I Know Who The Devil Is

For weeks the devil has made ominous appearances and sent henchmen to attack the All Elite roster. MJF denies all culpability, claiming his devil mask was stolen before the devil and goons attacked Jay White on the 27^th September episode of Dynamite. As Jay White was flung around like a ragdoll, the camera panned to the devil, who looked at us all with a stare we could feel rather than see. Before we had a chance to look closer for any hint of who it could be the devil pushed the camera away with their left hand. Sinister in more ways than one wouldn’t you say?

There have been countless discussions and accusations made since by the roster and fans alike regarding the identity of this masked menace. The clues are sparse but there are some. First, all threads lead back to MJF concerning the victims the Devil has chosen. Second, the Devil is only present in recordings, never live in front of the audience. Third, the Devil is not large in frame thus eradicating some of the larger guys as being the ringleader but not necessarily his followers. So who is this Devil? 

I know. 

The devil is Keyser Söze.

“A man can’t change what he is. He can convince anyone he’s someone else, but never himself.”

We’ve seen the devil before. I don’t mean hidden under the mask but in full view for us all to see. They are a familiar face to us and that’s why they are hiding right now. They are most probably well liked or they may have changed recently where a positive transformation has occurred making us trust them. It’s possible the Devil has been trying to convince us all that they are different now, that they have grown from the person they were before. But a leopard can’t change its spots.

What does the Devil get out of this charade he has put us through? Do they enjoy the power and control of fooling and manipulating us? It feels more personal than that. Let’s take a moment and look at the victims of the attacks so far: Jay White, the Acclaimed, Daddy Ass Billy Gunn and almost MJF. 

The intent lies in murky waters but the one thing they all have in common is a connection to MJF. Where it becomes unclear is on one hand Jay White was MJF’s opponent and on the other the Acclaimed and Billy were allies. Is the Devil for or against MJF?

“One cannot be betrayed if one has no people.”

The devil is a natural leader; someone who is in a position of power or can instill fear in others in order to get them to do their bidding. The devil has probably led before. The henchmen are most probably members of the roster who are frustrated thus easy to convince to go rogue… and the devil has used this to their advantage. They are pawns who do the heavy lifting who could either share the devils vision or revel in the opportunity to wreak havoc.

Despite having henchmen the Devil stands separate suggesting there is power outside of physical strength. The Devil holds power in status or has leverage over others and likes their unique position. Although there’s no harm in utilising the services of others they are never permitted to get close on a personal level. Everyone is expendable because allowing people to get close opens the door to vulnerability. The devil is careful not to be left vulnerable and we have seen this with the distance they keep to avoid any situation where their identity could be revealed.

The line-up

So who is this devil? The line up is full of possibilities. Let’s take a look at the line of suspects.

Adam Cole: We start with what would be the most heartbreaking of the possibilities. After watching this friendship go from refusal then reluctance to brotherly love, this has been a story for the ages. Yet there have been moments where it just feels off. From that tense match at All In 2023 with MJF for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship belt to his inability to even be on the other side of the phone for his so-called best friend. An important thing to note is the last time we see the mask before it reportedly goes missing is when Better Than You BayBay are sat in their locker room and the mask is hung up behind Cole. Let us also not forget the strange message from The Righteous. In a segment and now part of their entrance video they made paper cut out figure of Cole and MJF. At the back of MJFs it said “lol” and behind Cole’s it said “Liar.” Is the joke on MJF? Has Cole been deceitful this whole time? Is it also fair to say Cole has a record for betrayal? I am afraid Cole is a prime suspect.

Roderick Strong: Twisted by jealousy of Adam Cole and MJFs budding friendship and unable to move past it makes Strong a prime suspect. There is also the unaddressed issue of his accusation that MJF ran him over leading to his pioneering “Neck Strong” campaign. Does this make him a victim or the perpetrator? 

Tony Khan: It would make sense with the few clues we have been given. When attacking Jay White, the devil was small in frame and stature and the left hand was used to push the camera away. We laugh we heard briefly could also be attributed to Khan. But where is the motive? Why would Tony Khan do this to his own roster? 

Britt Baker: It’s not really a stretch to say Britt Baker could be the devil. She could be standing by her own partner Adam Cole in this or she could also be jealous of the close friendship between MJF and Adam Cole. We may not have seen Britt in a while but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been clues that she is in fact the Devil. In the 'Paint the Town Red' promo, Britt is seen making 'devil ears' while Doja Cat sings 'She's the devil. She also showed her displeasure on Twitter about the treatment of Adam Cole compared to MJF on Full Gear and quoted tweets disparaging MJF. Whilst none of this is full blown evidence, there is definitely dislike towards MJF. Remember – we haven’t heard the Devil speak with their own voice.

MJF: He is our champion. Our top guy. He’s better than us. He is the original devil. He is our scumbag. But he is A, if not THE, scumbag. We forget how dirty he can go: he won the championship belt with brass knuckles to Moxley.  We forget how unhinged he can be: his deranged episode with CM Punk and the dog collar. We forget how low he can go: weeks leading up to his Iron Man Match with Bryan Danielson he made several mentions of Danielson’s kids. MJF, whether we like it or not is a prime suspect. Isn’t it suspicious that the attempted attack on MJF by the Devil’s goons didn’t give them a chance to land a single hit? I love Joe and I praise him for many things but speed is not one of them. Then, as MJFs music plays it is interrupted by the Devil’s transmission noise. Is he playing with us? Testing how gullible we really are? The Kingdom and Jay White are the only ones on the roster who have made comment about the Devil’s identity and are adamant it is MJF. Too obvious? Or believe MJF has done so much work on himself? Remember: “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

“And like that, he’s gone…”

It’s only a matter of time before the devil reveals himself. I suppose this is where he and Söze differ. Söze’s power lies in his ability to stay hidden, remain secret, to become a legend in himself. The devil wants to be seen. He may hide behind a mask and only appear on screen instead of in person but he wants to be seen all the same. It’s important for the devil to show us the damage he is capable of. The opportune moment will come when he will unveil himself which will be his most painful strike. For some, probably most, it will be the end of the world.