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Former AEW Champion MJF finally achieved his goal of joining The Hurt Syndicate this month. After failing to impress Bobby Lashley with gifts and persuasion, The Wolf of Wrestling earned the latter's seal of approval by attacking Top Flight to showcase his viciousness.
The All Mighty gave Friedman his thumbs up and joined MVP and Shelton Benjamin in welcoming him into their group on Dynamite: Beach Break. This past Wednesday, all four men signed a contract to officially make his initiation complete. Although the former "American Champion" was visibly elated by his induction, his reputation as an untrustworthy traitor (in kayfabe) seemed to give Lashley and company some cause for hesitation, even though they ultimately put pen to paper anyway.
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Although viewers expect Friedman to soon reveal his true colors and turn against the former Hurt Business - potentially as early as Double or Nothing 2025 - there are reasons why such a turn should not be booked this Sunday. Let us consider three reasons why.
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#1. MJF has a history with The Hurt Syndicate's opponents at AEW Double or Nothing.
The Hurt Syndicate was confronted by two sets of challengers on Dynamite: Beach Break, as The Sons of Texas and CRU called out Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin to defend their tag titles. Subsequently, Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara defeated Lio Rush and Action Andretti on Collision: Beach Break to secure their chance at the AEW World Tag Team Championships at Double or Nothing 2025.
This Wednesday, The Natural and The Spanish God interrupted The Syndicate's contract signing with MJF. Dustin advised MVP not to trust Friedman and went on to warn Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley not to overlook him and Sammy, voicing their resolve to add more gold to their name by winning the All Elite Tag Titles. Although the self-proclaimed "Day 1" guys are focused on victory this Sunday, MJF could intervene to thwart their plans.
Friedman has a history with both Guevara and Rhodes in AEW. He feuded with the former TNT Champion as part of The Pinnacle's war against The Inner Circle in 2021 and later defended his World Title against his fellow "pillars," including Sammy, at Double or Nothing 2023. MJF faced Dustin more recently, squaring off this past February on Dynamite, where Friedman defeated Rhodes and continued to attack him post-match.
MJF was also furious with The Sons of Texas for disrupting his initiation into The Hurt Syndicate this week. As such, the 29-year-old will not be lacking in motivation to cost Rhodes and Guevara their tag title match against Benjamin and Lashley at Double or Nothing.
#2. MJF has to prove his loyalty to The Hurt Syndicate
As mentioned earlier, MJF is known for being an unreliable ally. The Wolf of Wrestling has betrayed several of his peers over the past six years on All Elite programming. He turned on his so-called best friend Cody Rhodes by felling the latter with a low-blow in 2019. Later, he joined The Inner Circle, only to reveal that he had secretly formed The Pinnacle to take down the Chris Jericho-led group.
More recently, at last year's AEW Dynamite: Beach Break, MJF turned on Daniel Garcia after pretending to support him as his ally. Friedman has been vocal about wanting to prioritize his own interests and career goals above everything else, a trait that gave Bobby Lashley pause before agreeing to admit him into The Hurt Syndicate. His lingering reluctance was caught on camera during this week's contract signing as well.
Friedman's interactions with The Syndicate's lawyer and his own representative, Mark Sterling, this past Wednesday have sparked conjecture that the Long Island native is already poised to betray his new stablemates.
However, if he truly wants to cultivate a fruitful partnership with Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP, then MJF should solidify his loyalty to the faction by helping them retain their tag titles at AEW Double or Nothing.
#3. MJF needs The Hurt Syndicate to recapture the AEW World Title
MVP had initially approached MJF because he felt that the latter had lost his edge since losing his AEW World Championship at the end of 2023. His character being notoriously opposed to wrestling more than he needs to, Friedman skipped the 2025 Owen Hart Cup for a shot at the title and instead began courting The Hurt Syndicate to join its ranks. He did this because he believed that gaining entry into the dominant stable would clear his path to regaining his prized Triple B.
The self-proclaimed "generational talent" notably has had beef with all three men currently involved in the World Title picture - both Owen Cup finalists Will Ospreay and Adam Page, as well as the champion, Jon Moxley himself. Heading out of Double or Nothing 2025 and towards All In: Texas, Friedman will likely have to deal with all three of these names to try to recapture the World Championship.
Achieving this goal will definitely be easier for MJF if he has The Hurt Syndicate to support him.
This may be even more true if Moxley continues to hold the AEW World Championship for a while longer, as Friedman could call on MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Bobby Lashley to help neutralize The One True King's soldiers, the Death Riders.
