AEW President Tony Khan has explained the state of his current relationship with MJF after a turbulent 2022 for the two men.
Problems arose in the lead-up to the Double Or Nothing pay-per-view in May when stories circulated that MJF wasn’t happy with his current deal in AEW with suggestions that he might even no show his advertised match with Wardlow on the show.
In the end, MJF did compete but on the following episode of Dynamite he cut a scathing promo on the company and Tony Khan in which he implored Khan to “fire me you f*cking mark.” MJF then disappeared from AEW screens with very little information coming from either side as to his future.
This was somewhat resolved at All Out when MJF returned to confront then-AEW World Champion CM Punk. A masked Maxwell Jacob Friedman had won the Casino Ladder Match in the evening but it was only at the end of the show that this was revealed.
Now in an interview with Variety, Tony Khan has discussed the current state of his relationship with the three-time Dynamite Diamond ring winner:
“It’s very professional. He’s been part of AEW from day one, and he’s one of the most important stars on our TV show. … Whether you love MJF or love to hate MJF, I think he’s one of the wrestlers who’s connected with the audience in recent years and made himself a star.”
“He’s also had the company behind him to help build him and support him. I think that he is the total package of everything it takes to be a successful pro wrestler. I think he has it all. He’s a really important part of AEW.”
It was also noted in the interview that Khan is remaining tight-lipped on the situation regarding CM Punk, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega as the investigation into their fight is still ongoing.