The Greatest Trick the Devil Ever Pulled

All Photo Credits: AEW

From the moment CM Punk debuted in AEW by making his grand return to professional wrestling at Rampage: The First Dance on September 20th, 2021, people were begging AEW to have him feud with MJF. People already knew the promo battles they would have would be ones for the ages, it made perfect sense to have them feud. I first started watching professional wrestling in the summer of 2013, I was 11 years old, and my brother introduced it to me. I immediately gravitated towards CM Punk because I was born in Chicago, I also thought the CM in his name stood for “Chicago Man” (don’t judge me, I was 11). CM Punk was my first-ever favorite wrestler. The first PPV my brother and I forced our mom to buy us was Hell In A Cell 2013, around October. I still remember sitting in the den area we had in our old house and watching it with my brother. During the PPV, CM Punk had a Hell In A Cell against Ryback; I was extremely happy when he hit Paul Heyman with a kendo stick a hit him with a GTS on top of the cell. I don’t even remember most of my childhood for some reason, but I remember that. I was heartbroken when I found out Paul Heyman had turned on CM Punk during the Money In The Bank match in July of 2013, so I deeply hated Paul Heyman (sorry Paul, I love you now). I still remember when he left WWE in January 2014. I also remember when he got fired on his wedding day. My mom was even pissed about it for some reason, even though she never watched wrestling, but I guess she liked him too since he’s from Chicago like her.

I stopped watching professional wrestling in early 2017 because I had gotten interested in other things. I stopped watching for years until 2020, when COVID-19 hit, and I was bored in quarantine and decided to start watching WWE again. Boom, my obsession was back. I had seen AEW trending on Twitter and was curious. The first thing I gravitated toward when I first started watching AEW was the Jon Moxley and MJF feud. It was a shock to see Jon Moxley as the AEW World Champion because I recognized him as Dean Ambrose in WWE. MJF interested me because during this feud because he was doing this MJF 2020 presidential campaign thing. It was during the 2020 presidential election, and I had already decided to major in Political Science when I eventually went to college, so that sparked my interest. I know you’re probably asking yourself, “This girl really started being a fan of MJF because he was doing a fake presidential campaign; what a nerd.” Yes, I am a nerd, and I know it was a weird way to become a fan of his. I also noticed he was extremely good at promos at only 24 years old; during his feud with Jon Moxley, he did some of the best promos I’ve seen in wrestling. Being good at promos always heightened my interest in wrestlers; it was in my CM Punk fan brain chemistry. 

Now let’s get on to the start of the feud. The moment AEW fans had been waiting for months for. On the November 17th, 2021, episode of Dynamite, MJF was wearing green the first time he met CM Punk in that now very well-known childhood picture of them both. And now, during this promo, he was wearing green when he met CM Punk again as an adult. MJF was cutting a promo after Darby Allin had beaten him at Full Gear. Then, CM Punks' music hit, and I almost fell off my chair in excitement because we were finally getting that feud; the crowd was even chanting, “Holy shit.” CM Punk was also wearing a Rancid shirt from one of their albums, “Out Come the Wolves” the first track on that album is called Maxwell Murder. You can tell MJF was getting teary-eyed being in the ring with his childhood hero CM Punk. Instead of being disrespectful like he usually was, MJF introduced himself to Punk and put his hand out to shake Punk's hand. Without saying a word, CM Punk simply walked away from the handshake.

The following week on November 24th, 2021. Dynamite was in CM Punk’s hometown of Chicago. CM Punk made his entrance to face QT Marshall in a match interrupted by MJF as revenge for getting interrupted by Punk the week before. MJF brings up how Punk “Quit, took his ball, and went home like a little bitch.” This is an interesting line to look back at, considering how later down the line, we would learn how much CM Punk leaving wrestling in 2014 affected MJF, but we’ll get to that. MJF also mentions how CM Punk never mentioned him in interviews as somebody he would want to go up against. He was hurt that his childhood hero never brought him up or wanted to face him; he was basically ignored by his hero. He was ignored again when Punk didn’t shake his hand during their first encounter. CM Punk says the lines “I thought MJF stood for “My Jealous Fan” and “I’m in your head, probably has a lot to do with the fact that there's a poster of me on your wall.” It was actually true that MJF was a CM Punk fan during his childhood. Also, in the video “Making MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) // A Real Documentary” by Kenny Johnson Documentaries from 2018, MJF showed Johnson around his family’s home. When he showed him his room, he showed the photo of himself with CM Punk on his wall along with another CM Punk photo. Circling back to the promo battle, MJF calls CM Punk PG Punk and says, “You might as well come out here preaching hustle, loyalty, and respect.” He basically said that Punk had become what he was against during his 2011 Money In The Bank storyline with John Cena. To MJF, CM Punk had become the “company man” that John Cena was. After a couple more exchanges of words, CM Punk wanted to fight MJF, but MJF walked away after making it look like he was going to fight him. 

