MJF has cast serious doubt on his AEW future after he missed a scheduled meet and greet event, booking a flight out of Las Vegas amid speculation he wants to join WWE.
On May 28th MJF didn’t appear as advertised at an AEW Double or Nothing fan-fest. The star had been scheduled to appear at the event to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. It was reported that the non-appearance was legitimate and no one from the company was able to contact the star.
This was followed by a report which claimed that MJF had booked a flight out of Las Vegas where Double or Nothing is scheduled to take place. The report also detailed how AEW has recently made attempts to discuss a new contract with MJF, even offering “top performer money” to get him to sign an extension, but the 26-year-old has purportedly ignored those efforts and has kept to himself since his tensions with Tony Khan began a few weeks ago.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez explained that the strong rumour is that MJF wants to leave AEW and join WWE
“We know that he’s unhappy, we know that he wants to make more money.”
“The rumour that has been out there is that essentially he wants more money, Tony [Khan] will offer him more money if for example he extends his contract. But he doesn’t want to extend his contract. That right there would tell me that he wants out, because if you don’t want out and he’s willing to pay you more money, and extend the contract, if you didn’t want out, you’d extend the contract and make more money.”
Expanding further, Dave Meltzer added that should the ‘Salt of the Earth’ not appear at Double or Nothing, the situation would be similar to that of Sasha Banks and Naomi.
“Now we’re in the exact same situation as Naomi and Sasha Banks, although the stories are completely different. In the sense of, you can suspend him without pay legally, but at some point, you can’t do it for two years. So at some point he becomes a free agent. Obviously we know he wants to go to WWE, obviously, that’s the place to go.”
Alvarez continued by suggesting that following Cody Rhodes moving to WWE, the landscape within AEW has changed.
“There’s been a big shift among people in AEW, not that they, like, want out, but it’s definitely different in the sense that, I get the impression that more people are willing to go if they get a great offer. Whereas before a couple of years ago, it wasn’t like they wouldn’t go if they were offered tonnes of money but they were so happy to be there…
But now they’ve seen that Cody’s made a lot of money, he’s a top guy, and he’s getting pushed, now things absolutely have changed in terms of the way that people view potentially going to WWE.”
As the situation continues to develop, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp noted that MJF didn’t get on the flight.
He wasn't on the plane
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) May 29, 2022
The news comes days after AEW President Tony Khan praised MJF for blurring the lines between fiction and reality while answering a question from Inside The Ropes’ Kenny McIntosh on AEW’s pre-Double or Nothing media call. Khan suggested that professional wrestling is at it’s best when real-life gets mixed in with the on-screen presentation.
In response to the comments, MJF tweeted “F*cking lol. F*ck this place man” before quickly deleting his response. These latest incidents come after it was reported that the star is considering leaving his current employer when his contract expires.
A three-time Dynamite Diamond Ring winner, Maxwell Jacob Friedman has mentioned the prospect of him joining WWE on a variety of occasions. He’s claimed he would indeed join the company if the offer was right, addressed comparisons between himself and The Miz, and most recently, praised the WWE Performance Center.
At the moment, MJF is still scheduled to take on Wardlow at Double or Nothing in one of the most high-profile matches on the card.
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