressure is mounting to do so.

Perhaps that pressure will cause them to cheat and turn heel. If not, maybe they will benefit from some dissension between Omega and Page.

Page hasn't taken kindly to Omega concerning himself with individual business, including a feud with PAC. Omega beat PAC in a 30-minute Iron Man match on Dynamite, which could take a toll on him.

If that causes Page and Omega to drop the belts, a Hangman heel turn may be in the cards as well.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).

All Elite Wrestling's Revolution card is stacked with intriguing matches. None, however, have gotten as deeply personal as Cody Rhodes vs. MJF. The feud began with no obvious backstory to explain why MJF turned on his supposed best friend at Full Gear last November.

However, the Salt of the Earth and the American Nightmare have opened up about the bad blood in their past friendship and their underlying disdain for each other all while keeping their rivalry at the forefront of AEW programming the past four months.

Below is a breakdown of the rivalry until now. Watch their match and the rest of the Revolution event Saturday on B/R Live.

Cody Rhodes vs. MJF: Background

MJF signed with AEW after taking part in All In, the independent show promoted by Cody in September 2018 that led to the formation of the company months later. It was around that time Cody took MJF under his wing. He saw potential in the mouthy 23-year-old the veteran wanted to mold. 

"I never told myself, but I was told by the world over that Max is not a good guy," Cody said to B/R Live. "I really understood that, but I thought our relationship would be more cemented by the fact that I'm the one who stuck my neck out for him. The Young Bucks thought he was completely rotten as a wrestler and didn't want to sign him, but I thought he was special and put him on All In, and he showed the world he was special."

Until the conclusion of Full Gear, MJF consistently came to the aid of his mentor, who he deemed "the smartest man in the industry" in an interview with Bleacher Report last September. During Cody's feuds with Shawn Spears and Chris Jericho, MJF was often in his corner to help him fend off the likes of the Inner Circle. However, it was MJF's role as Cody's corner man against Jericho at Full Gear that cost the American Nightmare a hope of becoming the AEW world champion.

Cody Rhodes vs. MJF: The Turn

Ahead of Cody's title shot against Jericho at Full Gear, the 34-year-old was so confident he'd walk out of Baltimore as the new champion that he vowed to never compete for the belt again if he lost. This added to the match's intensity, especially once the champion put Cody in his signature Walls of Jericho finisher.

Cody, struggling to escape, screamed in pain as referee Aubrey Edwards asked if he wanted the match stopped. It was then that MJF, in Cody's corner throughout the match, threw a towel into the ring to signal forfeit. Edwards ended the bout as a shocked Royal Farms Arena crowd looked on, dismayed by MJF's decision.

An emotional MJF begged for forgiveness from Cody. However, after eventually being consoled by his title-less mentor, the Salt of the Earth turned on him with a kick to the groin, sending the crowd into a frenzy that saw one fan throw a drink at MJF as he retreated to the backstage area.

"My first foray into mentoring a young talent went epically, historically bad," Cody told Bleacher Report Live when looking back on what happened last November. "It felt like I should've seen it coming and didn't at all."

Despite the turn being teased for months, most notably at All Out last August when MJF grabbed a steel chair and hinted at bludgeoning Cody before eventually using it on Spears instead, even more eyes were on their impending feud now. MJF's embarrassment of Rhodes added to the perceived disdain he had for him, and that was the point. MJF costing Cody the chance to ever win the AEW world championship confirmed how personal this feud was going to get.

Cody Rhodes vs. MJF: Explanation

Fans were left to wonder why MJF turned on Cody since it seemed their friendship was stronger than most. The explanation came on the Dynamite following Full Gear, where the villain was greeted by chants of "assh--e" and "bulls--t" by the Nashville audience.

"The real Cody only cares about himself, but you sheep don't want to believe that," MJF said. "There's one person on this planet that knows the real Cody, and you're looking at him. The real Cody is a liar. The real Cody is a user and abuser. That sociopath put his hand out with a smile on his face and said 'Hey kid, I want to be your mentor.' Cody didn't want to keep me under his wing, but to put me underneath his thumb until he was done being 'the guy.' Well blondie, your thumb isn't big enough to put me down."

The angle: MJF grew tired of working what he believed to be "underneath" Cody. As his fame rose in 2019, he realized there was far more for him to gain as an independent act than there was alongside his former mentor. MJF felt disrespected by Cody and believes his near future at AEW will transcend that of just someone being told what to do. He wants to be a face of the company and doesn't care who he has to turn on to get that message across. 

Cody confronted MJF moments after the latter explained why he turned on him, but he was met by MJF's 300-pound bodyguard: Wardlow. The two choked Cody with his own tie and left him in a heap, but the golden-haired babyface still demanded a match with MJF over the coming weeks. MJF eventually agreed, but only after a few stipulations were met.

