Wardlow Defeats MJF at Double or Nothing 2022, Earns AEW Contract

Wardlow defeated MJF at All Elite Wrestling Double or Nothing on Sunday, freeing him of his contractual ties to MJF.

MJF did what he could to prolong the inevitable and even attempted to renegotiate a new deal with Wardlow in the middle of the ring. Ultimately, he couldn't avoid multiple powerbombs.

At one point, Wardlow placed his foot on MJF's chest for the pinfall but removed it before the referee could count to three. That allowed him to mete out even more punishment until he decided enough was enough.

In the end, Wardlow officially became All Elite:

AEW was seemingly building toward Wardlow vs. MJF for months and perhaps even years, and things finally came to a head Sunday in Las Vegas, as they clashed in arguably the most highly anticipated match on the card.

Until recently, Wardlow was MJF's bodyguard for the entirety of their run in AEW, and he was a key figure in MJF's success, interfering in his matches regularly.

Eventually, Wardlow grew tired of MJF's antics and the fact that he would degrade him whenever things didn't go perfectly.

That resulted in Wardlow costing MJF his dog collar match against CM Punk at Revolution, which in turn may have cost MJF a shot at the AEW World Championship, as Punk parlayed the win into a title opportunity.

In turn, MJF cost Wardlow by interfering in his TNT Championship match against Scorpio Sky, resulting in Sky successfully defending the title.

MJF subsequently claimed that he essentially owned Wardlow since Wardlow's contract was with him and not AEW. That led to MJF going to great lengths to make life miserable for Mr. Mayhem.

Wardlow made it clear that he wanted an opportunity to get his hands on MJF and also to get out of his contract, and MJF agreed as long as Wardlow could meet several conditions.

MJF forced Wardlow to face and beat monstrous competitors on a weekly basis, and he did precisely that by running through The Butcher, Lance Archer and W. Morrissey.

The second-to-last hoop Wardlow had to jump through was taking 10 lashes from MJF. Wardlow didn't sell them whatsoever, causing MJF to lose his cool and hit Wardlow with a low blow before lashing him over and over.

Finally, Wardlow had to beat Shawn Spears in a steel cage match on Dynamite with MJF as the special guest referee. After Spears accidentally hit MJF with a steel chair, Wardlow took advantage and pinned Spears.

That made their Double or Nothing match official, and with Wardlow beating his longtime boss, the path is now clear for him to sign an AEW contract independent of MJF.

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