Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Tony Kahn’s relationship, personal and professional, may be nearing a crossroads if reports from Wade Keller are correct.
There’s been disharmony in AEW between the two for a few months now, following their pair reportedly being very close as they’d constantly talk about storyline and match ideas.
MJF has mentioned leaving for the WWE several times as well as citing how WWE talent coming in are being paid far more than he is. He’s also reportedly being paid less than some mid carders despite a pay raise in January.
Wade Keller appeared on a recent PWTorch.com show where he talked about the problem between Tony Kahn and MJF, and said his source backed up what MJF has stated. Special thanks to wrestlingnews.co for the following segments.
Growing issues
Keller said it was mutually agreed on by the two parties that MJF not appear at the meet and greet due to him being in a bad place, but the Double or Nothing weekend would help them reach an agreement of sorts.
“This weekend was circled, I was told, as a weekend that people in AEW were hoping that Tony and MJF could sit down and hash out their differences. There was just hope that cooler heads would prevail. Tony Khan on social media can come across sometimes as defensive. But his demeanor otherwise, at least from anything anybody’s seen that I’ve talked to is pretty calm, cool, collected…MJF is a little different. MJF gets really worked up. And by all accounts, he’s been so worked up that he just became sort of withdrawn and bitter to observers and people who have been around him or observed him at Dynamite lately.”
He continued by saying their issues may have started when MJF did the interview with Ariel Helwani in April without permission. It broke protocol and Tony wasn’t upset by it but wanted to stress bypassing AEW’s PR department shouldn’t happen again.
The conversation didn’t go as planned as it snowballed into MJF being frustrated with his contact status and that appears to be the breaking point in their relationship as MJF is upset he didn’t get an early renegotiation offer and his contract expires in 18 months at the start of 2024.
“MJF signed an original starter contract with AEW that was in the range of probably dozens of other early signees who have been with AEW ever since. …Nobody’s moved higher than MJF, among those on those starter deals. And by a starter deal, a very broad loose range is like $40,000 to $70,000. Like, you can make a living but you know, it’s a starter deal. …this was among the people who started signing starter contracts, people without a lot of leverage and any national TV exposure. “
“MJF was given a raise once since he signed with AEW. So he’s making substantially more than the starter contract, like hundreds of thousands of dollars but it is modest compared to the contracts of more than a half a dozen free agent signings AEW has made over the past year…Christian, Mark Henry, Malakai Black, Adam Cole, Bryan Danielson, CM Punk. There’s six right there. And I know I’m leaving off a few more…All of them are making more than MJF right now. Like I’m told that with confidence.
“He felt that his work, his professionalism, his rapport and friendship with Tony Kahn would have led to Tony renegotiating his deal, when there was about two years left. And by the time January 1 2022 came around, yes, he got a new contract and a raise…But MJF was thinking, ‘Hey, come on, Tony, approach me, get me on the level of some of these people that you keep bringing in. I’m doing great work, and I’m drawing great ratings.’ And when Tony didn’t do that MJF the way he handled it was to get very angry privately and then it kind of exploded. And I think Tony was caught off guard by how angry MJF was getting…”
Fiction becomes reality
Keller also talked about how MJF’s angle with wanting to leave started as a storyline with a sweepstakes ending that would’ve finished with a face turn for MJF by being a pro-WWE guy but deciding to remain with AEW.
But fiction became reality, and after not being approached to renegotiate to be paid like other top stars in AEW, MJF’s mood has shifted.
Now, it’s being reported that MJF’s mood went from passionate and enthusiastic to withdrawn and disgruntled. He shows up and does the job, but it’s strictly business for him now.
MJF has been the top heel in AEW since day one, and while he grew a little stale for a while, he seemed rejuvenated when working with CM Punk and he’s quickly reasserted himself as one of the best heels in the business.
We hope he and Tony can work something out as he could become their version of Ric Flair and help carry the company for years to come.
What do you think? Is their relationship salvageable? Let us know in the comments below.
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