Cody Rhodes vs. MJF: Stipulations

MJF told Cody he must agree to the following if their match at Revolution would take place:

1. Cody must receive 10 lashes on live television.

As brutal as it looked, Cody went through with the lashes despite seemingly wanting to stop on multiple occasions. However, those close to him, like the Young Bucks, head coach Arn Anderson and Brandi and Dustin Rhodes, supported him from outside the ring to continue. Cody did so, taking nine lashes from MJF and one especially powerful lash from Wardlow as well.

2. Cody must participate in a steel cage match with Wardlow.

Not only did Cody participate in a steel cage match with Wardlow, but he defeated him in what was the enforcer's in-ring debut for AEW. A bloodied Cody, who was thrown into the cage on numerous occasions, gave AEW one of its most viral moments after moonsaulting off the top of the cage on to Wardlow for the win. 

3. Cody cannot touch MJF before Revolution.

Cody's made good on this stipulation up to this point and hasn't let his emotions get the best of him. These two refraining from getting their hands on each other until Revolution builds anticipation and interest in their match since the only time we've seen them make physical contact before is when MJF turned on Cody at Full Gear last November. This just leaves fans wondering how the match itself will actually play out.

What to expect from Revolution

MJF turning on Cody was one of the most emotionally captivating moments so far in AEW's short history. Now after months of buildup, their feud finally comes to a climax that fans will hope has warranted the amount of time AEW has invested in it. The ride up to this point has been quite fun and produced many memorable moments, but their match needs to deliver just as effectively, if not more so.

Fans know what to expect from Cody at this point. He's a classic, no-nonsense wrestler that excels at in-match storytelling better than anyone else on the roster. The biggest questions ahead of the match surround MJF's wrestling ability and how he'll jell with a worker of Cody's pedigree. MJF's only 23 and has never had this large of a spotlight on him ahead of a match. If he can deliver a strong performance, it'll elevate him to main-event status at AEW for the foreseeable future and perhaps even cement him as one of the best heels in the world.

Most importantly, though, this match needs to leave fans satisfied at the conclusion of it, living up to both the anticipation and its lofty expectations.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman, better known as MJF, is the hottest heel in wrestling. Source?

Well, everybody.

Across the internet, they sing his praises and curse his name as he takes on nerds, the poor and even grandmothers. Fans recognize in Friedman a throwback to the old days, when bad guys were bad guys as a full-time job, not villains in the ring and Instagram motivators and merchandise salesmen outside of it, breaking into huge smiles at the thought of selling a $10 T-shirt to the same audience members they'd been mean-mugging just 30 minutes before.

But what if, and work with me here, none of the above is completely true?

What if MJF, the most promising young wrestler in the world, is really the hero of this story? That's the premise he was pitching as I caught up with him on the phone recently, shortly after he'd laid out a series of Herculean challenges for his former friend Cody Rhodes to accomplish before Max would deign to meet him in the ring at AEW Revolution pay-per-view on February 29.

"I thought Cody cared about me," MJF said. "I mean, I will never ever forget in a million years the day that I got invited to a business meeting and he sat me down and he told me that he saw something in me. That he wanted to make me a star. That he believed in me. He said all I had to do, and this is laughable now, is bet on myself. 

"And fast forward, me betting on myself apparently included me dressing up in a Star Trek outfit to walk to the ring with him, in his shadow. I don't think he ever had my best interest at heart, which is sad because I thought he did. What he did was manipulate me and that's why, yeah, it is real. Every bit of this, I hate to call it a feud or a rivalry because to me that sounds phony and hokey. Everything about this is real. 

"I looked up to this man. I wanted to be like this man. I just didn't realize how crooked he was. And I get so sad when I hear the fans cheer his name because they have no idea how much of a crock of s--t he is in real life."

To the general public, MJF says, Cody is the hero, victim of his protege's wicked ways. But, to Friedman, Rhodes wasn't some altruistic patron, taking a young man under his wing to help him grow into something special. He was a vampire and a leech, a power-mad star desperately looking to attach himself to the most compelling talent around, whether it was the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega or, finally, Friedman himself. Rhodes always made sure to keep his rivals close, biding his time until he could outmaneuver them backstage if he couldn't manage it in the ring. 

"He's almost Wizard of Oz-esque," MJF said. "You have this big bad wizard, but when they pulled back the curtain, there was just this tiny little feeble, weak man who was trying to puppeteer everybody's lives for the betterment of his own good and only his own good. That's Cody.

"There's a reason why after I kicked that no good son of a b---h Cody Rhodes in the nuts that there was a huge smile on my face. It's because what happened was a thousand million pounds of weight got completely lifted off my shoulders. Because I had to follow this guy around and be his glorified hype man for way too long. 

"And I allowed that to happen because I thought that man cared about me, which he did not. When I broke the chains of slavery and kicked him square in the balls and it felt so good, Jon. Oh my God. It felt so good."

When he lashed out against Cody, Friedman said, it wasn't just a blow to the balls. It was a righteous preemptive assault. When the kick heard round the world landed, he'd just saved Rhodes from a potentially career-ending injury. And his supposed friend couldn't even be bothered to thank him. Sensing the treachery to come, MJF felt there was little he could do but strike first.

