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Current AEW TNT Champion Wardlow recently opened up about how he felt going into the ten lashes segment with MJF on Dynamite in May 2022.
Having turned his back on the Salt of the Earth, Wardlow was treated as, in Friedman's words, a pig. In the process, he was stripped of his entrance music and pyro and was handcuffed permanently before and after his matches.
Mr. Mayhem was eventually allowed to get his hands on MJF, but only after he completed a series of challenges, which included taking ten lashes with a leather belt on an episode of Dynamite.
Speaking in an interview with Fightful, Wardlow revealed how he felt going into the segment having been involved in a similar segment involving MJF and Cody Rhodes in 2020, and it's safe to say he wasn't looking forward to it.
"To be 100% honest, I was really dreading that. Obviously, being whipped with a belt, it's kind of hard to go into that thinking positively. The adrenaline from the crowd is something you really can't explain until you felt it. When he smacked me that first time, in my head, I'm like, 'Gosh, this is gonna suck,'" said Wardlow. [H/T Fightful]
However, the build-up proved to be worse than the punishment itself, as the TNT Champion explained that once he took the first shot, the other nine were a walk in the park:
"Then he did it, and I was like, 'that was it?' That smile on my face was genuine because it was me going, 'Oh, this is easy, keep them coming.' It wasn't too bad. Thank God for adrenaline, I had some red marks, but I have thick skin, maybe." [H/T Fightful]
Both MJF and Wardlow have achieved success in 2022
Following their blow-off match at Double or Nothing 2022, both MJF and Wardlow went down drastically different paths in AEW. Six months have now passed and at the upcoming Full Gear pay-per-view, both men could be walking out of AEW's final pay-per-view event of the year with gold around their waists.
In the main event, MJF will challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship, having cashed in on the title opportunity he earned at All Out in September.
As for Wardlow, he has yet to find out what awaits him on November 19. However, as the current TNT Champion, who has made six successful defenses of the title since winning it in July 2022, there are certainly AEW roster who would like to make a name for themselves at the expense of Mr. Mayhem.
Will Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Wardlow walk out of Full Gear 2022 as champions? Let us know in the comments section down below!
