With MJF's crushing win in the final 'Labour of Jericho', AEW has now wrapped up one of its longest storyline feuds. Throughout the past year, fans have seen MJF join the Inner Circle, form the Pinnacle and create some seminal television moments with Chris Jericho, but it hasn't been perfect.

Elements of the very drawn-out story have not hit in the way AEW desired, which has revealed some flaws in the company's approach to long-term storytelling. The Pandemic may have played a part in the company delaying the blow-off between the pair, but this has made for some uninspired television segments and match decisions.

The feud can still be considered a huge success, as it made MJF into a bona fide main event star, whilst also making the best use of the aging Chris Jericho. AEW just needs to learn from the worst parts of the feud, so that in the future they can maximize all the other things that make it great.

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The Chris Jericho Feud Made MJF A Star

AEW began teasing the feud between the pair way back in 2019 when Chris Jericho was still 'Le Champion' and MJF was hinting at joining the Inner Circle. After MJF lost his AEW title match against Jon Moxley at All Out 2020, this storyline thread was picked back up, which was a rewarding pay-off to the interaction months earlier.

When MJF joined the Inner Circle after defeating Chris Jericho at Full Gear 2020, there was a lot of nuanced interactions where he tried to usurp Jericho as leader of the group. This led to one of the best twists in AEW's history when MJF revealed the formation of the Pinnacle. It exemplified how valuable a slow build can be and the inevitable Inner Circle versus Pinnacle feud was a tantalising prospect.

To this point the feud had done extremely well in getting MJF over as a main event talent on the level of Chris Jericho. Even at over half a year into the feud, segments like 'Le Dinner Debonair' and their short-lived tag team feud with the Young Bucks managed to keep things fresh ahead of MJF's inevitable turn.

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The Feud Eventually Lost Its Way

When the Pinnacle versus Inner Circle hostilities begun, it was depicted as the next chapter in the rivalry between MJF and Chris Jericho. However, it was at this time where some of the momentum from the feud started dwindling.

Segments like the 'Bubbly Bath' bordered on parody, whilst the lack of in-ring action between the members of the warring factions was a missed opportunity. Blood and Guts was billed as a feud-ending match that would presumably see Jericho finally put MJF over, but this wasn't the case.

The ending to Blood and Guts was executed poorly, but it was even more frustrating that Jericho returned only a week later. The factions then had a diminished return of a match at Double or Nothing in the second-ever Stadium Stampede. It was a nice match to celebrate fans coming back after the Covid pandemic, but it weakened the Pinnacle and wasn't really necessary after Blood and Guts.

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via AEW

In The End, AEW Managed To Get It Right

With fans coming back permanently this summer, it was clear that there would be a final blow-off match between MJF and Jericho, even if some of the momentum had stalled. The 'Labors of Jericho' was an inspired touch to bring the focus of the feud back towards Jericho and MJF and the program that followed was mostly excellent.

The gauntlet laid out by MJF made for some great television and allowed for some surreal opponents for Jericho, like Nick Gage and Juventud Guerrera. Having previously done something similar with Cody ahead of their match, MJF has found a great storytelling mechanism in creating stipulations for his opponents ahead of facing him.

MJF versus Chris Jericho will fondly be remembered as a star-making endeavor that paid off. However, AEW must learn to reduce the fat that can sometimes exist in the middle of these rivalries and focus on maintaining the excitement around them.

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AEW Has A Mixed Record with Long-Term Storytelling AEW does have a precedent of some storylines experiencing the same issue as the MJF/Jericho storyline. For example, the inexplicably long feud between the Best Friends and Kip Sabian/Miro, where there were more than a few poor television segments, including the wedding. However, they also got it right in the end with the wildly fun Arcade Anarchy match and the ensuing TNT title run for Miro.

AEW has also done long-term planning extremely well in one of its best-told stories between 'Hangman' Adam Page and the Elite. Although it is yet to conclude, it has already been so critically acclaimed that it is bound to succeed, paying off one of the best character arcs that wrestling has ever seen.

All fans can do is continue to trust AEW's booking and hope that they have learned from any mistakes they've previously made.

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