MJF Says MLW Contract Prevented Him From Going To WWE But Not AEW

MJF discusses his decision to sign with AEW.

Earlier this month, Maxwell Jacob Friedman signed a five-year extension with All Elite Wrestling. Before starting with AEW on a full-time basis, MJF will finish out his commitments to Major League Wrestling.

Appearing on Talk is Jericho, MJF talked with Chris Jericho about his decision to sign with AEW despite rumored interest from WWE.

“[After All In], Cody [Rhodes] pulled me to the side and was like, ‘I’m sure you’re going to have a much easier time now going to [WWE].’ At the time, I was signed to Major League Wrestling. I had signed a three-year deal with MLW, and in my contract it stated, I could not work for WWE,” revealed MJF. “At no point in the contract did it state anything about AEW because AEW was not even a thing yet. Once we figured out the logistics of everything, and Court [Bauer] was 100 percent cool [with it]. I lucked out. Cody hit me up and said, ‘Here’s my friend TK.’ Tony Khan. Don’t know if you’ve ever heard of him. Me and Tony talked for about an hour and a half. In my head, I had two ideas. There were rumblings that there was interest for me from [WWE]. But once I got to talk to Tony, I instantly went, ‘This is where I’m supposed to go.’ The idea of someone walking up to me and being like, ‘Hey kid, here’s what we want out of you. Here’s what you’re going to do.’ I don’t do well with that. Nobody can tell me how I talk.”

Even though MJF didn’t give it a second thought on signing with AEW, that doesn’t mean WWE wasn’t his goal when he started as a professional wrestler.

“Of course [WWE was my goal]. If somebody says [WWE] wasn’t their goal, I think they’re lying. But once I found out about [AEW] and who was running it and involved in it. I knew what I wanted for me. That’s not me shitting on WWE. I think Tony [Khan] is 100 percent accurate when he says they are not our competition. We’re not trying to compete with anybody. We’re doing our own thing. We are showcasing professional wrestling the way it should always be showcased; as sport.”

MJF was victorious at AEW Fight For The Fallen, teaming with Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara to defeat the trio of Joey Janela, Jimmy Havoc, and Darby Allin. He is not currently booked for a match at AEW All Out.