Cope & MJF are both leaving AEW, and only one promises to be back

Already without big names like Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland, two other stars left AEW on the All Out fallout edition of Dynamite tonight (Sept. 24).

First we saw Adam Copeland’s exit. It was in a scene from backstage in Toronto last Saturday after FTR’s attack on his wife Beth. The former Beth Phoenix had just debuted in AEW during Cope and “his asshole” Christian Cage’s victory over Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler on the PPV. The Top Guys are sore losers though, and Beth Copeland got the worst of it.

The Rated R Superstar was too distraught to speak with Renee Paquette, but we did overhear him telling Cage that he’s leaving to check on the Glamazon, but also to decide if he can return since his pro wrestling feuds keep putting his family at risk. It’s a good scene between the former Edge & Christian, one that continues the Patriarch’s slow recovery from villainy while explaining Cope’s latest break (filming for the third season of Disney+‘s hit Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, in which Copeland plays Ares, just started).

Later in the show, Maxwell Jacob Friedman confirmed suspicions that his impressive two-matches-in-24-hours run last weekend meant he would soon be taking time off for Hollywood obligations. In a fiery pre-recorded promo, the longest-reigning World champion in AEW history said he’s lost what made him the best in the business (with a nice nod to his babyface run with Adam Cole). He’s leaving, but he’ll definitely be back. He’s coming back when he’s ready to be the greatest again.

He’s off to film Violent Night 2, and maybe give Alicia Atout a proper honeymoon at some point.

Let us know what you think of these exits, and the angles that explained them, in the comments below. And get complete results from tonight’s Dynamite in our live blog here.