Bully Ray Reacts To MJF Losing Out On AEW All In Main Event

MJF's AEW World title loss to Kenny Omega has raised some eyebrows, with Bully Ray analyzing and questioning why Tony Khan made that decision. 

While speaking on "Busted Open," Ray said that MJF deserved a chance to defend his world title against Will Ospreay at All In in London, England. 

"First of all, Max has earned the right to be in the main event of that show [All In]. You cannot tell me any different. Max carries Dynamite," he said. "Now, we did talk about having Max versus Ospreay and that's the match we want to see and that's what should be the match, but we also did have a small side conversation about how — and I said this — I would understand the thought process, Tony's [Khan] thought process, if they went in with Kenny versus Ospreay because now you have your five-star match, which is what Tony is looking for, and also for the championship. He's getting the best of both worlds in that one match."

Ray believes the AEW audience would rather watch what he calls a "five-star match," one that would earn a five-star rating from Dave Meltzer, than a traditional good guy vs. bad guy feud, which he would've preferred.

"And on many levels, if you really look at an AEW fanbase and what drives them or meets them once you spend money on a product, is it a good guy, bad guy match or a five-star match? And that's why, from a business point of view, I understand the decision, and I gave Tony credit," added Ray.

AEW's All In pay-per-view, which will take place on August 30 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, has so far sold just over 29,000 tickets, well short of the approximately 50,000 tickets sold in 2024 and the 80,000 sold the year before. Bully Ray understands that Tony Khan may want to push for a match between Kenny Omega and hometown hero Will Ospreay to boost that number. 

He, though, feels that Khan and co. must change plans if the new match between Omega and Ospreay doesn't move the needle on ticket sales.

"Now, let's look at this from the perspective of maybe Tony thought, and this is all maybe, that Max versus Will, or the implication that it was going to be Max versus Will because it took Will time to win the tournament, did not drive ticket sales. So let's say Tony said, well, they're not buying tickets for good guy versus bad guy. Maybe they'll buy tickets for five-star matchup," he added. "Between now and Redemption, I think that they have to look at ticket sales and see if this puts a spike in sales and then come Redemption, maybe make a call on the fly as to do something else that would help promote ticket sales or stay the course." 

Ray thinks the hardcore AEW fans will attend All In in London, but believes AEW has to do something to draw the ones who are sitting on the fence.