All Elite Wrestling

The MJF era is upon AEW.

While predictable as it gets, MJF's ascension to AEW top dog on Saturday night at Full Gear with a win over Jon Moxley to become AEW world champion was executed to perfection.

MJF, ever the wily heel but getting cheered like a babyface, fulfilled his "promise" to not use his ring in a way that would help him cheat and win.

So he used some brass knuckles passed over by William Regal, won and away AEW goes into an inevitably prosperous era.

Right on time, too. After some recent drama surrounding the main event scene and otherwise, beloved as he is, there was no way Moxley would walk out of Full Gear as champion yet again. If nothing else, the fans would revolt because the man needs a vacation.

Fittingly, the main event capped off what was easily AEW's best pay-per-view of the year after a rocky year. The promotion has a chance to do a soft reset now and make things a little more simple for viewers in terms of number of names and storylines to track, plus has new headlining champions with Jamie Hayter and MJF.

But MJF is by far the most interesting point.

It wasn't too long ago that fans had to fret over whether MJF might up and leave the company in the biggest bidding war in modern pro wrestling history. That seems like a long, long time ago and now all they have to worry about is which amazing storyline AEW might pluck down from an everlasting storyline tree and throw at them first.

How about Regal's heel turn? That's the death-knell for the BCC (Blackpool Combat Club), whose superstars besides the vacationing Moxley certainly can't agree with the leader's actions.

But there was a chef's kiss bit of storytelling between Regal and MJF. After repeated warnings, Regal watched as MJF didn't lean on a clutch like the ring. After finally doing so, Regal tossed him the brass knuckles anyway.

Maybe that's reading a little too much into it, but it sure feels like we could be heading for a Paul Heyman-CM Punk sort of vibe with Regal and MJF.

At the end of the day, maybe a face turn for MJF never felt right anyway. Why turn the guy who is going to get endless cheers from fans anyway? We're talking about the guy who got more cheers than CM Punk in Chicago. Let him play the "heel" while the fanbase plays along in a way that lets AEW also crown future babyface champions over the long-term.

For those doubting the still-heel approach, MJF made sure in a curse-filled rant at post-show presser to offer a reminder:

And that's just the tip of cliché iceberg as far as directions. MJF will still have to deal with the fallout from his interactions with The Firm, a group he fired and then clashed with recently. They (thankfully for viewers) didn't run-in on the main event, but there will be drama there to address.

Painting in even broader strokes, a new heel champion means fan favorites like Kenny Omega (back from an injury) and Adam "Hangman" Page (purgatory for a while now, in a few respects) can re-enter the main event scene.

At some point, Moxley will return to seek out his revenge too and when he's refreshed and absence has worked its magic on fans, MJF's reactions and the encounters that follow will be glorious.

That is, unless Moxley for some reason doesn't take that vacation and they draw this out. It could work quite well, although it's unlikely.

Realistically, fans can understand that MJF is likely to hold the belt for a long, long time. While some tuned-in fans understand the contract drama likely isn't a thing anymore, AEW would be foolish not to exploit that angle, too. Calling back to a certain CM Punk run in WWE that blurs the lines of reality would make for an unforgettable stretch.

But hey, with those landmarks surely in AEW's future, it just loops back to an important lesson from Saturday night—predictable is very, very good when handled properly.

And without a doubt, this new MJF era for AEW will receive the proper handling. After all, it's now MJF, who at 26 years old is already one of the best in pro wrestling, at the controls. If there's anyone to steer the promotion back on track after a bumpy ride, if not take it to new heights in the process, it's the man now clutching its world championship.

MJF defeated Jon Moxley in the main event of Full Gear on Saturday night to win the AEW World Championship for the first time in his career.

The ending sequence began with MJF pulling out the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but a furious William Regal stormed ringside and told him not to use it. That led to MJF flipping Regal off.

Moxley ended up getting the upper hand, though, and even got MJF to submit via a chokehold, but referee Bryce Remsburg, who had been knocked out earlier with a Moxley lariat, was still recovering. The same went for replacement ref Paul Turner, who got knocked out later in the match.

Eventually, Regal slid a pair of brass knuckles to MJF, telling him it was the only way he would win. Sure enough, MJF knocked out Moxley with the knucks and hid them in his tights. At this point, Remsburg woke up in time for a three-count to give MJF the belt.

Moxley lost despite hitting an avalanche Paradigm Shift as well as a piledriver off the apron and onto a table below:

In the end, though, MJF capped the night by leaving the arena with the title.

For essentially his entire time with All Elite Wrestling, MJF had been in pursuit of the AEW world title, and he received one of his biggest opportunities yet at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

The 26-year-old assured himself an AEW World Championship match in September at All Out when he entered the Casino ladder match as a surprise participant under a mask and won with help from The Firm.

At the conclusion of All Out, after CM Punk beat Moxley for the AEW World Championship, MJF revealed himself as the man behind the mask and seemingly signaled that he would be going after Punk and the title.

Prior to appearing at All Out, MJF had been off AEW programming for a few months. His absence was a result of what occurred the weekend of Double or Nothing and the ensuing episode of Dynamite in May.