Now let’s get to the part where MJF literally turned an entire city heel. Dynamite, on December 8th, 2021, was in MJF’s hometown of Long Island. The broadcast started with MJF’s entrance music to cheers; CM Punk then came out instead, the music stopped, and he came out to boos with no music. CM Punk was the heel in Long Island. CM Punk played into this and cut a heelish promo toward Long Island. CM Punk was a heel for the night, while MJF was a face for the night. Then when it came to MJF’s match that night, which was the Dynamite diamond ring battle royal, he was extremely over in Long Island and was cheered. The commentary makes it obvious how unusual this was and questions the moral integrity of the people in Long Island who were cheering for him. During his entrance, MJF was mocking CM Punk’s mannerisms, basically acting like CM Punk does in Chicago. This reminded me a lot of CM Punks entrance from Money In The Bank 2011 when he faced John Cena for the WWE Championship, which was in Chicago. CM Punk came out to a crowd that was completely behind him even though he was supposed to be the heel, while commentary was pointing out how unusual it was, just like MJF in Long Island. 

This feud also saw MJF make CM Punk go through matches against Wardlow and Shawn Spears to get a match against him; we previously saw MJF make a rival go through different matches to get a match against him; for example, in his feud with Chris Jericho, there was “The 5 Labors of Jericho.” We saw MJF demand CM Punk do a match against Wardlow the following week after CM Punk cost him a match against Shawn Dean on January 5th, 2022, in a DQ finish. This was two weeks after after a trios match with CM Punk, Darby Allin, and Sting vs. MJF and FTR on December 22nd, 2021. Punk demanded a one on one match by threatening to cost MJF more matches. During his match against Wardlow on January 12th, 2022, we saw Punk get the absolute tar beaten out of him through powerbombs. Wardlow wanted to pin Punk for the win after a couple of powerbombs. Still, MJF repeatedly demanded that he continue the match and the powerbomb symphony, this distracted Wardlow and let Punk get a roll-up victory against Wardlow. This created more tension between Wardlow and MJF. The following week on the January 20th, 2022, edition of Dynamite, CM Punk faced Shawn Spears and squashed him in a couple of seconds by immediately hitting a GTS. While CM Punk was celebrating, MJF ran into the ring like he was going to attack Punk but stopped when Punk turned around. Punk proceeded to steal his signature Burberry scarf as MJF ran away. 

On the January 26th, 2022, edition of Dynamite, CM Punk and MJF engaged in another promo battle. This episode also took place in Cleveland, Ohio; I can make an entirely separate analysis essay about the CM Punk Cleavland curse. CM Punk wanted to face MJF that night, but MJF wanted to wait until the next week in Chicago, Illinois. He wanted to beat CM Punk in his hometown. He wanted to expose the “real CM Punk.” To quote MJF, he said, “After I beat you, something very unsettling is going to happen. After I win you, people are finally going to get to see the real CM Punk, the CM Punk who loses his fake smile the second he doesn’t get what he wants, the CM Punk who blames all of his failures on everyone else but himself, The CM Punk who if he feels like he hasn’t gotten his just do, he’s more than willing to sue. Your same hero who claimed on his all might return August 13th, 2005, I left professional wrestling, August 20th, 2021 I’m back will soon say on February 2nd, I’m leaving wrestling again.” This promo also connects to CM Punks' other feuds in AEW. Eddie Kingston, Hangman Adam Page, and Jon Moxley all cut similar promos on Punk seeking to expose him. MJF also brought up how we left all the fans when he walked out on the fans when he was scheduled to appear in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2014. He said that Punk turned his back on everyone. MJF believed that CM Punk would do what he did in 2014 and quit again on his fans. MJF was hurt when CM Punk left professional wrestling; he was that hurt fan. CM Punk then mentioned how MJF is a fan. He said, “You paid to see me; you paid to stand in line and get my picture; you stand in line to get my autograph.” MJF started to get anxious when Punk mentioned this and mentioned that day. One of the things I loved about this feud is how CM Punk and MJF didn’t lay a finger on each other until their first match, but it was still a heated feud through promos.  

