What does Adam Cole do if MJF leaves AEW?

Last Sunday at World’s End, Samoa Joe shocked the world by defeating MJF to become the new AEW World Champion. Immediately following his victory, Adam Cole and MJF were joined in the ring by the masked men who serve the anonymous Devil, a figure who had been lurking over the shoulder of MJF for weeks. Moments before they attacked, the lights went out, only to turn on moments later and reveal that Adam Cole had been behind the mask the entire time. The injured mastermind had shown his true colors and turned on his best friend. However, does any of this even matter?

According to MJF, his contract ended at the end of 2023. As of now, There has been no confirmation of MJF re-signing with the company. Additionally, AEW has removed MJF from their internal roster online. With all of these signs, after MJF has lost both his titles within a week, the writing is all over the walls for his departure from AEW. Not to mention, WWE’s annual Royal Rumble PLE is just around the corner, an event that is no stranger to surprise returns and debuts. 

If MJF is to part ways with AEW, this could leave Adam Cole’s newfound stable dead in the water. The entire stable was built around the idea of a man’s downfall who may no longer be here. While the new faction could continue to thrive by going after other members of the AEW roster, MJF’s absence would still defeat the entire purpose of this faction’s formation. Surely, Adam Cole will drop the Devil persona upon MJF’s potential departure, otherwise, the persona would simply be pointless. 

On Top of the irrelevance of this faction, AEW now has a new top bag guy in the new AEW World Champion, Samoa Joe. There is no need for a new top heel in Adam Cole unless it’s to further the feud between Cole and MJF. Not only that but there are also more than enough heel factions in AEW (and in all of pro wrestling for that matter.) There is no reason for yet another heel faction with no real purpose. The option of turning the faction face is open but would be hard to rectify after Cole’s betrayal. While MJF may be potentially gone, fans across the world will never forget what happened at World’s End. 

On the other hand, This could all be one big theatrical swerve meant to add more to the story at hand. While MJF stated right before World’s End that he had not yet re-signed, it wouldn’t be the first time Freedman had told a lie. Additionally, MJF is in the main event spot that he may not get in WWE. Even despite his world title loss, there’s still plenty of room for the young wrestler to make a surprise return and exact his revenge on Cole. 

The fate of Cole's new faction is entirely dependent on MJF's contract status. If we are to see Freedman at the Royal Rumble later this month, that wrecks month's of storylines in AEW, especially for Cole and his new crew. For now, there's no telling what MJF's next moves will be. The bidding war of 2024 has officially begun, and few actually know where or when we'll see MJF next.