The opening match of tonight’s AEW WrestleDream pay-per-view saw Maxwell Jacob Friedman successfully defend the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship against Vincent and Dutch of The Righteous. While there was some doubt among fans about the legitimacy, MJF’s fellow ROH tag champ Adam Cole was seemingly injured at AEW Grand Slam on September 20. This past Wednesday on AEW Dynamite, Cole announced that he would have to undergo surgery on his ankle, forcing him out of the ring for the time being. Rather than relinquish the ROH tag titles, however, MJF opted to defend the belts in a handicap match, leading to tonight’s bout.
Heading down to the ring to open tonight’s show, MJF denigrated his opponents and continued his trend of integrating classic wrestling moves into his matches by promising to hit Dutch with a body slam. Once all three men were in the ring, the match began as most handicap matches do, with the tag team firmly in control. Rather than just relying on their numbers advantage, Vincent and Dutch eventually attempted to use wooden blocks and a steel chair in the match, but MJF was able to land a low blow to defend himself and prevent the attack.
Following that, with the crowd’s full support behind him, the AEW World Champion fired up and hit the promised body slam on Dutch, grabbing control of the match. MJF then launched Vincent into Dutch’s rear end, hit both men with a Kangaroo Kick, and landed a Heat Seeker on Dutch for the pin – putting his legs on the top rope for extra measure. With this defense now behind him, and his partner seemingly out of action for some time, it remains to be seen if MJF continues defending by himself, finds a new partner, or relinquishes the belts going forward.
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