AEW Full Gear 2023 results: Injured MJF outlasts Jay White to keep World title

If you missed the Full Gear pre-show or the early parts of the PPV on Nov. 18, you missed a lot.

Adam Cole’s surprise appearance led to The Gunns injuring World champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman. After he was taken by ambulance to a hospital, AEW announced he couldn’t defend the World title in the main event. As his scheduled challenger Jay White was about to be officially crowned champ, Cole showed up to announce he would wrestle in his friend’s place.

The problem is Cole’s on crutches and wearing a walking boot after having what we were told was major ankle surgery just last month. But as the announce crew talked about how the main event was a farce and a formality on the way to White’s coronation, a siren could be heard in the distance. An ambulance was pulling up to the Kia Forum dock, and MJF was driving it!

As he hobbled into the arena, the crowd loved it. Problem was, the World title went from being represented by one one-legged man to being represented by another one-legged man. To make matters worse, every time referee Bryce Remsburg’s back was turned, The Gunns inflicted even more damage to Max’s damaged left leg.

Eventually, Remsburg caught them in the act and threw Austin & Colten out, leaving Switchblade alone (Juice Robinson was out after MJF smashed a television monitor in his face last night on Rampage). White tried to goad Cole into doing something that would get him sent to the back too, but he didn’t bite. That did seem to help get Cole’s brochacho fired up, though. Adrenaline allowed Max to get some offense going, including his signature Kangaroo Kick.

King Switch was able to counter the dive Cole convinced the champ to do, though. Intrigue about Cole’s intentions grew as the announcers pondered whether or not he was a distraction to MJF.

Cole did seem pretty concerned when Max decided to deliver an elbow drop off the top onto White and a collapsed announce table.

He struggled to follow-up on that with his injury though, and that pattern continued for most of the remainder of the match: MJF wouldn’t quit, but also couldn’t finish.

With both men down after another sequence, ringside doctor Michael Sampson tried to check on MJF to see if he could continue, but Max waved him off.

A call back to the first Full Gear, where Max threw in the towel for Cody Rhodes and turned heel in the process, took us into the home stretch. Cole didn’t do it, but his attempt to help MJF backfired when Switchblade took the ROH Tag belt Cole was going to use against him and used it on Max. The champ kicked out after getting hit with the belt.

After a ref bump, Cole also botched getting the Dynamite Diamond Ring to MJF. The champ dodged a punch there, hit a low blow, and reclaimed his weapon of choice.

That worked out well, as he used it to fend off The Gunns when they returned. He also got in a shot on White before Remsburg recovered, which allowed him to secure the win and keep (or regain, since Switchblade stole it weeks ago) the Triple B.

A one-legged champ celebrated with his brochacho, knowing he has a date with Samoa Joe coming as a result of the deal he cut for the ROH Tag title match that started this drama.

Get complete Full Gear results and coverage of the entire show here.