MJF Is Now Pro Wrestling’s Hottest Star After Explosive Promo on AEW Dynamite

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Professional wrestling is, has been and always will be at its very best when rooted in reality, as fans witnessed Wednesday night when 26-year-old MJF stood in the center of the All Elite Wrestling ring and cut a scathing promo on company owner Tony Khan, his disenfranchisement with his perceived value to the promotion he has been with since day one, and his desire to no longer be there. 

A show-stealing match with Jungle Boy at Double or Nothing 2020, a main event feud with Chris Jericho, an extraordinary program with CM Punk and a storyline in which he single-handedly elevated Wardlow’s star all proved that MJF was not only a star of the future but a young professional wrestler ready to grab the industry by the grapefruits right now and run at the top of the card.

So it is easy to see why a guy responsible for so many memorable matches, moments and promos would be frustrated by the idea of former WWE guys infiltrating the company and making “four to five times” what he is, as reported by PWTorch’s Wade Keller. 

Guys like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Malakai Black, Christian Cage, Adam Cole and Mark Henry. 

Yes, Henry, the former world heavyweight champion and Hall of Famer whose past greatness is undeniable but whose only on-screen role with AEW is his weekly, Friday night catchphrase, “it’s time for the main event!” 

The other guys are undeniably high-profile, sure, but they all arrived at AEW only after competitors like MJF busted their asses to lay the groundwork and ensure the young promotion would be a success; after The Salt of the Earth repeatedly proved his value in feuds against the very best the industry has to offer.

His frustration and anger over the lack of reciprocity by Khan was and is absolutely fair. The list of genuine stars MJF has worked with to help strengthen, grow and evolve the AEW product is awe-inspiring and to think that he is so grossly underpaid, at least according to the aforementioned report, is insulting to the reader let alone the talent himself.

It should be of no great surprise, then, that tensions boiled over in Las Vegas; that MJF no-showed a meet and greet at the AEW Fan Fest and reportedly booked a flight out of town before a significantly advertised match with Wardlow.

He showed up, did business and appropriately paid off the months-long storyline with Wardlow, ensuring the big man got the moment he had been working toward for the better part of two years, but that was not at all to suggest things had improved between him and Khan.

All of MJF’s reported points of frustration were laid out, in a very public fashion, in a promo that not only instantaneously made him the hottest wrestler in the business but replicated that of his childhood idol and, in the process, set him up for the most significant run of his young career.

Pipebomb

The wrestling world knew MJF could talk way before he took to the ring Wednesday night on Dynamite. He was regularly heralded as one of the best promos in the business, thanks in large part to his ability to get under the audience’s skin and, more importantly, the conviction with which he spoke. 

Act or not, no one had any problem believing that the young, scarf-wearing heel believed every word that spewed out of his mouth. The pipebomb he unleashed on the post-Double or Nothing episode of Dynamite, though, was an entirely different beast.

Whether it was a shoot, work, or something in between, the explosive promo MJF delivered just a half-hour into the broadcast blew everything else on the show away and left fans buzzing. He talked about his frustration over his perceived value, namedropped WWE when talking about the new guys Khan has brought in and paid exorbitant amounts of money for and admitted he no longer wants to be in AEW. 

It played to preconceived notions about his real-life feelings for his employer, his status as the best in the world, a contract that is very legitimately up in January of 2024 and his disenfranchisement with a company that does not at all resemble the one he helped build beginning three years earlier.

The promo was based in reality and the fans recognized it as such. More importantly, MJF spoke with such angry conviction, and the look on his face was so reflective of a genuinely fed-up young man, that it was easy to buy everything he was selling.

Was it mostly genuine, brimming with actual complaints and criticisms? Probably. Was it part of an expertly concocted plan by MJF and Khan to take real-life animosity and project it on television, both for the sake of the television show and possibly public therapy? Most likely.

And therein lies the beauty of it: even if this is a work, that is hardly a bad thing. Much like CM Punk’s famed pipebomb promo in 2011, also very much rooted in reality and mounting frustrations, MJF’s promo has the ability to make him the biggest star in the company and the most sought-after entity in the industry.

The money he feels he is owed for his work? It will come tenfold as a result of what he accomplished Wednesday night. He was given the floor to voice his frustrations and, even if Khan was in on the whole thing and it proves to be one giant work concocted to elevate MJF’s star and drive fans to AEW television, it works for all involved.

MJF’s star burns brighter than it ever has (and with that comes a larger payday), AEW gains new viewers and fans are enthralled by the “is it or isn’t it real?” nature of the storyline. Even if Khan fails to pony up the money MJF feels is fair for everything he has done and will eventually accomplish, somewhere, Vince McMahon is licking his chops at the prospect of writing the pro wrestling prodigy a check with more zeros than AEW Dark Elevation has squash matches.

As of Thursday morning, AEW Dynamite was still trending at No. 3 on Twitter. The most talked-about topic? MJF, and we should not be surprised.

We have seen this play out before in the aforementioned Punk promo. MJF did not do or say anything that his idol and on-screen foe did not in his own industry-shaking promo, right down to voicing frustration over other stars receiving accolades he believes he should have, assigning blame to fans for not supporting him and ranting his way right into his mic being cut off.

Just like Punk a decade ago, MJF is suddenly the hottest act in wrestling. How AEW follows up on his promo will be key to either protecting itself against his claims if it was, indeed, a shoot or ensuring it can build on the angle’s momentum moving forward.