AEW Champ MJF Dismisses Participation In Classic Wrestling Event: 'I'm Good On That'

By Max Everett
MJF holding his title belt AEW

For decades, New Japan Pro-Wrestling's G1 Climax tournament, infamous for its grueling schedule, has attracted fans and wrestlers alike as the litmus test for those competing in "the King of Sports". Pitting 32 wrestlers against one another, separated into two round-robin blocks, the G1 sees every competitor wrestle at least seven matches over the course of 19 days. But despite his promotion's strong working relationship with NJPW, AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman won't be throwing his hat in that particular ring anytime soon. 

"I don't understand why wrestlers keep saying [they] want to do the G1," MJF said Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter. "That s*** is exhausting. I'm good on that."

MJF has made clear both his disdain for NJPW and wrestling a packed schedule in the past. He was far from impressed when he was booked to defend his title at this year's AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view, where he eventually defeated NJPW's "Ace," Hiroshi Tanahashi, to open the night. And he also dubbed NJPW an "indie-fed" in a tirade against the promotion earlier this year. Of course, all that occurred prior to the champion's unlikely babyface turn, which occurred as part of his ongoing storyline with Adam Cole in the lead-up to AEW All In back in August. Since then, Friedman's social media presence has been decidedly less caustic, but he's still finding ways to take shots at New Japan while maintaining his "Your Scumbag" persona — and regardless of his alignment, he's clearly never going to get behind the idea of wrestling multiple matches in short periods of time.

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