MJF Undergoes Surgery; No Timetable For AEW Return

Written by Craig Ballantyne • Published Apr 28, 2024 08:00 EDT
MJF standing at top of ramp on AEW Dynamite

MJF has hit a major setback on his road to recovery.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been out of action since losing the AEW World Championship to Samoa Joe at World’s End back in December. At the time, MJF was said to be dealing with multiple injuries but had wanted to see his title reign through before taking time off.

Now, WrestlePurists has reported that Friedman has suffered a blow to his recovery as he has undergone surgery on his left shoulder, confirming a post from Jason Solomon who noted that the procedure was needed after physical therapy failed to resolve the injury.

According to WrestlePurists, the star was originally aiming to get back to AEW by March and had even met with Tony Khan to discuss creative plans. Unfortunately, that target was missed, and there is currently no timetable for when Friedman will be able to make his return.

In recent news, MJF returned to AEW at Double or Nothing.

Tony Khan Comments On MJF’s AEW Absence

At the press conference following AEW Dynasty, Tony Khan addressed Friedman’s recent absence, saying he would love to have the star back “really soon.”

“MJF, one of the biggest stars in AEW, we haven’t seen him in recent months. I would love to get MJF back here sooner. Sooner than later, like really soon. We have so many great things happening and I think that would be really added. He’s one of our great wrestlers and we’ve had great things happening in AEW lately.

“A lot of great milestones in the last couple of months. Everything is going great for AEW right now, that would be something that would add a lot. That’d be awesome to have MJF back, and soon, I would love that.”

Commenting on MJF, one Hall of Famer has advised the former World Champion to take less risks.

In the latest MJF update, return plans for the former World Champion are in discussion.

H/T to Fightful for the above transcription.