CM Punk's eyes were red before he could address the crowd on Friday night. It was easy to see what was happening in the Second City Saint's mind. He didn't open his mouth.
Punk has been out of action with a foot injury that requires surgery. An interim champion will be named by the company. It is obvious who that man should be. It's MJF, right? The grand-slam hit Friedman. Everyone else will fail.
If Wednesday's promo on Dynamite wasn't completely a shoot, Tony Khan would be an idiot to let someone as vicious with the gift of gab as MJF have a mic on live television without at least some knowledge of the insults he was going to hurl. He pointed that out himself.
There is only one spot for MJF to enter for the battle royal. It is easy for him to enter that match and win it. He beat Jon Moxley later that night and went on to win the title by pinning Hiroshi Tanahashi. It would be a great resume-building win.
Replacing Punk with a high-profile star isn't easy. Moxley could get back to the mountaintop. Why wouldn't AEW settle for something we've already seen, even if it was good? If Mox were to win the title, what is different about him? He fought on his own work. He would change it as a champion. I want you to count me out. Bryan Danielson should get the title if you need it. He and Moxley are the best from the stable. If Moxley lost that would be good. They would be great.
There are many good options to be its next champion. There is only one perfect choice. In professional wrestling, a worked shoot promo is extremely rare. CM Punk aired grievances against his employer in the same way that MJF did. Punk broke the fourth wall and on camera canon. It worked. By the end of the year, Punk had won the title for 434 days.
One of the best storylines since the turn of the century can now be done by AEW. It would be great if MJF could give a double middle finger to every employee in the company. The company will be held hostage by him with its most valuable possession in hand. Are you not fond of it? Don't try to lose. Until Punk comes back, MJF could be the interim champion. Ring of Honor was able to pull off a storyline with Kevin being the winner.
Punk lost his only in-ring loss since returning to professional wrestling last August when he was defeated by MJF in the title match. In Punk's absence, MJF would be on top of the company, but with a humongous asterisk, which would be used to keep Khan from actually recognizing AEW as MJF territory. Guess what? MJF needs to win that unification match with full assholery if Punk is to come back.
There is plenty of time for Aew to build a star who can beat MJF. Max is at his best until then. Imagine how many amazing matches it would lead to, including a match between Wardlow and Kenny Omega. Eddie Kingston and many other people. Everything else won't compare.
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