Over the last few months, MHF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman) has been hinting more and more about the end of his AEW contract in 2024 and how he’ll go to the WWE.
For the most part, fans and critics have taken it as part of his storyline with CM Punk after Punk walked away from the WWE in 2014.
Interestingly enough, MJF sent in an audition tape for WWE’s Tough Enough, but was turned down. He used that and the inspiration from Punk to become arguably the best heel in the business today.
But now the story took a weird turn as MJF appeared on Ariel Helwani’s podcast reportedly without permission from AEW and it led to a confrontation/heated exchange with Tony Kahn.
Possible friction
According to Fightful, MJF, or any talent, needs permission to do interviews and he didn’t get it for this interview. Why or how true that is is open for discussion.
Fightful also reported MJP and Kahn met for an hour and left with neither of them appearing pleased.
During the interview, MJF talked about his contract and did indeed point out that it ends on January 1, 2024. He didn’t really deny he’s heard from people from the WWE. In fact, he kinda hinted at it.
It looks like there wouldn’t have been an issue had he waited to have his interview request approved by AEW’s PR group.
Chances are this was either a miscommunication or MJF knows his worth and is pushing the envelope a little to see what he can get away with.
There until the end
One thing that came out of his interview was MJF saying he won’t resign with AEW until after his contract expires, so that gives credence to him knowing he’s good and he can exploit that.
It also means he could trigger a bidding war if he continues to thrive after his rebirth with Punk, and that could get very interesting when the time comes.
What’s cool about MJF is it’s been reported that he listens to the older wrestlers about what works and what doesn’t, and he works hard to follow their lead.
Oddly enough, he’s arguably the best heel today, but 20 years ago he probably would’ve just been one of many, so it shows the difference between today’s product and yesteryear and how he wants to stay faithful to those that inspired him.
We can expect to hear more on his worth and his contract over the coming weeks and months, but especially nearing the end of 2023.
Do you think this was a misunderstanding or something more? Let us know in the comments below.
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