MJF Says Indie Wrestlers Suck & Are Lazy (AEW News)

"You're not signed yet because you f**king suck."

MJF
AEW

Speaking to Jon Alba for SI (via f4wonline), AEW's MJF has hit out at certain independent talents, calling them "lazy" and saying they outright "suck".

The current two-time AEW World Champion had praise for Alec Price and Zilla Fatu, whom he wrestled earlier this year for Limitless and House of Glory, respectively - Price having since signed with AEW - but believes more wrestlers simply need to be doing more.

As MJF explained:

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"I think a lot of these guys suck. And the guys that I'm wrestling on these independents are the guys that are working hard and making the towns and doing everything they need to become better talents."

The Salt of the Earth continued:

"I think a lot of these new guys are lazy. They're not getting in the car, they're not travelling to do ring crew."

Max wrapped up with:

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"You're not signed yet because you f**king suck. Get better. Apply yourself. Go to training three to four times a week. Find a ring. Roll around. Make yourself better. Do tape study. Become a student of the sport."

Prior to signing with AEW upon the promotion's launch, MJF made a name for himself as one of the hottest rising stars on the independent scene, dating back to his early days in Create A Pro Wrestling, to CZW, to Alpha-1, to House of Glory, to Beyond, to GCW, to Defy, to Limitless, to AAW, and plenty, plenty more, both domestically and internationally, before picking up even more eyes for his work in MLW, either as a singles star or teaming with his Dynasty buddies.

Regarding his own time working the independent scene, MJF noted that he'd travel anywhere in America, Mexico, and Canada for "$20 and a can of Coke and a hot dog and a handshake", all with the aim of wanting to get more experience and make himself a better pro wrestler.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.