Photo credit: AEW
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.
MJF Talks WWE Possibly Courting Him in 2024
MJF has teased playing the field when he becomes a free agent in 2024, and the AEW star addressed that in an interview with actor and former WWE creative writer Freddie Prinze Jr. published on Wednesday.
Appearing on the Wrestling with Freddie podcast (h/t Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News), MJF discussed his expectations for what WWE will do when his AEW contract expires:
“I genuinely believe WWE is going to be willing to do whatever it takes to get me to jump ship, because to have me is to pretty much take a sniper rifle and shoot the heart of All Elite Wrestling, because that is exactly what I am. I’m the glue because everybody around me hates my guts. Everybody wants to punch me in the face. I am the top tier guy that everybody has a problem with. When you take your biggest antagonist—even though, personally, I feel I’m a protagonist—when you take your biggest antagonist and you take them away, what do you have? What is the Batman without The Joker? He’s nobody. He is boring and has no intrigue whatsoever.
“There is just no success without having that thorn in your side. I got no problem being that thorn because it makes me a s–t ton of money. So, to answer your question, Fred, yeah, I do believe that these people are going to shill out a lot of cash for me.”
MJF has not been shy about discussing his free agency, going so far as to bring it up during promos on Dynamite and Rampage.
Perhaps MJF is merely playing up to his heel persona and making the potential bidding war part of his character, but the possibility also remains that he will test free agency and see what all parties have to offer.
If MJF does allow his contract to expire in 2024, there is little doubt that WWE would have plenty of interest in signing him.
MJF is already a top star in AEW and arguably the top heel at the age of 25. He hasn’t yet won the AEW World Championship, but it seems like only a matter of time before that happens.
Even without championship gold to his credit, MJF has proven indispensable to AEW due to his commitment to being a heel and his mic work, which is among the best in the business.
WWE continues to make record profits and will have no shortage of money to throw at MJF when the time comes, meaning he could be one of the biggest free agents in the history of pro wrestling two years from now.
Samoa Joe Open to Possibility of Joining AEW
In the wake of his WWE release, Samoa Joe isn’t ruling out the possibility of signing with AEW.
Appearing Tuesday on Busted Open (h/t Mukherjee), Joe was asked about his interest in AEW. While the former WWE NXT and United States champion was noncommittal, he didn’t shoot down the idea either, saying:
“I’m open to whatever opportunity. At this point, I’m blessed enough that I get to make decisions and get to work on things outside of wrestling, which is a rarity when you’re this far in and committed to the business. The discussions haven’t happened yet. I’ve got my team working on stuff and when they eventually connect, we’ll see if something gets worked out.”
The 42-year-old veteran was released by WWE in January, marking the second time in less than a year that he was cut loose by the company.
The first instance occurred in April 2021 when Joe was working his way back from injuries and serving as an announcer. He made his return in June as a special enforcer for NXT general manager William Regal.
Joe went on to beat Karrion Kross for the NXT Championship, but he relinquished the title and was taken off television soon after as NXT made the transition to NXT 2.0.
AEW is a potential landing spot for Joe if he decides to continue wrestling since the company has not shied away from signing former WWE Superstars.
At the same time, Joe has strong ties with other wrestling promotions as well, including Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor.
Joe was with Impact from 2005 to 2015, holding the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, TNA Television Championship, TNA Tag Team Championships and TNA X-Division Championship during his tenure.
Before and during his time in Impact, Joe wrestled for ROH from 2002 to 2007, winning the ROH World Championship and ROH Pure Championship one time each.
It was recently announced that Joe will be part of ROH’s inaugural Hall of Fame class, which could open the door for him to return when the promotion relaunches in April.
Joe has no shortage of options at his disposal, and it stands to reason that he will have multiple companies bidding for his services in the coming weeks and months.
The Miz Talks Preparing Logan Paul for WrestleMania
The Miz and social media star Logan Paul are teaming up at WrestleMania 38, and Paul has already impressed his partner.
In an interview with TMZ Sports this week, The Miz praised Paul and labeled him a quick learner.
Miz said training has been going “really well,” and was pleased with how quickly Paul picked up his Skull Crushing Finale finisher, saying: “Logan—I showed it to him like, once. Literally picked it up like that. I was like, ‘Oh, okay. This is gonna be fun!”
Last week, Miz introduced Paul as his surprise partner for his WrestleMania 38 tag team match against rivals Rey and Dominik Mysterio.
Miz and Paul seemed to work well together from the start, as they wiped out the Mysterios in the middle of the ring on Raw.
Paul isn’t new to WWE, as he had some involvement leading up to last year’s WrestleMania. Paul was ringside for the match between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, and he took a stunner from Owens afterward.
WrestleMania will mark his first official match, but there is reason for optimism based on the success celebrities have enjoyed at WrestleMania over the years.
Just last year, award-winning musician Bad Bunny teamed with Damian Priest against The Miz and John Morrison. Bad Bunny was highly impressive, and the manner in which Miz worked with him may have had something to do with it.
Paul has an athletic background as a former amateur wrestler and a part-time boxer, so all signs point toward him being able to make a successful transition to pro wrestling.
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