This past Saturday night, news made its way across social media that MJF had no showed his Fan Fest Meet and Greet during AEW’s Double or Nothing Weekend in Las Vegas. After this, news developed further, saying he was gambling in a Vegas casino and not in contact at all with AEW. Then, the most eyebrow-raising of them all, that he had booked a plane ticket out of Vegas and back home for Saturday night, planning to not show up for the big show 24 hours later. The drama continued on the day of the show, continuing to report a lack of communication between the two parties, and that MJF was not backstage until almost immediately before his match went on. He showed up late, dressed, did his job, and immediately left the arena to head back to Long Island.
Obviously, this is big news, and it is not great news. It’s not a good look for AEW, it’s not a good look for MJF, and it nearly cost Wardlow his big moment in AEW. At the end of the day, MJF did show up and he did do the job for Wardlow, but this seems eerily similar to some examples in history of guys no showing for a variety of reasons. Jeff Jarrett not wanting to drop the Intercontinental Championship and demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so, and once he was given it, he dropped the title and left WWE for good immediately after comes to mind. Austin Aries did the same type of thing in Impact Wrestling against Johnny Impact (work or not, it still seemed legit at the time). Just last week, we saw Naomi and Sasha Banks walk out of WWE in some of the most controversial fashion seen in some time. All three of those previous examples display different reasons for leaving, and MJF has already been in the news in recent months for his disappointment in his contract and his pay. There is so much speculation as to what this is all about, and like last week, I aim to take an unbiased look at this scenario to try and understand the possible motives, the reactions, and what may come next from this.
So, as mentioned, MJF has outwardly teased possibly coming to WWE when his AEW contract came to an end. At first, it seemed like the heel MJF is being great at what he does: stirring the pot and keeping kayfabe alive. It eventually reached a point where Tony Khan was not okay with it, and there was an alleged altercation between the two that had supposedly settled the issues. More rumors swirled since then of MJF’s frustration with his contract and with his pay. Now, it can be safely said that when MJF signed his AEW contract a few years ago, he was a much lesser-known talent. He was an indie guy who had something good going for him, and he caught the eye of Cody Rhodes and company. He got over on Being the Elite and quickly found himself in one of AEW’s biggest early feuds, first alongside Cody Rhodes as Cody battled Chris Jericho for the AEW World Championship, and then against Cody as Cody went through the trials (the 10 lashes and the moonsault off of the cage against Wardlow being two early AEW highlights). He became a 3-time Dynamite Diamond Ring winner and engaged in several feuds with the likes of Jungle Boy, Jon Moxley, and eventually his long-running feud with Chris Jericho. The Jericho feud solidified what many already knew about MJF: he was destined for stardom and he could easily hang with some of the all-time greats. It was around this time that MJF began to reach the level of stardom that calls for more money, more assets, and a higher place in the business. He is still locked into the contract he signed when he was, for lack of better phrasing, more of a nobody than anything else. So it is understandable to be frustrated but to completely walk out on fans who paid to meet him personally, who paid to see his match at Double or Nothing 2022, and to screw over a man who worked so closely with him for nearly 2 and a half years to build to this match and this moment seemed like something MJF would never do, but he did in many ways and nearly did in some others. Whether or not his intention was to just draw attention to him, or he was genuinely considering leaving, or he did the bare minimum of his job just for his friend, or anything else, many people have seemed to have a sour taste in their mouths because of this.
As mentioned, MJF did arrive to compete, and he did the job for Wardlow by being squashed, for the most part, even doing a stretcher job too. He apparently left in a hurry when he got backstage, and now we don’t know the exact future of MJF in AEW. One report says that MJF will not be at the TV tapings this Wednesday, nor will he be for a good while now. Tony Khan refused to comment on MJF or the situation in the post-Double or Nothing media scrum.
It seems to be stricken from the record for now, and truly only time will tell what will happen next. Will AEW release MJF from his contract, allowing him to go to WWE if that’s what he really wants? Will they freeze his contact and/or make him sit at home until it runs out in 2024 (or until they wish to bring him back)? Or do they give it some time, let things cool off and then try to mend the bridge and bring him back into the fold? There are so many questions and so many possibilities that can occur, and sadly we will not be able to know what exactly will happen until we get there. There are so many possible feuds for MJF to still have in AEW that can only further drive up his value for future contract negotiations, and that can be so entertaining to the fans. Should he go to WWE, there are probably even more options of who he can face there. Either way, there are great stories and great wrestling to be told. My one hope for this is that things end up being resolved, because as stated at the beginning, it is a bad look for all involved, and WWE may actually be hesitant to sign him if he is willing to do this when he is displeased with his pay or place on the card. That is yet another thing to keep in mind while preparing to see what is next for one of the best heels in the professional wrestling business today…Maxwell Jacob Friedman, MJF.
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