MJF Declines To Comment On Recent AEW Backstage Controversies
In the words of the old WWE stable Evolution, MJF is paid, laid, and made. The AEW star recently appeared on the "MMA Hour" with Ariel Helwani, who asked point-blank about the rumors of MJF buying a plane ticket out of Las Vegas during Double or Nothing weekend in May.
"I cannot confirm or deny there being a plane ticket," MJF said. "What I will say is this: I'm a business man. I do what I have to, to ensure it's done. It got done. I'm back. I'm making a stupid, absurd amount of money now, and I didn't have to sign a contract extension."
MJF said that he was "very clear" with AEW CEO Tony Khan. "I said, 'Pay up or daddy doesn't show up.' Fact. So, I took my now beautiful fiancee to Greece. We went to Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, and then on the last few days of the trip we went to Venice in Italy. I then went home and I stayed home. I did not leave my home, because I did not want one single solitary wrestling fan to see me out in the wild. Because they don't deserve to see me unless I'm getting paid to be seen, and that's why the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist, which is exactly what I did, for three straight months. I take what I do very seriously. If you want to see a star, pay to see that star."
'I don't deal in rumor and innuendo'
MJF returned to AEW at AEW All Out in the Casino Ladder Match after receiving what he described as a "stupid bump in pay." When Helwani asked if Khan wanted MJF to stay with the company, he retorted, "If it was up to Tony Khan I'd be signed until 2060." The Casino Ladder Match winner says that it's very likely he'll win the AEW World Championship, and he describes it as "the greatest bargaining chip."
The topic then moved to CM Punk's recent tirade against the AEW EVPs, which led to a locker room brawl that was rumored to have been witnessed by MJF.
"I cannot comment on the press conference," MJF said. "All I can say is this: I don't deal in rumor and innuendo."
When asked why he refused to comment, MJF replied, "I don't want to. It doesn't apply to me. It doesn't concern me." What does concern MJF is that, when he's in the ring or on the mic, "we pop a huge number."
"If people leave, come, go, stay," MJF continued, nonplussed, "people are going to step up to the plate."