Chris Jericho’s Fourth Labour would have been a big challenge if it was just Wardlow. Le Champeon was outsized. More than that, he was exhausted. In the previous three weeks, Jericho’s gone through Shawn Spears in a Chairs Match, Nick Gage in a Deathmatch, and Juventud Guerrero in a match he had to win from the top rope.
The biggest problem he faced on Aug. 11 in Pittsburgh was having the man putting him though all this, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, at ringside. It looked like the combination of Wardlow’s power and MJF’s dirty tricks would keep Jericho from getting a match against Max.
After shrugging off that early Codebreaker, it's been total domination by @RealWardlow! #AEWDynamite #AEWonTNT pic.twitter.com/dvpAPUokD1
— TDE Wrestling (@tde_gif) August 12, 2021
.@The_MJF taking every opportunity to create an unfair advantage against @IAmJericho
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 12, 2021
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite LIVE on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/h7TCQAwO9q
But despite the stipulation for this one being that MJF would be ringside, that didn’t buy him any special privileges. Once referee Aubrey Edwards had seen enough, she threw Friedman out. And while that was going on, Jericho grabbed his bat Floyd and wobbled Wardlow. A Judas Effect followed, and he’d reached the Fifth Labour.
MJF, Wardlow and their Pinnacle mate Spears jumped Jericho after the bell, but first Sammy Guevara and finally Jake Hager evened the odds. With the Inner Circle trio in the ring and the nemeses on stage, Max laid out the rules for next week’s Jericho/MJF clash in Houston.
Jericho won’t enter to Fozzy’s “Judas”, so the sing-along is off. And he can’t use the Judas Effect finisher either. If he does, Max wins.
.@The_MJF is taking away the Judas Effect - AND JUDAS (!) - when he faces @IAmJericho NEXT WEDNESDAY in Houston on #AEWDynamite in the Fifth and FINAL Labour of Jericho. pic.twitter.com/ZjJsgd2BKv
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 12, 2021
Not even counting “armbar”, Jericho has plenty of moves in his arsenal - so this seems like another misstep from MJF. But we’ll find out next week.
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