The Salt of the Earth did not show up for the Double or Nothing fanfest, leading to rumors he would no-show his match against Wardlow. He did show up but was beaten soundly in a squash.

On the post-Double or Nothing episode of Dynamite, MJF cut a scathing promo about AEW President Tony Khan and the company as a whole, which led to it removing him from its website as part of an angle.

The heel eventually returned as expected, but the apparent plan for his title feud was thrown for a loop when Punk was suspended and stripped of the championship in the wake of a reported backstage altercation with The Elite after All Out.

The promotion subsequently held a tournament to determine a new titleholder, and Moxley became AEW world champ for an unprecedented third time by beating Bryan Danielson in the finals.

With Mox holding the belt once again, MJF turned his attention toward him and made it clear that he intended to become the face of AEW once and for all.

He did that by beating Moxley, and the question now becomes whether the title win will convince him to stay with AEW long-term, or if he will test free agency in 2024 and consider jumping to WWE.

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The Acclaimed beat Swerve In Our Glory at Full Gear on Saturday to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships.

The Acclaimed may have won, but the story here is Keith Lee abandoning the match and presumably ending his partnership with Swerve Strickland.

The latter wrestler attempted to use pliers late in the match but was stopped by Billy Gunn.

Referees then ejected Gunn, giving Swerve In Our Glory another chance to use them. However, Lee wasn't for using those dirty tactics.

Strickland responded in kind by slapping him across the face.

Lee then helped Anthony Bowens to his feet, and this, in essence, became a two-on-one match. Soon enough, the Acclaimed got the victory after hitting their finisher on Strickland.

This was the third championship match between The Acclaimed and Swerve In Our Glory, and it was the second pay-per-view in a row at which the teams battled for tag team gold.

Their rivalry started leading up to All Out, and something unexpected happened on the road to that contest, as the All Elite Wrestling fanbase threw its support fully behind The Acclaimed.

Max Caster and Bowens had spent much of their time in the company as heels, but Caster's raps, The Acclaimed's "scissoring" gesture and their association with Billy Gunn helped them become beloved figures.

Lee and Strickland were popular in their own right, but seemingly everyone in the building wanted The Acclaimed to become the new AEW world tag team champions at All Out on September 4.

Despite that, Swerve In Our Glory retained the straps and received something of a heel response. The Acclaimed would not be out of the championship picture for long, though.

Two weeks later, Caster and Bowens were given another shot at the titles on the Grand Slam edition of Dynamite, and they became AEW tag champs for the first time.

Their fan reaction continued to grow from there, and they established themselves as legitimate champions as well, retaining in a three-way match against Private Party and the team of The Butcher and The Blade, as well as in a basic tag bout against Tony Nese and Josh Woods.

During that same time, Lee and Strickland earned a chance to regain the AEW World Tag Team Championships by beating FTR to become the No. 1 contenders.

In an apparent attempt to get inside the heads of Caster and Bowens prior to Full Gear, Strickland kidnapped Gunn and attacked him. Lee seemed shocked by his teammate's actions, which called into question whether Swerve In Our Glory was on the same page.

The Acclaimed took advantage of the potential division by retaining on Saturday and continuing their entertaining reign as tag team champions.

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Jamie Hayter defeated Toni Storm at Full Gear on Saturday to become the new interim All Elite Wrestling women's world champion.

This match featured interference from both Rebel and Dr. Britt Baker, DMD.

Ultimately, it was Baker's actions that proved to be the difference. She exposed a turnbuckle, and Storm got sent into it. That set up the Hayterade for the win and title change.

Storm and Hayter have interacted often in recent weeks and months, but it wasn't until Full Gear that they faced off in a one-on-one match with championship gold on the line.

When Storm first arrived in AEW in March, she quickly found herself in a rivalry with Hayter and Britt Baker, going against them in numerous tag team matches, while also facing and defeating Hayter in a first-round bout in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament, before losing to Baker in the semis.

It wasn't long before Storm established herself as the No. 1 contender for the AEW Women's World Championship, but her scheduled title match against Thunder Rosa at All Out was called off following an injury to Rosa.

Instead, a four-way match was held for the interim title between Storm, Hayter, Baker and Hikaru Shida. Storm was victorious, marking the start of her first AEW title reign just five months into her tenure.

In addition to scoring multiple tag wins over teams involving Hayter, Storm had several successful titles defenses after her win against the likes of Baker, Athena, Serena Deeb and Shida.

During that same time, Hayter enjoyed success in the singles division, beating Willow Nightingale and Riho. It was the win over Riho on the Oct. 26 episode of Dynamite that essentially locked the British star in as Storm's next challenger.

While Hayter has spent much of her time in AEW playing second fiddle to Baker, she has carved out some opportunities for herself as well and performed admirably on those occasions.

Despite coming up short in her previous title shots, Hayter seemingly gained the respect of the AEW fanbase, and the groundswell behind her likely contributed to the decision to give her a one-on-one match against Storm at Full Gear.

Storm has been hugely popular at every stop during her successful career, and AEW has been no exception, meaning she had support at Full Gear even with Hayter's popularity growing.

Ultimately, the momentum behind Hayter was too much to ignore, as she knocked off Storm to become interim champ and set the stage for a potential unification match against Rosa down the line.

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