During their match on February 2nd, 2022, in the main event of Dynamite, it was finally CM Punk vs. MJF. This match was taking place in CM Punks' hometown of Chicago. MJF wanted to beat CM Punk in his hometown and embarrass him. The electric crowd in Chicago made this match feel special; the crowd was behind the hometown hero, Punk. MJF started choking Punk with wrist tape that the referee couldn’t see. This caused Punk to pass out, and MJF was seemingly the winner, but when the referee, Bryce Remsburg, lifted MJF’s arm, the tape fell down to the mat, and the referee ordered the match to continue. Punk was selling a left knee injury and a left arm injury which made the crowd root for him more. Punk pulled out the Pepsi Plunge, which he hadn't done in 17 years before Punk could get the pin MJF rolled out of the ring to avoid getting pinned. Punk teased, hitting a GTS, but MJF rolled out of the ring onto the floor yet again. This led to Wardlow coming out to the ring and getting into a staredown with Punk while standing at ringside. With the distraction by Wardlow, MJF punched Punk with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and got the three count. He had just won against CM Punk in Chicago and handed him his first AEW loss. This was an excellent, over 40-minute match with top-tier storytelling. It portrayed CM Punk as a fantastic babyface in his hometown since he was selling two injuries, and his opponent MJF was portrayed as a great heel; it fits both their characters. MJF had just beaten CM Punk in his hometown by cheating which was obviously leading to another match between the two. 

This was proven right the following week on Dynamite on February 9th, 2022. MJF opened the show by being introduced to the ring by his stable teammates of The Pinnacle for a celebration after beating CM Punk. He then was carried to the ring on a throne while there was a Burberry print pattern on the entrance ramp and made out with a girl, some great heel stuff. He bragged about beating CM Punk and called himself “better than the best in the world” because he defeated CM Punk twice in Chicago. He brought up how he had gotten emotional that he had beaten someone that he grew up watching on TV, this being a callback to the fact that MJF was a fan of CM Punk as a kid; of course, he then changed the tone and said that he had told CM Punk “you suck.” MJF thanked Shawn Spears instead of Wardlow for helping him beat CM Punk, hinting at the MJF and Wardlow split. Then CM Punk came out with Sting and Darby Allin demanding a rematch against the man who beat him, Wardlow, because MJF wouldn’t have won without Wardlow. MJF said if Punk wanted a rematch, he had to beat FTR with a tag team partner of his choosing that isn’t Sting or Darby Allin. When it came time for the match, CM Punk revealed his tag team partner to be Jon Moxley. I’m not going to do a whole rundown of the match because this paragraph is already long. But CM Punk and Jon Moxley vs. FTR is actually one of my favorite matches of 2022. CM Punk and Jon Moxley ended up winning the match; therefore, Punk earned his rematch against MJF. 

The next week on the February 16th, 2022, edition of Dynamite, CM Punk started off the show sitting in the middle of the ring with a box. I’d also like to bring up how he was wearing an MJF mid shirt while doing this segment which is hilarious. He stated, “If you don’t know by now, you should; my name is CM Punk. What I am is straight edge. I’m drug-free; I’m alcohol-free. And that means I’m better than you.” Which he said at the beginning of his career and became the foundation of it. He brought up how he inspired the next generation of professional wrestlers, also mentioning MJF. He basically says that MJF tries to be just like him. CM Punk was not mad at MJF for beating him twice in Chicago; Punk said that he was proud of MJF. I view this as a callback to their first promo battle in November of 2021, where Punk said, “I’m so disappointed in you.” CM Punk was now allowed to pick the date and stipulation for their rematch. Punk chose Revolution and a dog collar match. While thinking of the stipulation, Punk thought of Piper in Portland since MJF compared himself to that. This also references Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine in a dog collar match at NWA Starcade 1983. He also thought of his past matches and remembered how he was in a dog collar match against Raven in 2003; Punk lost that match but remembered how brutal it was; he wanted that level of brutality in his match with MJF; therefore, he chose a dog collar match. It is crucial that Punk chose a dog collar match because MJF had continuously compared himself to Piper in Portland during the feud after beating CM Punk in Chicago; though Piper was Canadian and not from Portland, Roddy Piper became synonymous with the phrase “Piper in Portland” because of his time in Portland Wrestling. Punk also made callbacks to his own career in choosing the dog collar match. Punk said, “Max, you want to be tethered to Piper so bad, you’ll gonna have to be tethered to me.” After Punk revealed the dog collar, he asked MJF to come out. Punk proceeded to take out a photo of the both of them from when MJF met CM Punk as a kid, which visibly caused MJF to become distressed and looking away. Punk stated, “possibly the greatest day of your life, and to me, it was Friday.” It seemed like CM Punk broke MJF during this promo, not MJF the wrestler but the MJF that was a fan of CM Punk and looked up to him as a child. 

