Maxwell Jacob Friedman hasn’t been seen on AEW TV since his pipe bomb on June first where he ripped into Tony Kahn and the former WWE wrestlers that came there and are making more than him.
He closed it out with a barrage of curses while demanding Kahn fire him. The promo divided fans on whether it was a work or not, but it’s been looking more and more like a work in the days after the promo
Since then, Kahn’s “suspended” him without pay and his merchandise was removed from the AEW website.
Warner Bros. Discovery higher ups that happened to be there that night have played their role, assuming they’re in on it, have decreed MJF be removed from all promotional material since.
Jericho’s advice
Chris Jericho weighed in on it shortly after the promo and suspension, and he recently appeared on TalkSPORT with Alex McCarthy to further weigh in.
He offered an interesting insight about how he understands why MFJ wants to leave AEW, but thinks he should stay.
“MJF is 26. He has a lot to learn. He’s not as good as he thinks he is and it really is nothing to do with me, but I’m sure he’ll be back. 18 months is a long time to stay at home and that’s Tony Kahn’s prerogative. You’re under contract, you want to stay at home? You can stay at home and not get paid and that’s what happens. We see it happen in other companies and that’s just how it goes. If you didn’t expect that, then why did you sign your contract in the first place?”
Jericho talked about whether or not MJF’s character would be watered down in the WWE if he goes there, and he sounded certain. After all, he knows Vince and the WWE well.
“Oh absolutely. He’s better off staying in AEW. But, again, don’t stick your finger in the light socket. You tell a little kid not to do that and they’re going to do it to see what happens. I’m not going to tell anybody not to go elsewhere because I did it. I did it for years. I did it to come to AEW. I walked away from WWE.
“When I signed my AEW contract Vince McMahon said, ‘Can you get out of it?’ – No, you told me to go here! Same thing happened when I left WCW to come to WWE. Sometimes you got to take a chance and if you believe in yourself and you feel you aren’t getting your dues, then you gotta go elsewhere.”
As he said, Jericho’s been through this type of thing before, and he’s got the track record and experience that would make him ideal to go to for advice.
That being said, we’re still convinced the MJF angle is a work and Jericho’s playing his part by being the elder statesman sharing his insight. If it’s not a work, then we hope MJF is listening.
What do you think about Jericho’s advice? Let us know in the comments below.
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