AEW Full Gear: MJF’s turn on Cody came too soon

MJF and Cody could have had the making of a great wrestling story if they were given more time before the former turned on his “friend” at AEW Full Gear.

It happened. After all the anticipation, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, best known as MJF, did what everyone has been expecting him to do for months. After “saving” Cody from torture at the hands of Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear, MJF kicked Cody in the genitals.

The turn that we all saw coming is here and fans reacted just as expected – with boos and obscenities. While this was a great moment for his character, imagine how epic it would have been if more time could pass. Because their relationship had yet to be established on weekly Dynamite television, many fans are already saying the turn came too soon. Maybe it did.

Anyone who was familiar with MJF knew that it was only a matter of time before he’d turn his back on Cody to chase after his own ambitions. In some spectacular fashion, he crafted an ability to be a consummate heel whenever involved with any other character, but whenever MJF was with Cody, the fans cheered him like they cheered his friend.

Whether you’ve seen his work in MLW or AEW, it was always clear that MJF wasn’t a man looking to bask in the adulation of wresting fans. His Twitter feed is littered with him, in character, bashing his followers. He is a character perfectly crafted for our hatred, but the angle with Cody gave him a bit of sheen that many clung to, even though this outcome was already written in the stars.

However, imagine if more time had passed before this turn. Nine months ago, MJF’s name was bounced around on Being the Elite as Cody was warned about MJF’s intentions. His interactions with Adam “Hangman” Page and The Young Bucks proved that he wasn’t the friend that Cody saw him as.

Those that follow The Elite through their social media commentary knew enough about MJF to know that he wasn’t to be trusted. But what about the remaining millions of viewers that were only recently introduced to AEW? What about the viewers from other shows that AEW wishes to poach; those that don’t know who this man with the scarf really is?

They are the audience that would have benefited from a longer run with Cody and MJF being aligned, rather than this turn coming a little more than one month after the promotion’s debut on TNT. Saturday’s PPV created an opportunity for this friendship between MJF and Cody to be reinforced.

MJF was in tears, pleading for forgiveness after throwing in the towel to save Cody. Cody was clearly upset about the matter at the same time. Instead of causing the split there, have MJF beg Cody for a chance to team together and chase after the tag titles. Build that story as they challenge SoCal Uncensored for those titles; probably putting on amazing matches along the way.

After a lengthy run with the belts and being a part of the tag team division, that is when the turn should come. When more people are invested in their success and this idea that they are working together.

The image of MJF getting hit with the drink is the perfect footage to use for future vignettes to build this feud. Yet, that moment could have been stronger with more time to build around an emotional investment for those involved.

Remember the moment when Hulk Hogan turned on Randy Savage to join the nWo. The fans responded by pelting the ring with trash and booing like they never booed before. MJF could have received a similar reaction for his turn on Cody if it was given more time.

More time to gestate would have helped all of those who will be touched by this story in the future. It’s a story that we all knew was coming and one that we will watch until the very end. But the end should have been month -, if not, years – in the making.