AEW Revolution: MJF Retains His AEW World Championship Against Bryan Danielson In an Overtime Iron Man Match

MJF retained his AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson at AEW Revolution on Sunday night, beating "The American Dragon" 4-3 in a 60-minute Iron Man Match that wound up going well into sudden death overtime. Danielson scored the first fall of the match with a Busaiku Knee, pinning Max with 34 and a half minutes left on the clock. He then attempted the knee again, only for Max to collapse as a means of protecting himself. The champ nailed a low blow to force a disqualification but pinned Danielson twice to tie things up 2-2.

Fast forward to 40 minutes into the match when Max hit a diving elbow drop on Danielson, sending him through a table outside the ring. He then drove Danielson through what was left of the table with a Piledriver and nailed a Heat Seeker for the pin with 19:30 remaining. The only reason Max was unable to rack up more pinfalls was due to a knee injury that kept getting aggravated after every big power move.

Danielson finally managed to bust Friedman open with a Diving Headbutt, then delivered the Busaiku Knee again at the 49th minute. He then applied the Regal Stretch (a nod to William Regal) and tied things up 3-3 by forcing a submission. Friedman then tried to apply Salt of the Earth, but Danielson countered with a LeBell Lock. Max escaped to reapply Salt of the Earth and managed to wrench three of Danielson's four limbs but had to finally let go when Danielson's last remaining leg reached the bottom rope.

With two and a half minutes left on the clock, Friedman was able to hit Danielson with a piledriver from the middle rope. But the injured knee immediately immobilized him, making it impossible for him to make the cover for nearly a minute. Danielson kicked out with 80 seconds left, then locked in a single-leg crab. Max was able to hold on for the final minute, then tapped right after the bell rang. He was then declared still the world champion with the bout ending in a draw. 

Tony Schiavone then got a message from Tony Khan that was relayed by Justin Roberts — the match would continue under sudden death rules. Max proceeded to try every cheap trick he knew, from a low blow to grabbing the title belt to attempt to use his Dynamite Diamond Ring, but none of it worked. He finally got the better of Danielson by whacking him with an oxygen tank the medical team brought to ringside, then trapped Danielson in the LeBelle Lock. Danielson initially tried to power out but Max wouldn't break the hold. "The American Dragon" submitted, allowing Friedman to retain.

AEW Revolution 2023 Results

• (Kickoff) Mark Briscoe & The Lucha Bros def. Ari Daivari & The Varsity Athletes
• Rick Starks def. Chris Jericho
• Jack Perry def. Christian Cage (Final Burial Match)
• AEW World Trios Championships: The House of Black def. The Elite
• AEW Women's World Championship: Jamie Hayter def. Ruby Soho & Saraya
• Hangman Page def. Jon Moxley (Texas Death Match)
• TNT Championship: Wardlow def. Samoa Joe
• AEW World Tag Team Championships: The Gunns def. The Acclaimed, Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal and Orange Cassidy & Danhausen
• AEW World Championship: MJF def. Bryan Danielson (Iron Man Match)