MJF recently met with company officials following his loss at AEW Worlds End.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman saw his record-setting run as World Champion come to an end on December 30th as he lost the title to Samoa Joe in the main event of the show. Two days later the former World Champion was removed from the roster page, playing into “The Bidding War of 2024” storyline in which Friedman would frequently state that his contract was up on January 1st and he would go to whichever company would pay him the most money.
Although this was designed so that fans would believe that Friedman really was a free agent, the real reason for the removal from the roster page was that MJF required a significant amount of time off to recover from injuries sustained during his time as champion. Despite it being reported that Friedman was dealing with “a plethora” of injuries, the former World Champion wanted to see his reign through to the end and chose to work through the injuries instead of vacating the championship.
Friedman had been dealing with a number of injuries prior to the title loss to Joe, and was reportedly due for surgery that could have seen MJF miss up to a year of TV. Unlike other stars who have been sidelined with injuries, Friedman has given no updates on his road to recovery on social media and has not been a part of any interviews in 2024.
In a new update by PWInsider, Friedman is still recovering from multiple injuries and there is still a belief that he is a part of All Elite Wrestling despite the fact that he is not on the roster page. Additionally, the former World Champion made a rare appearance to meet with officials for the company as he was in Boston the day after the Big Business special. In regards to a potential return date, there is currently no indication of when that will be.
In an update in April, it has been reported that MJF has undergone shoulder surgery, increasing his return timetable even further.
MJF Explains Significance Of Headlining Worlds End
The title loss at Worlds End saw the former World Champion close out a marquee year in his professional wrestling career. Along with the lengthy reign as World Champion, Friedman also gained victories over Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega in critically acclaimed matches and headlined AEW’s first show inside Wembley Stadium. While being in the main event of All In was a career highlight, MJF explained why being in the main event of Worlds End was more important to him.
Everyone at Inside The Ropes would like to continue to wish MJF a full and speedy recovery.