Now let's get to the famous MJF villain origin story promo on February 23rd, 2022. Just a little warning that this is probably going to be the longest paragraph because I have so much to say about this promo. This promo has had a lot of impact on me because CM Punk was my first favorite wrestler, I’m Jewish, and I have ADHD. I’m not afraid to say I actually cried while watching this promo when it happened. This is my favorite promo of 2022. MJF came out to a hostile crowd who were chanting CM Punks' name. MJF seemed different from the start staging how he used to be a fan of CM Punk as well and asking the crowd to give him an opportunity to speak even though he isn’t the easiest guy to like. He then went on to talk about the photograph of MJF as a kid and CM Punk that CM Punk had shown the previous week. It wasn’t just a Friday for him because, at one point in his life, the only reason he got out of bed in the morning was because of professional wrestling. He then talks about when he was a kid, he had severe ADD (attention deficit disorder), was bullied in school, and made the school's football team. The next day after he made the team, his teammates threw coins at him and said, “pick it up, Jew boy, pick it up.” The crowd was still hostile towards him at this point in the promo by booing him and telling him to shut up. He continued to say that after school, he went home and cried but remembered that he was meeting CM Punk that night, his hero, the guy he looked up to. When he went home after the autograph signing, he made a promise to himself that he was going to be just like his hero, CM Punk. He said, “This 5 foot nothing, ADD-riddled, Jew boy  was gonna become the best in the world.” At that point, the once-hostile crowd started cheering a little. He then brought up how in December of 2013, he had football scholarships lined up for him, but he didn’t care because he just wanted to be like CM Punk. And then he states, “January 2014, you leave me, when I needed you most, when I believed in you, you left me, you left all of us.” MJF felt abandoned when CM Punk walked out of WWE in January 2014. He ended up quitting on his dreams of becoming a professional wrestler because if CM Punk couldn’t do it, why could he do it?  He ended up going to college instead, where he buried his happiness and dreams. Until he saw a post from the account the wrestling classic of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson shaking hands. That's when he decided to drop out of college and become the best in the world in spite of CM Punk; he promised that any bullied kid was going to have him on his TV and that he wasn’t going to leave them like CM Punk did to him. By the end of the promo, the crowd started cheering for him. I find it extremely impressive how he got a crowd who was booing him and telling him to shut up when he was trying to talk at the beginning of the promo to cheer him by the end of the promo. CM Punk then came out to the ring and asked if it was true; MJF answered, saying it was true with one tear drop running down his face (that right there is cinema). I related to this promo a lot because he had ADD, I have ADHD. He was also bullied in school for being Jewish. I was bullied in school and made fun of for being Jewish, for example, money jokes, Holocaust jokes, and people making fun of my Jewish facial features; my brother had to wear his Star of David necklace under his shirt so he wouldn’t get hate crimed. I did not feel abandoned by CM Punk when he left WWE, to be honest, because I mainly blamed WWE for him leaving, but he was my favorite wrestler for a long time. I cried while watching this promo on TV when it happened because of how much I related to it. This wrestling feud made me feel so many emotions that I had never felt from a professional wrestling feud before. 

