Tony Khan Comments On Reported WWE Interest In MJF

The AEW President responds to reports of WWE being "very interested" in the Salt of the Earth.

by Andrew Pollard
MJF Full Gear
AEW

Last week brought news that WWE, FOX and USA Network all had huge interest in one Maxwell Jacob Freidman, with it clearly obvious to absolutely everybody everywhere just what a talent AEW's Salt of the Earth is.

During an interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri, AEW President Tony Khan addressed this rumoured interest in Max, stating how he encourages such praise.

As Khan explained:

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“I think that’s great. I encourage that. I think they should keep talking about him, because he’s a wrestler that’s a big part of AEW and is signed here for a few more years. So, I think please keep giving us that buzz because he’s been getting great ratings for his segments and those have also been featuring CM Punk pretty regularly as they continue to interact. They’ve had a war of words and now there’ll be on opposite sides of this huge trios match where you got Sting [and] Darby Allin teaming with CM Punk against MJF and FTR. I think that’s great. You know, [WWE] had some wrestlers I really wanted to sign there and I signed him [Punk], Bryan Danielson and Adam [Cole] and Ruby Soho."

In terms of last week's story, Andrew Zarian of the Wrestling Observer reported that "multiple people" from both FOX and USA Network had reached out to him directly to discuss MJF. Likewise, one network employee explained to Zarian that an MJF segment with CM Punk caused them to stop what they were doing - which is something that person had not done for a long time when it comes to pro wrestling.

Ever stirring the pot, MJF himself has since taken to Twitter to tease "the bidding war of 2024" amidst reports that his current AEW contract expires in 2024.

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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.