After over 400 days, MJF‘s AEW World Championship reign has come to an end.
Samoa Joe gained a shot at the World Title after he teamed up with Maxwell Jacob Friedman at Full Gear to help him successfully defend the ROH Tag Team Titles, replacing the injured Adam Cole.
On the New Year’s Smash edition of Dynamite on December 27th, MJF defended the titles against ‘The Devil’s Masked Men’ alone after Joe was seemingly laid out backstage. After the Salt of the Earth lost the bout and the title, the masked men continued to assault him until Joe came to the rescue.
However, it turned out that Joe was in league with The Devil and brought his alliance with MJF to an end when Joe launched a vicious assault with a chair before leaving the champion unconscious with a Muscle Buster.
Samoa Joe Is The New AEW World Champion
With Adam Cole in his corner, MJF entered Worlds End with his injuries from over a year as World Champion looking painfully obvious due to the medical tape and sling he wore.
Samoa Joe targeted the shoulder repeatedly throughout the bout, but found it difficult to put Friedman away as the star gave it his all to try to retain the Triple B, even resorting to a low blow late in the match.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, as Joe locked in a Coquina Clutch that MJF couldn’t escape before fading into unconsciousness and losing the match and his title. As Joe headed to the back with his new gold, Friedman’s hometown Long Island crowd chanted “bulls**t” in support of their fallen hero.
#AndNEW!#AEW World Champion is @SamoaJoe!#AEWWorldsEndpic.twitter.com/WRzefHReYt
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 31, 2023
After the match, things went from bad to worse for MJF as Adam Cole revealed himself to be The Devil who has been haunting him for months. His henchman also unmasked, showing themselves to be Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Wardlow before laying Friedman out in the middle of the ring to close the show.
In the aftermath of the event, MJF is reportedly set to take time off to deal with injuries.
Worlds End also saw the inaugural AEW Continental Crown Champion determined as Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston battled in the Continental Classic Final as well as the TNT Championship changing hands multiple times.