While he thinks Vince McMahon left behind a “gigantic legacy,” MJF believes that WWE is better now than when McMahon was in charge.
On July 22nd Vince McMahon announced his retirement as CEO and Chairman of WWE. The announcement came as McMahon remains under investigation regarding allegations that he paid a former employee $3 million in “hush money” after the pair had an affair. More allegations have since been made public, including claims that McMahon paid four women more than $12 million across 16 years as part of similar agreements.
In the wake of McMahon’s retirement, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named co-CEO’s of the company while Triple H took over as both Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and head of WWE creative. Triple H’s job title has since been upgraded to Chief Content Officer.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, AEW’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman addressed the shock news of McMahon’s retirement and said that the former Chairman was leaving a great legacy behind.
“He has left a gigantic legacy in the history of the business. There is a lot of stuff that’s came out. We don’t know what’s real, we don’t know what’s fake. I think it’s still all under investigation, rumor and innuendo, but, I can say yes, yeah, I grew up watching the guy, I thought he was tremendously talented.”
In recent months on AEW television, MJF has consistently referenced the “bidding war of 2024,” a reference to the year his AEW contract expires and when he might be lured to WWE if the money is right. When speaking about the current WWE product under Triple H in the months since McMahon’s retirement, MJF believes the product is better now and says that AEW is also continuing to improve as competition helps both brands.
“I think it’s better and it’s really good and I think our product is also better… I think it’s great, 100%… You don’t want a monopoly in any industry unless you’re in charge of the monopoly. I’m in charge of the MJF monopoly, there is nobody like me. But, you don’t want a monopoly in professional wrestling. You want a place so I can do what I’m doing which is allow myself to get the best possible deal. If you love professional wrestling, then you want All Elite Wrestling to succeed.”
Elsewhere in the interview, MJF discussed whether he was making less money than IMPACT and ROH stars before he agreed to return to AEW at All Out, where he won the Casino Ladder Match with the help of Stokely Hathaway and the men who would go on to be known as The Firm.
h/t WrestlingInc