AEW’s ongoing behind-the-scenes drama with MJF’s contract situation continues to dominate headlines about the company and has drawn a lot of interest from around the wrestling world. Last night, it culminated with MJF unleashing a fiery rant on AEW: Dynamite’s latest episode. The spectacular promo convinced many fans invested in the drama that this was all a work and that the “drama” and perhaps even the contract dispute was just a guise to draw interest. That’s what I thought at least, right up until news spread that AEW has purged him from its website, and now I’m really wondering where this is going.
AEW is not currently selling MJF’s merchandise on its website, nor is his name on the roster, which is never a good sign for a wrestler in any company. WrestlingNews.Co first reported the news, which has left many wrestling fans confused on what to believe. Is this a sign that MJF is truly on his way out of AEW, or is it just more elaborate stunts to make it appear there’s more tension between MJF and AEW owner Tony Khan than there actually is?
All this happened after a particularly noisy weekend. MJF was scheduled to fight Wardlow at the promotion's Double Or Nothing PPV, but after he reportedly no-showed a fan event, rumors start swirling that he might not show up for the big event. He did and also showed up on the latest episode of AEW: Dynamite, delivering a promo for the ages.
Over the course of seven minutes, MJF addressed his displeasure with his contract, his belief he deserves to be paid more than many other wrestlers on the roster, and even called out Tony Khan personally a handful of times about hiring disgruntled WWE stars and not letting him out of his contract. It was all said with a level of malice that caused many wrestling fans to believe it was fake. Because who in their right mind would give their most disgruntled employee a hot mic at a live event? That’s especially true when Warner Discovery executives were reportedly in attendance, so it’s hard to believe this isn’t a work on some level, especially after the company saw how much the wrestling world reacted to Cody Rhodes’ abrupt exit.
At the same time, there are a lot of rumors and allegations from wrestling insiders that while AEW might be letting MJF go off-the-rails on television, the behind-the-scenes issues were very real at the beginning. MJF is reportedly unhappy with his current AEW contract and is apparently seriously considering entertaining offers from the WWE when it expires in 2024. AEW removing him from the roster will undoubtedly raise some suspicions that he was fired for causing too many problems, though, as mentioned, it could just be something to amplify the storyline element.
It might also give MJF some time away to reflect on everything going on, and perhaps reset this whole situation. We obviously don’t know a lot, and it’s always hard to find the absolute truth in pro wrestling when the reality of situations is often blurred. One thing that’s clear is that it’s about the most captivating story in pro wrestling right now. So, if this is a work and he's off television for awhile, that seems like an odd decision. All I can say is I don’t really know what’s real anymore in this situation, but I’m eager to see how it plays out all the same.
AEW: Dynamite airs on TBS on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Now is a good time to get invested in wrestling in general, as Peacock premium subscribers can check out Hell in a Cell on Sunday, June 5th.
