MJF and Adam Cole talk opening and main-eventing AEW All In.
AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole have been involved in an emotional story for the past number of weeks, as they have formed a powerful friendship while also gearing towards a title match. The duo kicked off the Zero Hour ahead of AEW All In, where they beat Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship. In the main event, MJF defeated Cole to retain the world title, but they hugged it out.
During the AEW All In post-show media scrum, Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp asked MJF and Cole to describe what went through their minds when they were approached with the idea of opening and closing the pay-per-view.
MJF stated that he vomited in his mouth. Cole described how he felt some hesitation, as he wondered whether it would affect the crowd's investment in the main event, but he wouldn't change a thing. MJF then chimed in by stating that he wasn't worried about getting a pop for the main event after they competed earlier in the show.
MJF: I vomited in my mouth. I’ll let Cole take it from here.
Adam Cole: It’s a combination of a couple things. First of all, again, being involved in a show like All In and it being such a large event, of course you’re like, ‘This is incredible, to be in the opening of the show and the closing of the show. But then naturally, as an entertainer, as a wrestler, there is that fear of, ‘Are they going to be as invested in the main event as they are in the beginning? Are they gonna see too much of us? But both of us, and really everybody was really confident that the crowd was gonna be with us, considering how much they’ve been invested in me and Max. So I’m glad that we did it, but there was a little bit of reservation and fear. But now looking back on it, it’s like, ‘Man, I wouldn’t have changed anything.’
MJF: We were stupid over. Oh, duh. What are you, fucking nuts? Also, let me tell you something. There was one take I heard online. ‘But what if it ruins their pop later?’ Bro, it’s Better Than You, Bay Bay. This is the hottest thing in professional wrestling. It was louder the second time. So shut the fuck up. Don’t worry about my pops, okay. I’m MJF, that’s Adam Cole, you don’t gotta worry about us fucking getting a pop.
MJF was also asked whether getting babyface reactions leading into AEW All In had been his goal. He quipped that getting people to like him had never been a goal. But he made it clear that he was starting to enjoy the reactions. He even stated that he was falling in love with it.
MJF: It’s never been a goal for me to get people to like me in my life [laughs]. I’m starting to freaking dig it, though. I’m being honest. Listen, you were in there with me, downstairs was getting a little, you know. They were chanting my name loud. It was awesome. Honestly, I’m falling in love with it more and more. Look, like I said, I’m not perfect, I’m a scumbag, but I’m ready to be everybody’s scumbag. I’m ready to be your scumbag. I’m digging it, man. I’m having fucking fun, and god, does it feel great to be over. I love it. I love being the most over MFer in wrestling right now. It’s the best.
During the scrum, MJF spoke highly of AEW's roster and called them the island of misfit toys. Check out his comments here.
MJF has expressed his interest in competing at Azteca Stadium. Click here to see what he had to say.
Check out MJF's tweet about AEW All In, where he claimed that he was knighted, here.
Click here to catch up on our coverage of AEW All In.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.