"Perhaps the last straw that broke the camel's back for me was when I threw the towel in to literally save my best friend, my mentor," MJF said. "In spite of myself knowing deep down inside he was doing wrong by me. I was still following him. I was still helping him. And I throw this towel in to help him and he wasn't the least bit like positive. He didn't even look at me and say, 'Hey, I know that was a hard decision to make, but thank you.'

"Please watch the footage back. Chris Jericho has never bent somebody that far backward in his entire career. And that's saying something because I believed the man's almost had a 30-year run now in professional wrestling. Cody's spinal cord was going to snap.

"Not only did I save his career, I might have saved the man's life. He could have literally died in the ring. And that's how he showed respect to me? So I had had it. I was done. I was done being his punching bag. I was done playing second fiddle. I was done watching him be the face of the company when I knew damn well the only person that should be the face of the company at AEW is me."

Now, by this point you might be noticing that all of this sounds an awful lot like a pro wrestling storyline. That's because it is. As far as anyone can tell, that's the only reality MJF inhabits.

In a normal pro wrestling interview, the kind I do routinely here at Bleacher Report, you talk to the person behind the character, free to discuss their artistic motivations and even sneak a peek at their real life outside the squared circle. 

For MJF, there is no other world, no off switch he can hit and then simply relax. If there's a real person, he's buried so deeply beneath the the surface that his oxygen supply must be perilously low.

No matter how hard you try, Friedman isn't breaking character. Case in point: in a previous interview, he and I had talked about his love of 1980s heel wrestlers. He jotted off a list of his favorites—including Tully Blanchard, now his co-worker in AEW. Sensing an opening, I asked MJF what it was like to have the opportunity to learn from Tully himself, not merely watch him on old videos.

But Max wasn't going to be caught slipping that easily. See, in AEW lore, Blanchard is the manager of Shawn Spears, an early rival despised by MJF. So, any glimpses behind the curtain had to be shrouded in a kayfabe haze.

"I've studied him ad nauseam " Friedman admitted. "It's just such a shame that he's hanging out with such a complete loser like Shawn Spears. I mean what a waste. What a complete and utter waste. I mean look, I would love to walk up to Tully and pick his brain, but there's just no shot because Shawn's going to be nearby. And Jon, I don't know if you ever shared any type of space with Shawn Spears, but you can smell that guy from about a thousand miles. So unfortunately I can't really talk man-to-man with Tully at this juncture of my career."

Then Friedman steered the interview back to the storyline, taking an opportunity to discuss Blanchard's former tag team partner Arn Anderson, now Cody's latest mentor and coach. 

"Early Four Horseman is absolutely terrific," he said. "That's why it makes me sick to my stomach that Cody Rhodes has now somehow bamboozled Arn Anderson into wanting to help be a coach of his. It's disgusting.

"He thinks Arn Anderson is going to make him a better professional wrestler. And guess what? He's not wrong, Jon. It will make him a better professional wrestler. Because Arn Anderson is one of the greatest minds in the history of our great sport. However, it's not going to change the fact that I am better than Cody Rhodes and he knows it. And at the end of the day, the world is going to know it too."

There's a certain genius at work here, a commitment to kayfabe so fierce you can't help but be impressed. Wrestling, particularly in AEW, is full of incredibly talented physical performers. But very few people in the history of the sport have been capable of moving a crowd with little more than the power of their personality. 

"For some strange reason a lot of people in my age demographic don't want to listen to veterans of this sport," the 23-year-old said. "They'd much rather put on their kick pads and do their moonies and their 450s. They're not trying to learn. They're not trying to get better. They're just trying to be cool. I don't care about being cool, Jon. What I care about is making money. What I care about is making waves. What I care about is going down as one of, if not, the greatest professional wrestlers to have ever lived.

"And the only way that happens is by studying your sport and your craft. I have sat down for hours until my eyes have bled while I studied legends and I still do to this day while these kids are studying gymnastics routines. That's why I'm ahead of the curve."

On Wednesday, Rhodes must face the first of Friedman's stipulations: 10 lashes on his hands and knees. Two weeks later, he'll take on MJF's secret weapon, Wardlow, in a steel cage in Atlanta. For Cody, it's only path to revenge. 

"There is nothing more right now on this planet that Cody wants to do than get his hands on me. And that's a fact," MJF said. "The man is freaking out. He had one opportunity and one opportunity only to become a world champion in this great sport known as professional wrestling. And I took that away from him for life. He's panicking.

"This is me handing Cody Rhodes his opportunity to wrestle me on a silver platter, really. I mean, all he has to do is get through these stipulations and then he gets to have the match that he and all of these people around the world are craving to see. And you get to tune in and see it.

"I don't know why you would want to miss that. Personally, I would miss a wedding. I would miss childbirth. I would miss a bar mitzvah just to see me talk at all. But I'm not just talking. You should be tuning in every week for AEW on TNT at Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. because the most gripping human being on planet is live on your TV set. And his name is Maxwell Jacob Friedman."

Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report.