Then came the finishing touch leading to their match at Revolution the following week on Dynamite on March 3rd, 2022. CM Punk went to the ring and started his promo with, “I used to wake up every morning, splash water in my face, look at myself in the eyes in the mirror, and I’d ask myself, am I the bad guy?” This shows his conflicted feelings regarding MJF’s promo the prior week, questioning if he is the bad guy in the story after viewing MJF as the bad guy the entire feud. Punk also said that he “Can’t shake the feeling that he’s being gaslit,” again showing his conflicted feelings towards MJF after his emotional promo. He also mentioned how there's a photo on the internet of him and Stone Cold Steve Austin; when Steve Austin quit, CM Punk did not get mad. In this, he is comparing himself to a young MJF. He also questioned if he was the reason MJF is the way he is today because he left professional wrestling. He invited MJF down to the ring to talk and brought up how he used to be MJF. He used to be full of hate and take it out on others by doing horrible things. Punk stated, “I’m here to tell you right now that all that hate, it’s not just gonna keep you warm, it’s gonna burn you up.” CM Punk sees his younger self in MJF, and in this, he is warning him of what having that level of hate can do to a person because Punk used to be just like MJF. He then says, “I woke up this morning, and I splashed water in my face, and I looked at myself in the mirror, and I asked myself a question, Are you the good guy?” This goes back to his first words in the promo where the old him used to ask himself if he was the bad guy, and now in the present, he asks himself if he was the good guy. He then stated, “And I finally had an answer, and that answer is, I sure am trying.” and then put his hand out to shake MJF’s hand. While Punk was talking, MJF had this broken look on his face, and when Punk stuck his hand out for a handshake, he walked away for a little bit, questioning what to do. Instead of shaking his hand, MJF moved Punk’s hand away and hugged him. This wasn’t the current MJF; this was MJF as a broken child coming out. Yes, I started crying again at this moment when I was watching this on TV (don’t judge me). Punk still had his guard up a little when he had his hand out for a handshake but let it down when MJF had been hugging him for a while. While I was rewatching the video, I noticed that MJF smiled when Punk embraced him back; he knew he was in Punk’s head. MJF let go of the hug; I think he told him, “Thank you,” and then low-blowed him with absolutely no emotion on his face. When he took off his shirt, it was revealed that he was wearing a shirt with the famous photo of himself posing with CM Punk as a child. After beating Punk down along with The Pinnacle, MJF put a bloody CM Punk in a dog collar. He wiped CM Punks' blood onto the part of the shirt where he, as a child, was seemingly getting rid of his childhood self, who admired CM Punk and saw him as a hero. And then said, “You stupid old man. I’m a snake. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist, and this Sunday at Revolution, I’m gonna show you and all these mindless sheep that I am the devil himself.” This quote was a callback to CM Punk’s promo in ROH when he turned heel in 2005. The attention to detail in this feud was amazing. This was the most gripping segment I’ve ever watched, and the roller coaster of emotions I got while watching it on TV was insane.

In the final backstage promo before the match at Revolution, a bloody CM Punk cut an aggressive promo responding to MJF attacking him. The promo started with Punk clapping, almost like he was impressed by what MJF did. He stated, “You want that same guy that you grew up idolizing? Congratulations, Maxwell Jacob Freidman, but you’re not ready.” Throughout the entire feud, MJF had been saying that CM Punk wasn’t the same anymore and that he was now PG Punk. CM Punk was going to give MJF the old CM Punk like he wanted, but he was going to make him regret it at Revolution. 

CM Punk vs. MJF in a dog collar match at Revolution on March 6th, 2022, my match of the year. I’m not going to describe each spot in this match or describe the match in full detail, but this match was a bloody but beautiful mess, brutal, and perfect storytelling. CM Punk’s theme started playing, only for the music to switch to MJF’s theme and MJF coming out to boos. When CM Punk came out, his ROH theme “Miseria Cantare” played, and Punk came out in his old ROH ring gear. Punk did say MJF was getting the old CM Punk as he wanted. Punk was busted open early. During the match, MJF took the mic telling him to quit, and CM Punk responded with, “Eat shit, Max.” This match saw both men put through thumbtacks. MJF ended up calling Wardlow to the ring near the end of the match. MJF demanded that Wardlow give him the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but Wardlow pretended he couldn’t find it. Wardlow did end up finding the ring, but he didn’t give it to MJF; instead, he gave the ring to CM Punk. Punk punched MJF with the ring and won the match via pinfall. CM Punk had gotten his revenge on MJF and proven that he could be his old self, just like MJF wanted. This is the exact bloody, violent match a very personal feud like this should have. 

Overall, this entire feud was such a compelling story. The story of MJF, who looked up to CM Punk as a hero as a child and felt betrayed and abandoned by Punk when he left professional wrestling, deciding to turn into a man full of hate who took it out on others and CM Punk who created his own arch-nemesis by leaving professional wrestling in 2014. It reminded me of how Tony Stark/Iron Man would always end up creating his own enemies, such as by rejecting them in the past. In this feud, we saw MJF turn into the broken child that he was when he idolized CM Punk, he wanted revenge for Punk abandoning him and making him almost abandon his dreams of professional wrestling. As expected from this feud, there were amazing promos, callbacks to CM Punks ROH career, and callbacks to wrestling history, for example, Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine. This was the most emotional feud I’d ever seen; it was an emotional rollercoaster to watch. This is my favorite feud of 2022 and probably my favorite wrestling feud of all time.  We were supposed to get the third chapter of this feud after All Out 2022, but certain things happened, so that next chapter could not happen; no, I am not going to bring up that certain event. Yes, I would’ve loved to get another installment of the feud, and I hope we do in the future. If we don’t get another instrumental of CM Punk vs. MJF, their match at Revolution 2022 was an amazing end to it, and they had the greatest feud in wrestling history.