AEW: Wardlow on Comparisons of His Feud With MJF to Triple H vs. Batista

By Connor Casey

Wardlow has become one of the hottest stars in AEW over the past few months thanks to his rivalry with MJF. The abusive relationship between "The Salt of The Earth" and his bodyguard finally reached a boiling point at Revolution when Wardlow opted to not give Friedman his Dynamite Diamond Ring, giving CM Punk the opening to beat him in their wildly violent Dog Collar Match. The big man then attempted to separate himself from MJF and what's left of The Pinnacle, only for Friedman to keep him locked into his contract. This resulted in him having to take on Friedman's hand-picked opponents and enter the ring in handcuffs surrounded by security guards. 

Friedman eventually relented and offered Wardlow a match at Double or Nothing, with quite a few stipulations attached. Wardlow was banned from putting his hands on Friedman, had to take 10 lashings with a belt and beat Shawn Spears in a Steel Cage match (with MJF as the referee), the last of which "Mr. Mayhem" accomplished on this week's Dynamite. Between the long build, Wardlow's penchant for using the powerbomb finisher and the relationship between Friedman and Wardlow, many have compared the feud to Triple H vs. Batista over the World Heavyweight Championship in 2005. Wardlow addressed that comparison while speaking with CBS Sports' Shakiel Mahjouri this week.

"We kind of mirrored it in a way, it was very different but also the same. The crazy thing is this wasn't my idea, I didn't have any say-so in this. This just organically happened, my career just seems to be mimicking a little bit of Batista's," he said (h/t Wrestling Inc.) "Yes, you can compare The Pinnacle to Evolution and can compare myself and Max to Triple H and Batista, it's really unfolded very similar to how that did and it's a really special thing because we didn't plan it that way."

Check out the updated lineup for Sunday's Double or Nothing pay-per-view card below! And stay tuned for full coverage of the event! 

  • AEW World Championship: "Hangman" Adam Page vs. CM Punk
  • AEW Women's World Championship: Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship: Jurassic Express vs. Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland
  • TBS Championship: Jade Cargill vs. Anna Jay
  • The Hardys vs. The Young Bucks
  • Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz (Anarchy in the Arena)
  • House of Black vs. Death Triangle
  • MJF vs. Wardlow
  • Men's Owen Hart Cup Tournament Finals: Adam Cole vs. Samoa Joe
  • Women's Owen Hart Cup Tournament Finals: Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho/Kris Statlander
  • (Buy-In) HOOKHausen vs. Tony Nese & Mark Sterling
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