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MJF Beats Jungle Boy at AEW Double or Nothing 2020
May 24, 2020
MJF continued his recent run of success in All Elite Wrestling with a victory over Jungle Boy at Double or Nothing on Saturday night.
MJF worked on Jungle Boy's left arm throughout the match, which proved important when Jungle Boy had a crossface locked in. He was unable to hold in the submission for very long because of the pain in his arm, thus allowing MJF a reprieve.
Later on in the match, Jungle Boy would seemingly have an opening, only to have his injury prevent him from following up.
Eventually, MJF countered out of a pinning combination and turned it into a pinfall of his own.
While MJF and Jungle Boy were largely absent from AEW Dynamite for several weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic, their Double or Nothing match was booked on the May 6 edition of the show. MJF initially seemed nervous, but his confidence became apparent in matches leading up to the pay-per-view.
MJF scored the biggest win of his career at AEW Revolution in February when he beat Cody, but he hasn't wrestled much since then. He did team with The Butcher and The Blade in a winning effort against Jurassic Express on the March 11 episode of Dynamite, though.
The issues between the two competitors have existed throughout AEW's time on television, and MJF even beat Jungle Boy in a singles match on Dynamite as part of Chris Jericho's cruise in January.
Since there is history between the pair, it made sense to book them in a match against each other at Double or Nothing. Although there wasn't a lot of time to build toward it, they already had built-in chemistry and animosity.
The heat within the rivalry did get ramped up on May 13, though, when MJF and Wardlow interfered in a tag team match pitting Jurassic Express against Best Friends. As a result, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus lost the bout.
MJF won a squash match later that night, marking his first singles bout since beating Cody at Revolution. With that, he was off and running with an eye toward continuing to establish himself as the top heel in AEW.
While Saturday's match was an undercard bout with no title implications, it was still important since it offered a glimpse into AEW's future. At 24, MJF is already a top star, and the 22-year-old Jungle Boy could develop into a top babyface at some point as well.
MJF is one of the best talkers in the business, and Jungle Boy possesses the intangible factor that makes him the perfect underdog face. At Double or Nothing, they also proved they work well together in the ring.
The fact that MJF and Jungle Boy are so young and talented means they could be going at it for many years to come, but it was the heel who gained the upper hand in their rivalry Saturday.
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