An AEW storyline that featured prominently in the final months of 2023 has not been well received in recent award voting.
The past year has been extremely mixed for MJF to say the least. Going into the year as World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman started where he left off by portraying the vicious heel and overcoming Bryan Danielson in overtime in a critically acclaimed Iron Man match at Revolution.
The momentum would continue into the summer as a reluctant alliance with Adam Cole formed a very entertaining partnership that saw the best friend be partners and opponents at the first-ever AEW show at Wembley Stadium.
Shortly after this, the wheels would fall off both creatively and literally. September 20th saw the promotion present Grand Slam for the 3rd straight year, where Adam Cole suffered a broken ankle after he ran down to the ringside area to offer support to his best friend. One week later would see the mysterious Devil debut, who targeted Friedman for the remainder of the year. The storyline would culminate at Worlds End, which saw Friedman lose the title to Samoa Joe and Cole to be revealed as The Devil shortly afterwards. MJF has since been sidelined with an injury.
With the angle feeling stale and there being little explanation beyond The Devil attacking those close to the former World Champion. Fans let their feelings be known.
In the awards issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the storyline between MJF and The Devil was voted the worst feud of the year with 167 votes, with the Outcasts vs. Originals storyline picking up second place.
The top 10 results are as follows:
WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR
1. MJF VS. THE DEVIL 167
2. Outcasts vs. AEW Originals 114
3. Tyrus vs. EC3 74
4. Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler 57
5. Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho 48
6. Keith Lee vs. Swerve Strickland 19
7. Evil vs. Sanada 15
8. Bully Ray vs. Scott D’Amore 15
9. Seth Rollins vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 14
10. Miro vs. CJ Perry 12
Injured AEW Star Provides Update
On top of storylines being critiqued more than in previous years, All Elite Wrestling has seen a number of top stars sidelined with injuries, forcing storylines to be changed. Notable absences on top of MJF and Cole include Kenny Omega, Jamie Hayter, Kyle O’Reilly and Rey Fenix. While another AEW star appeared to be injured at a recent Dynamite taping, an update has been provided.