Revisiting MJF’s First Loss In AEW History 

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• MJF Didn’t Lose Any Singles Matches Early On In AEW

• MJF And Jon Moxley Would Meet At All Out, With Both Men Being Undefeated

• MJF Picked Up His First Loss In AEW Against Jon Moxley

Whilst the concept of wins and losses has dipped slightly over time in AEW, there was a point where they mattered a whole bunch, with the rankings indicating exactly who should be getting a title shot and when. By the time All Out 2020 rolled around, MJF was on an absolute roll, with him being one of the only undefeated names still in AEW. He naturally received an AEW World Championship match because of that. His match against Jon Moxley saw his winning streak come to an end, as he suffered his very first loss. With it being around two years since this took place, it is intriguing to look back and see how good that feud was, and how the loss perhaps affected MJF going forwards.

MJF Didn’t Lose Any Singles Matches Early On In AEW

Although the lines were blurred at first slightly due to his friendship with Cody Rhodes, MJF was very much a huge heel when AEW began, with him immediately primed to become a top star. He could generate an insane amount of heat, and he carried an unteachable presence - even at such a young age at the time. His arrogance, despicable nature, and pompous attitude were all so much more annoying due to the fact that he could back it up by winning all the time.

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It must be noted, that with MJF’s AEW winning streak, it only included singles matches, as he would pick up losses early on in the Casino Battle Royale at Double or Nothing, and in a fatal-four-way at Fyter Fest, as per cagematch.net. AEW likely hadn’t planned for his unbeaten run just yet, so it was a nice accident that he wasn’t booked to lose any sort of singles match early on whilst the company was only just growing. MJF’s first singles win came on the very first episode of Dynamite, with a victory against Brandon Cutler. From there, things only went on the up.

MJF And Jon Moxley Would Meet At All Out, With Both Men Being Undefeated

MJF would go on to beat the likes of Adam Page, Joey Janela, Cody, Jungle Boy, and Billy Gunn on his way to becoming the number one ranked male individual on the roster, right in time for All Out 2020. Jon Moxley was reigning as the AEW World Champion, and he too was also undefeated in the company. For the simple fact that these two men were proven winners, this was a highly anticipated title match that had a big fight feel to it, even with this being MJF’s first time in the AEW main event scene. This showed just how powerful wins and losses can be in wrestling.

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Much of the story was around MJF never losing a singles match, but this wasn’t the only thread. MJF wanted to ‘make AEW better’, with mock political campaigns, many wrestling history references, and a lot of insults. There was also a legal battle and issue surrounding Moxley’s use of his finisher, the Paradigm Shift, but MJF and his lawyer, Mark Sterling, managed to ensure that the move was banned ahead of their showdown. This heightened the chance of MJF picking up a huge victory. Going into the show, the result was in the air, as MJF’s momentum was astonishing, yet Moxley’s reign was going very well.

MJF Picked Up His First Loss In AEW Against Jon Moxley

The match unfortunately suffered at first due to the awful Matt Hardy incident earlier in the show, which sucked much of the life out the event, but the pair still managed to uphold the big fight feel by having a very enjoyable title match, which was full of strong face/heel psychology, a lot of blood, and a great finish. It would end, however, with MJF suffering his very first loss in AEW, and it felt like such a big deal due to how dominant he had been going into this match. There were some question marks around this loss, as Moxley would in fact use his banned move during the contest, meaning that MJF could still try and brag about technically being undefeated.

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The way this was booked did protect MJF without making Moxley look lucky for winning, making it a masterful way to handle two undefeated stars heading into a big time title main event. MJF has yet to return to the title scene, with him losing a few more times since, getting beaten by Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Wardlow, and even Shawn Dean. However, he is still up there with the most protected names in AEW, and every loss of his feels significant, largely due to how well the first singles loss was handled, with it being treated like a major deal and result.