MJF introduces us to the first stable on retainer: Stokely Hathaway & The Firm

Maxwell Jacob Friedman cut his second promo since returned to AEW at All Out on the Sept. 14, and two things were pretty clear:

1. He’s on a collision course with Jon Moxley (who won the first Grand Slam Tournament of Champions semi-final in tonight’s opening match).
2. Getting booed is going to be a lot harder post-”Fire me you f**king mark!” Even bringing up Moxley’s alcoholism got a muted reaction rather than the chorus of boos it probably would have received this spring.

MJF also name-dropped the remaining World Championship Tournament semi-finalists, Chris Jericho & Bryan Danielson. But Mox was his main target throughout the promo... until he filled in a gap in his story from All Out by introducing the men who helped him earn a future World title shot via the Casino Ladder Match. They’re the first-ever stable on retainer, led by his best friend Stokely Hathaway.

The Firm (pick your 90s reference, the Nas-led hip-hop supergroup, or the Tom Cruise-headlined John Gresham adaptation) will only be a united front when MJF needs them. Otherwise, they’ll each be pursuing their own goals. Lee Moriarty the ROH Pure championship, The Gunns some tag belts, Ethan Page the All Atlantic title, and W. Morrissey? Whatever the hell the seven footer wants.

Hathaway also explained that none of the roles he’s played since arriving in AEW is his actual job. What he is is a friend, and he’s been infiltrating the system and collecting blackmail material so he can help his friends get what they want going forward.

Thoughts on Stokely & The Firm? Or if Max will be able to get his boos back?

Get complete results and coverage of everything from tonight’s Dynamite here.