One of the biggest storylines in All Elite Wrestling at the moment and heading into Saturday's Full Gear pay per view is the identity of the person under the devil mask.
For weeks 'the devil' has been stalking AEW world champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, a with a small group of cohorts have been attacking both MJF's friends and enemies.
MJF had previously used the devil mask himself during his entrances for big matches to emphasise the darker side of his character but the mask has seemingly been stolen by someone else as is now tormenting the world champ.
The devil and his minions first attacked MJF's Full Gear opponent Jay White backstage on 27th September and then attacked MJF's new found friends The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn on 8th November.
Whether we'll learn the devil's identity at Full Gear remains to be seen but here are some of the most likely candidates.
MJF
A theory amongst fans has suggested that the devil is actually just MJF fooling the audience and reminding everyone that despite turning face, he is a bad guy at heart.
It would certainly be a unique swerve on the angle and would signify that MJF has had to go to a darker place to defeat Jay White, with the rivalry becoming personal in recent weeks.
However, there are several holes in this theory as the devil has interrupted MJF several times on television, with the champion also insisting that the mask has been stolen from him.
Using wrestling logic would help explain some of these inconsistencies if MJF was revealed to be the devil but we can't help but think it would be an overall disappointing conclusion.
Adam Cole
It's likely that Adam Cole was going to be the devil before suffering the knee injury that has put him of the shelf for several months. This small fact would suggest that Cole isn't the devil, unless AEW plan on dragging this out well into 2024.
Cole though would be a safe pick at the most logical from a storyline perspective. Cole, who is one half of the Ring of Honor tag team champions with MJF, was unsuccessful in his attempt to win the world title at All In despite going to extreme lengths during the match.
Cole was also insistent that they both win the ROH tag titles despite neither man actually needing the belts in order to further their careers. He hasn't shied away from his friendship with Roderick Strong and The Kingdom, who have claimed that they think MJF is the devil.
The Panama City Playboy could use the likes of Strong and The Kingdom as his henchmen to do his dirtywork in the backstage attacks but Cole's injury and no scheduled return date would suggest to us that the possibility of this being Cole would work against the story as a whole.
CM Punk
This would seemingly be impossible but stranger things have happened in wrestling.
CM Punk was abruptly fired from AEW in September following a fight with Jack Perry at Wembley Stadium during the All In show. Punk had voiced his displeasure with the management and other talent in AEW for sometime so it wasn't a surprise to see him given the shove despite being one of the company's biggest stars.
You would think that would put the speculation to bed but several subtle references have been made about the Straight Edge Superstar on AEW television recently and that has only been further amplified by CM Punk making several devil references on his Instagram account.
Punk also quoted the line 'the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convicing the world he didn't exist' during a famous promo from his time in Ring of Honor in the mid-2000s which some fans think he referenced on Instagram.
It would certainly be a massive change in favours between Punk and AEW, especially as Fightful Select have ruled out the possibility of the devil being him with sources within AEW stating it would be a 'massive work' if it turned out to be the Second City Saint.
Punk would certainly be the most exciting option but a lot of hoops would be needed to be jumped through for this scenario to transpire.
Britt Baker D.M.D.
Another person that Fightful's report ruled out as being the devil is former AEW Women's Champion Dr Britt Baker D.M.D.
It's unlikely that Baker was ever considered to be the devil and would have possibly been an unpopular choice but speculation arose when Baker appeared to make devil horns during an appearance in the new Doja Cat video. Baker is also the IRL girlfriend of Cole.
However, AEW sources have confirmed: "Dr. Britt Baker DMD hasn’t been under the mask, either, so her comments within interviews this past week were not a swerve, if people in the company are to be believed."
Baker also confirmed this during an appearanace on KISSFM saying: "I'm not, but then I'm like, maybe I would be a good Devil. But it's not, it's not me. But If I could be, would I be? Maybe, cause then I'm like... who better to stir some shit up than me?"
Samoa Joe
This one wouldn't appear to make much sense as Joe is tough enough to handle himself and wouldn't need lackeys doing his dirty work but AEW have been laying it on thick in the past couple of days.
In storyline Joe wants another shot at the AEW World Championship and MJF would have to give him one if he helped him defend the ROH tag titles against The Gunns at Full Gear.
At the conclusion of this week's episode of Collison, MJF finally agreed to accept Joe offer to be his tag partner which led commentator Nigel McGuinness to say the "AEW world champion has made a deal with the devil."
We personally think this is far too obvious of a distraction tool but it could work if given the right amount of explanation.
Jack Perry
A choice that would undoubtedly be very unpopular amongst the fanbase would be 'Jungle Boy' Jack Perry. The 26-year-old hasn't been seen on AEW television since All In at the end of August following his backstage fight with CM Punk at Wembley.
Perry was handed an indefinite suspension for his role in the fight and hasn't been mentioned by AEW since. This came amidst poorly received heel turn from Perry that hadn't ignited the young wrestler's career who was a popular babyface beforehand.
Bringing Perry back as the devil wouldn't do him any favours as he's yet to display the types a tropes a top heel would need to succeed, especially against someone as skilled on the microphone as MJF.
Shawn Spears
A leftfield choice and one that would possibly be as poorly received as Perry would be Shawn Spears.
The 42-year-old Canadian hasn't wrestled for AEW since September 3rd and has only had four matches for the company this year. He has mostly been wrestling for Austrailian company WSW in recent months where he had held their world title.
Spears though did have a long standing alliance with MJF up until the summer of 2022 and no formal explanation has been given as to their seperation.
The story could go that MJF used Spears to get at his enemies although it wouldn't explain why the devil attacked The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn. The logical gymnastics behind a Spears reveal and what would be guaranteed to be an underwhelming response would say to us that it won't be Spears.
There is also the possibility that it is none of these people and the identity could be a complete surprise. The only thing we can do is wait and see.
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