MJF currently holds the top position in AEW as the company’s World Champion. However, his status as the company’s top star may change next year. MJF has previously mentioned the upcoming expiration of his contract with AEW, and recent developments suggest it’s increasingly likely that he won’t remain with the company beyond next year.
AEW World Champion MJF has consistently featured in nearly all of AEW’s PPVs over the years. He was among the initial wrestlers to join AEW and quickly gained popularity
Potential reason for MJF’s absence from advertisement
At AEW Dynamite this week, Tony Khan announced that tickets for All In London 2 will be going on sale from December 1 onwards. The event will take place at Wembley Stadium at London, on August 25, 2024. Following the company’s official press release of All In, fans quickly noticed that the AEW World Champion MJF was reportedly missing from the list of superstars announced for the event.
Furthermore, Tony Khan revealed the new poster for AEW All In London 2 next year, and it featured a bunch of superstars such as Adam Copeland, Kenny Omega, Christian Cage, Darby Allin and many more. However, MJF was nowhere to be seen on the poster, which caused a great amount of concern among fans.
While there’s no official reason for his current absence, it’s worth noting that the contract of the AEW World Champion is set to expire on January 1, 2024. This situation could imply that MJF may not intend to renew his contract with AEW, which might explain his absence from the event next year. MJF has previously commented on the status of his contract with AEW, suggesting that there might be a ‘bidding war’ for his services when his contract concludes with Tony Khan’s promotion. He has also made it clear that he wouldn’t entertain offers below seven figures and has expressed openness to signing with WWE at some point.
WWE HOFer questions MJF booking
At AEW Collision last Saturday, MJF successfully defended his World Championship against Kenny Omega. This match was a result of a direct confrontation between the two stars on the October 25 edition of AEW Dynamite. The lack of buildup to a match between two of the biggest stars of the promotion was questioned by many, even WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff recently.
Speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff questioned AEW and Tony Khan’s decision to book the championship match between MJF and Kenny Omega with no prior buildup, promotion or story.
“With no advanced promotion, no story, just announce it, and do it … I’m not going to be critical of putting it on live TV for obvious reasons, because AEW, Tony Khan, has to service their client. Their client, in addition to the audience, their client is the network,” said Bischoff.
He continued, “Here I just have questions — If you’re going to put MJF and Omega on free TV — number one on a Saturday night, when you’re up to game 2 of the World Series and college football, you know you’re going to get your a** handed to you. And to make that match on a Saturday night against that kind of competition when you know no matter what you, you’re going to get your a** handed to you, that makes me question it even more.”
While Bischoff’s complaint about the match does make sense, it still made for a great fight between the two top stars of the company. Hopefully we get to see them share the ring once again before MJF’s contract eventually expires with the company next year.
