All Elite Wrestling has been without its biggest homegrown star for all of 2024. Maxwell Jacob Friedman spent all of 2023 at the pinnacle of AEW, reigning as AEW World Champion and headlining multiple pay-per-view events in the process. The career-long villain even embraced the light during this run, turning babyface this past summer and solidifying himself as the face of AEW in the process. As the year wound down, injuries began to catch up with the self-proclaimed generational talent, leaving MJF hanging on by a thread come AEW Worlds End. MJF would lose his title to Samoa Joe at that event and suffer a vicious attack at the hands of former friend Adam Cole and the newly-minted Undisputed Kingdom. He has not been seen on television since.
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AEW Working MJF Into Storylines Again?
It may not be long before the Burberry is back on AEW programming.
As reported by PWInsider, Maxwell Jacob Friedman recently traveled to Boston to “meet with AEW officials” on the day after AEW Dynamite: Big Business, a televised special that took place in the aforementioned Massachusetts capital. It was noted that MJF is “still working to recover from multiple injuries” that he suffered in the tail end of 2023.
MJF’s AEW return appears to be leaning on a when, not if. It was noted that “the belief” is that MJF “remains locked into a deal” with AEW despite the “bidding war of 2024” storyline that had been teased on AEW programming as far back as Fall 2021. MJF’s free agency teases were most prevalent during his heel run, as his shift towards being a fan-favorite in Summer 2023 led to him showing more on-screen loyalty to his employer. While neither AEW or MJF have made any official comments on his contract status, it has been rumored that MJF quietly signed a long-term extension with AEW at some point last year.
“How much left is there to do?” MJF told ComicBook.com when asked about his next five-year plan. “There are names that I would like to add to my hit list as far as guys that I get to be inside the squared circle with, whether it be bumping microphones or bumping ’em in the ring with my fist. Swerve Strickland is one of them. I think people don’t realize how many dudes there are in this company that I’ve not really interacted with or that I’ve barely interacted with. If I do stay, that intrigues me. Then you think about all the opportunities for me to wrestle guys I have not interacted with if I don’t stay. It’s all very interesting.”
