Dominance remains unspoken.
Enemies deconstructed.
Symphony of pure destruction.
THIS. IS. WAR.
Michael Austin Wardlow (born January 19, 1988), better known simply as Wardlow, is an American professional wrestler who is signed to All Elite Wrestling. He began his career in 2014, wrestling for various indie promotions such as American Revolution Wrestling and International Wrestling Cartel.
Wardlow's AEW career is… interesting to say the least. In 2019 he would join the company as a silent bodyguard for MJF, and would accompany him to matches and interfere to help him win. Due to unique circumstances, Wardlow was not considered an actual wrestler under AEW, but rather a contracted employee working with MJF, but was still allowed to wrestle on his own volition so long as he remained loyal to his employer. (This would be important later.) His first AEW match would be a steel cage match against his employer’s then archenemy, Cody Rhodes, which Wardlow would lose.
As time went on, despite Wardlow's attempts to remain professional, it would become apparent that he and MJF were far from friends, as MJF would slowly become impatient with Wardlow and start blaming him whenever he lost matches, the first notable instance being when MJF lost a world championship match to Jon Moxley at All Out 2020, leading to MJF threatening to leave Wardlow and his family on the street should he continue to fail him. Despite their clear differences, the two would continue to work together.
On November 7, 2020, Wardlow and MJF would become members of the Inner Circle after MJF defeated stable leader Chris Jericho in a match at Full Gear 2020. While MJF was busy trying to destroy the group from the inside, Wardlow developed a heated rivalry with stablemate Jake Hager. Wardlow would beat Hager in a match, although Hager would later beat Wardlow in a caged MMA match. The duo’s antics in the group would last until March 10, 2021, when Jericho revealed he that knew about MJF and Wardlow’s treachery the entire them, leading to MJF betraying the Inner Circle and revealing that he and Wardlow had actually started a new group alongside Tully Blanchard, FTR, and Shawn Spears, which would later be dubbed The Pinnacle.
After a lengthy feud between the Pinnacle and the Inner Circle, Wardlow began to do something that MJF and Shawn Spears both feared; become over with the fans. In late 2021, Wardlow, accompanied by Spears, would begin to have frequent squash matches on Dynamite that would culminate by Wardlow repeatedly powerbombing his opponent before pinning them, a move that would soon be dubbed the Powerbomb Symphony. Spears would retaliate by hitting Wardlow’s opponent with a chair to attempt to place attention on himself, and MJF would ask Wardlow to stop the Powerbomb Symphony, finding it to be pointless and a waste of time. However, when Wardlow was in a match against MJF’s then archenemy CM Punk, Max, being a self absorbed hypocrite, ordered him to give Punk an extended Powerbomb Symphony in hopes that it would severely injure Punk, causing Wardlow to become distracted during the argument and get pinned by Punk.
At the boiling point of their partnership, Wardlow was given an opportunity to compete in the Casino Ladder Match at Revolution 2022 to win an opportunity to challenge for the TNT Championship. Despite stipulations in his contract, MJF attempted to try to keep Wardlow on his side by promising him that he could keep the TNT Championship should he win it. After Wardlow makes a sarcastic comment about being the only reason MJF wins matches, Max slaps him in the face and threatens to throw his family on the street once again.
At Revolution, Wardlow would manage to win the ladder match but also shock everyone later into the night. During MJF’s dog collar match against CM Punk, Wardlow would leave Max’s Dynamite Diamond ring in the ring and walk away, leading to Punk hitting Max with the ring and pinning him. The following Wednesday, Wardlow would explain that MJF slapping him and threatening his family was his reason for leaving, and that he no longer worked for Max nor was he a member of the Pinnacle. He would politely ask MJF to release him of his contract and expressed that he wished to obtain an AEW contract upon winning the TNT title. He would face Scorpio Sky for the TNT title the following week, but would lose due to interference by MJF.
MJF would deny interefering in the match, simply chalking it up to Wardlow “not being good enough” to beat Sky. He would further say that he had no interest in releasing Wardlow, calling him greedy and claiming that he would pay him to stay home. Despite this, Wardlow would still show up to shows to try to force MJF to release him, leading to MJF booking Wardlow in matches against various mercenaries, including a debuting W. Morrissey. MJF would eventually promise Wardlow a match at Double or Nothing 2022, so long as Wardlow signs a contract and abides by several ludicrous stipulations, including taking 10 lashes and fighting Shawn Spears in a steel cage with MJF as the guest referee. Despite the odds, Wardlow would succeed and face MJF at Double or Nothing, defeating MJF in an 8 minute squash. As a result of winning the match, Wardlow was freed from MJF’s contract and would become All Elite.
After settling a lawsuit by fighting and pinning 20 security guards at once, Wardlow sets his sights on Scorpio Sky again in hopes to win the TNT Championship as he had planned on beforehand. He would succeed on the July 6, 2022 episode of Dynamite, after defeating the champion, Scorpio Sky, in a Street Fight match.
TV Tropes! Welcome to Wardlow's World!
