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On December 15, 2022, at AEW Dynamite: Winter is Coming, Maxwell Jacob Friedman defended the World Championship and his Dynamite Diamond ring against Ricky Starks.
A week before their showdown, The Devil and The Absolute indulged in a war of words in the middle of the ring on Dynamite. While the AEW World Champion was at his usual best on the mic, Ricky Starks went toe to toe with The Devil and exceeded all expectations.
MJF called him a "Dollar Store Dwayne," referencing his parallels with The Rock. An impassioned Starks responded by taking shots at the 27-year-old's dressing sense and tendency to garner cheap heat.
A frustrated MJF took a cheap shot at Starks and delivered a low blow, but the 33-year-old recovered quickly, hit MJF with a spear, and stood tall to end the segment. A recent tweet recalled the memorable promo battle between MJF and Starks, which took place a year ago. The post read:
"1 year ago, Ricky Starks and MJF had their awesome promo battle one week prior to the Winter Is Coming world title match."
The AEW World Tag Team Champion responded to the post and said that it was one of his most memorable moments that still resides inside him.
"This. That night in New Jersey on Collision. That night in Worchester on Dynamite. It still resides inside of me," replied Ricky Starks.
Check out the tweet here.
MJF set to defend the AEW World Championship against Samoa Joe
The Salt of the Earth will defend his World Championship against Samoa Joe at the World's End pay-per-view, which will take place on December 30, 2023. MJF agreed to give Joe a shot at the title after the Samoan Submission Machine helped him retain the ROH Tag Team Championship at Full Gear.
However, before their much-anticipated clash, the champion and challenger will team up on the upcoming edition of AEW Dynamite for a tag team match against a group of masked men who have been wreaking havoc in MJF's life for the past few months. Their leader is the mystery person wearing MJF's stolen Devil mask.
A big update on MJF's injury was recently posted. Read the full report here.
