MJF’s win over Chris Jericho at AEW’s Full Gear saw him earn his place in Jericho’s Inner Circle faction, opening a whole new world of storytelling opportunities for the group.
Despite resistance from a number of members of the group, Jericho inducted Friedman and his companion Wardow into the group. Many feel that MJF will eventually overthrow Jericho and become the leader of the faction, but what would that look like?
Overthrowing Jericho
Throughout Jericho and MJF’s time in the group, tensions will begin to rise across the two of them, with both men acting trying to act as the leader of the group. Despite MJF claiming that there are no leaders in the Inner Circle, it is likely that the egos of Jericho and himself will clash and cause issues for the group. Jericho may also feel bitter about losing to MJF in the long term and want revenge.
Eventually, we could see a match between MJF and Jericho for control of the group, but what could be even more intriguing is Jericho were to put his career on the line against MJF. If Jericho were to be ousted from the group, it would be likely that we see him turn face, putting his career on the line for another shot at MJF. Jericho is 50 and is heading towards the end of his career, so what better opponent to send Le Champion into the sunset then one of the biggest upcoming stars in the company.
The Demo God has spoken of his admiration of MJF and it is likely that he sees a lot of himself in MJF, so a torch passing to the 24-year-old would be huge in establishing him.
AEW World Championship
Another point of contention between Jericho and MJF could come in the form of the AEW World Championship. It is almost inevitable that MJF will one day be the AEW World Champion, but his pursuit of the title may annoy the inaugural champion and cause a rift between the two.
This could even lead to a number one contendership match between the two men, with MJF having to prove that he is worthy of the title. Jericho could even end up costing MJF the title to push the feud between them to the next level.
But if MJF is to win the championship whilst Jericho is by his side, the long-term teasing of Jericho’s jealousy as he watches Friedman stand with his old championship could push him over the edge.
Wardlow’s Future
With MJF at the head of the Inner Circle table, it will be interesting to see the position that Wardlow takes within the group. Wardlow has served as MJF’s bodyguard, but with MJF being surrounded by a group of five other men, what purpose does Wardlow serve to him. In addition to this, there have been signs of tension between Wardlow and Inner Circle member Jake Hager, with a mouth watering hoss battle being teased.
Although you would assume MJF would take Wardlow’s side, there have been signs of Wardlow wishing to disobey MJF’s orders which he is likely to have noted, so he may take the side of Hager and remove Wardlow from the group. In the few in ring outings that Wardlow has had, he has often impressed, with his matches against Hangman Adam Page and Cody Rhodes being highlights of AEW programming.
AEW have a great selection of big men, with Brian Cage, Brodie Lee and Lance Archer all playing the monster role well. But AEW don’t have any face monsters on their roster, so it would be interesting to see a face Wardlow pushed towards the TNT Championship.
Guevara Dissension
Since the idea of MJF joining the Inner Circle was floated around, Sammy Guevara has been opposed to it happening. Guevara has seemingly been the closest friend of Jericho’s since the beginning of the Inner Circle, with them forming Le Sex Gods within the Inner Circle. If MJF is to push Jericho out of the Inner Circle, Guevara is likely to go with him and stick by his side.
In his tag team match against MJF and Wardlow, the Spanish God showed the great potential he has to be a face, with some of the best aerial wrestling ability in the company. A feud between a face Guevara and MJF could be one that is continually ongoing throughout AEW, with the two young stars set to be the future of the promotion. Guevara has the potential to be a future AEW World Champion as a face or a heel, but a world title feud between himself and MJF would be some great television.