MJF’s Moves Outside AEW Should Seriously Concern Tony Khan

Written by AC Nicodemus • Published Sep 11, 2025 01:30 EDT
MJF's new outside move could concern AEW President Tony Khan.

AEW Star MJF’s advances outside the squared circle should really concern CEO and President Tony Khan.

AEW President & CEO Tony Khan should reconsider having new top faces in his company, as MJF is about to venture into another commitment outside the company. The Jacksonville-based promotion is already losing some of its main gunners who are dealing with different injuries. It started with Will Ospreay, who will have surgery on the two herniated discs in his neck and was written off television by being taken out by The Death Riders at Forbidden Door.

Swerve Strickland will also undergo an operation for his torn meniscus that he’s been dealing with for six years, while Kenny Omega is also out of action and won’t be part of All Out in his home country of Canada due to specialized hospital visits, as he tweeted.

Now, MJF might be added to the mix of missing stars as he is slated to appear in another movie, which could seriously raise concerns for Khan and his company. He will join influencer Andrew “King Bach” Bachelor as part of the cast of the upcoming Christmas action comedy film Violent Night 2, starring David Harbour, for Universal Pictures and 87North.

The movie will be released on December 4, 2026, by Universal Pictures in all parts of the United States.

With MJF set to pursue an outside endeavor, Khan must be worried that his roster is running thin on top-tier talents. The AEW CEO should bring in new names and new faces in order for his company to stay in the game. The 42-year-old top executive can choose from either Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, HOOK, Nick Wayne, or Daniel Garcia, among other young stars he has at his disposal.

MJF Previously Had Movie Roles While Being Contracted to AEW

This is not the first time that Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been in the movies while being a talent for the Jacksonville-based promotion. In 2023, The Salt of the Earth was part of The Iron Claw, a movie about the legendary wrestling family, the Von Erichs.

He played the role of Lance Von Erich, a wrestler billed as part of the family but with no relation to them.

Two years later, the former AEW World Champion was part of Happy Gilmore 2, a sequel to the famed 1996 film of the same title. He was Adam Sandler’s (who played the lead role of Happy Gilmore) son, Gordie Gilmore. The movie was released last July 24th on Netflix.