- Alternate Company Equivalent: He has been compared to Goldberg during his WCW days due to his tendency to squash his opponents as well as being a One-Man Army who can fend off multiple opponents at once. AEW apparently leaned on to this, as his entrances following his "contract dispute" feud with MJF were basically copied wholesale from Goldberg, being escorted to the ring by security/law enforcement officials. Also like Goldberg, his ring name is simply his own real last name. Fans even started chanting his name the same way they did with Goldberg.
- Anti-Villain: According to Wardlow, the only reason he became MJF's bodyguard and ever put up with his employer's motives was so he could provide for his family. When MJF threatened to put them on the street if he continued to be insubordinate to him before Revolution 2022, that was the last straw.
- The Brute: A huge, brutal thug of a man who will beat the hell out of anyone MJF paid him to.
- Determinator: It is incredibly difficult to keep Wardlow down. One of the best examples is during his match against Shawn Spears with MJF as Guest Referee; Despite getting low-blowed, hit by a C4 and a quick count, Wardlow still manages to kick out of the following pin. MJF’s scream of disbelief rightafter is priceless.
- The Dog Bites Back: After months of abuse, Wardlow cemented his Heel–Face Turn at Revolution 2022 by betraying MJF during his Dog Collar Match with CM Punk.
- The Dragon: Previously to MJF; Cody had to defeat Wardlow in a steel cage match before he could face MJF at Revolution 2020.
- Finishing Move: "The F-10" (a spinning F-5 variation); this has since been replaced with the "Powerbomb Symphony" (repeated powerbombs).
- In-Series Nickname: Upon turning on MJF, Wardlow would be deemed a "piggy" by Max for being a "greedy swine", alongside "(War)pig(gy)".
- Lightning Bruiser: Wardlow is huge, strong, durable, and perfectly capable of hitting a flawless top-rope senton.
- Made of Iron: As part one of MJF's stipulations, if Wardlow wanted to face Max at Double or Nothing 2022, he had to take ten lashes in the ring without interference, no doubt recalling how he imposed a similar condition to Cody Rhodes during the feud, and as a result of it Cody was left a heap of seared flesh. Wardlow proceeded to stand there and take a majority of them without flinching, making MJF even more furious and resulting in him having to resort to low-blowing Wardlow.
- No Theme Tune: Because of MJF's contract stipulations, whenever he faced any of Max's mercenaries or was just going to the ring, Wardlow was escorted by AEW security while handcuffed without his entrance music. Ended after he squashed MJF at Double or Nothing 2022, freeing him from his (kayfabe) contract with MJF.
- One-Man Army: Was willing and capable of tearing through countless security personnel to get his hands on MJF. It often took around 10 guards to just hold him down. This repeated squashing of security led to a 20-man handicap match between him and the vengeful security guards that ended with him absolutely destroying them in just 4 minutes.
- Psycho for Hire: MJF used his fortune to bring Wardlow into AEW to act as his enforcer.
- The Quiet One: As MJF's bodyguard he had very little to say. Very much subverted after he finally turned against MJF.
- Rage Breaking Point: Wardlow was fine with MJF's verbal abuse, insults and taunts for years, but once Max put his hands on Wardlow, specifically a slap to his face before Revolution 2022, all bets were off, leading to his Heel–Face Turn.
- Red Baron: "Mr. Mayhem" and "The War Dog" were both coined by MJF during his tenure as MJF's bodyguard, but they are entirely fitting for Wardlow no matter who calls him those names.
- Running Gag: Anytime he and Jake Hager were in the same room/ring (and not in a match; they just happened to cross paths), both of them would stand and stare at each other silently while everyone was talking/arguing.
- Take That!: When Wardlow announced that he wanted to challenge for the TNT title again, he mentioned how a few men had completely diminished the respect that the title had once held. This is in reference to the infamous rivalry between then TNT champion Scorpio Sky and former TNT champion Sammy Guevara, which was loathed by fans for various reasons including; trading the title between the two champions more than once for little reason, awkward face/heel dynamics between both wrestlers, Guevara implying that he had sexual intercourse with girlfriend Tay Conti while wearing the belt, and the rivalry being drawn out to last till Double or Nothing 2022. Wardlow's sentiment was previously mirrored by fans who felt the championship suffered due to the rivalry after the title was previously held by fan favorites such as the late Mr. Brodie Lee and Miro.
- Unperson: Even though Wardlow betrayed MJF in 2022, he was still technically under contract to MJF as his employee rather than as a member of AEW. Max had him literally sit on his contract while being banned from all AEW shows, with the hope that he would just stay at home and be forgotten. To fit this narrative, Wardlow was removed from the roster page on AEW's website. Until he defeated MJF at that year's Double or Nothing, that is.
- Would Not Hit a Girl: Apparently, anyway; during the Cody/MJF match at Revolution 2020, Wardlow butted heads with Cody's wife Brandi who tried to stop him from interfering on MJF's behalf. While he chased her around the ring for a bit, when he actually got his hands on Brandi (after she tried to hit Wardlow with a crossbody only for him to easily catch her) Cody told Wardlow to put her down... and he just did. On her feet, too.
