“No one is on the level of the Devil,” declared AEW World Championship MJF when he returned last year under the guise of a white face, black-horned devil. In recent months, someone allegedly stole MJF’s mask and has attacked wrestlers who are either feuding with or are close to the champion.
MJF says it’s not him, but history makes it hard to believe. It’s the big mystery heading into Saturday’s Full Gear pay-per-view event.
MJF headlines the show, defending the world title against “Switchblade” Jay White, who stole MJF’s belt and is parading around as the champion, making it even more difficult to fathom that someone else could be the masked assailant.
While there is no guarantee the Devil’s identity will be revealed on Saturday, it’s still a solid bet. Still, the question remains: who is under the mask?
Online speculation is running rampant, and everyone has a theory. While my guess is as good as anyone else, there is one unquestionable thing. Tony Khan needs to get this right. The reveal and the execution of the reveal need to be perfect.
Why?
Because Tony Khan’s big announcements have failed more times than they succeeded. The AEW President’s last “Major Announcement” was the pre-sale ticket date for next August’s All In show in London. It’s as if Khan is trolling his audience, which is dwindling according to television ratings.
If Khan doesn’t get it right with the Devil, consumer confidence in All Elite Wrestling will erode even more. One person the Devil cannot be is Jack Perry. Internet chatter damns the former Jungle Boy with faint praise, blaming him for CM Punk’s dismissal from the promotion.
Perry provoked Punk on camera, leading to a fight backstage that left Tony Khan scared for his life, and poof, Punk was gone. Perry was suspended, but he has reportedly served his time and waiting for AEW to produce a storyline for him.
Perry was far from the main event scene before his suspension. The Devil is a main event angle that needs a main event talent. Some folks on Twitter would get a kick out of a Perry reveal, but most of the audience would be indifferent to it at best and facepalm with utter disappointment at worst. Punk’s firing was announced on television while no one has said boo about Perry since August.
However, it’s the kind of thing Tony Khan would do as he has often books for the online audience instead of the larger general audience.
Gazing into my crystal ball, the Devil will be either Adam Cole or MJF. They’re best friends, but they also used to be treacherous heels who wanted the spotlight for themselves. If the Devil turns out to be Adam Cole, he already has a stable waiting for him with Roderick “Neck” Strong and The Kingdom. If MJF is the Devil, we’ve all been had.
Upon the reveal, it would be like MJF to conjure a charade with an “OF COURSE IT WAS ME” attitude. After all, he still calls himself the Devil. It was right in front of our faces the whole time.
Adam Cole is a decent babyface but a better heel. MJF is a great heel but not a good babyface. No matter how many times he saved Adam Cole or defended the ROH Tag Team Titles by himself, I’ve never bought him in the role.
Ultimately, MJF comes off as a bad guy pretending to be a good person. Either Cole or MJF, as the devil, breaks up the friendship, making a feud inevitable. It’s good business either way because AEW gets their resident villain, which has been lacking for some time. MJF goes back to what he does best, or Cole’s betrayal cements that underneath all of the bravado and insults, MJF, deep down inside, is a good person.
It could be Christian, too. He’s the best heel in AEW, but he hasn’t been featured as the main villain, and being the Devil would do just that…Nah. It’s either Cole or MJF.
RingsideLogic.com 