MJF and Wardlow will meet at AEW Double or Nothing, but only if Mr Mayhem can clear one more Shawn Spears sized hurdle.
The huge grudge match between MJF and Wardlow has been made official, but naturally, things are far from straightforward.
At AEW Revolution, Wardlow finally snapped and turned his back on MJF by helping CM Punk earn the win in their brutal Dog Collar Match. This led to the star demanding that he be released from his contract with the Salt of the Earth. However, MJF wasn’t quite ready to let Wardlow leave, initially barring him from AEW, before putting him into a series of matches where he was escorted to the ring without entrance music and in handcuffs, flanked by security.
Eventually, MJF agreed to face Wardlow, but only after a number of conditions had been put in place.
On the May 11th edition of Dynamite in Long Island, New York, MJF returned the conquering hero to a thunderous ovation, before playing a Dark Side of the Ring spoof aimed at his rival.
After getting down to business, the former leader of The Pinnacle said that he will face Wardlow if his former body guard agrees to take ten lashes with a whip, and then defeats Shawn Spears in a Cage Match, where he himself will serve as the Special Guest Referee. Furthermore, if Wardlow makes it to Double or Nothing and then loses, he will never be allowed to sign a contract with AEW.
Should Wardlow be successful, and win the match, he will be released from his contract with MJF.
The conditions are set for @RealWardlow to fight @The_MJF at #AEWDoN (Double Or Nothing)! #AEWDynamite is LIVE on @TBSNetwork! pic.twitter.com/TZIpPZXYxE
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) May 12, 2022
The series of stipulations closely mirrors MJF’s feud with Cody Rhodes in early 2020, where Rhodes was whipped ten times by his rival and had to face Wardlow in a Steel Cage Match.
After the announcement, Mr Mayhem lived up to his name, launching security guards left and right, before getting his hands on his current employer. But Mark Sterling jumped the giant star, only to get Powerbombed through a table for his troubles.