MJF did not hold back when discussing former AEW talent who he believes treated the company like a stepping stone to WWE.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show (see video below), the former AEW World Champion spoke candidly about what he sees as a major culture shift within the AEW locker room following the departure of several talents.
In particular, MJF singled out Malakai Black as someone he felt never fully bought into the company long-term.
Black was released by WWE last month, and speculation has already surfaced regarding a potential AEW return once his 90-day non-compete clause expires. Based on MJF’s comments, however, it sounds like many within the locker room would not be enthusiastic about that possibility.
According to MJF, morale improved once wrestlers who viewed AEW as a temporary stop were no longer around.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that [the biggest offender was] Malakai Black,” MJF said. “But I don’t know the guy, like, on a personal level. Do I think he’s a bad guy? No. Do I think he was a mark for wanting to have his, ‘Oh, I need my Mania moment.’ Yeah, and there were a couple of guys like that, and they got weeded out.”
MJF continued by saying some of those talents may now be realizing things did not work out the way they expected after leaving AEW.
“And then they went over there and some of them found out the grass isn’t greener,” MJF continued. “And perhaps some of them did, for them the grass was greener. But I’d say a majority of the guys that were like, ‘I’m just going to use All Elite Wrestling to go back to WWE,’ I think you’re going to see a lot of those guys asked for a 50 percent pay cut from the office. Or you’re going to see a lot of those guys just get released. And it’s unfortunate because if you show up to our company and you work hard, there’s really no need to burn bridges.”
The outspoken AEW star also made it clear that he was not speaking solely for himself, claiming that many within the company shared similar frustrations.
He doubled down.
“Like I said, I’m not sh*tting on him. I’m just simply telling you what I was told by a majority of the locker room about this specific individual,” MJF said. “So as a team captain, as a leader, even though, yes, I am 30, and as somebody who has been part of this promotion since day one, I don’t want to deal with guys that don’t want to be team players. F** off, go elsewhere. Or f***ing prove me wrong. I would love to be proven wrong. It would be great. Prove me wrong.”
Also during the interview, MJF explained why AEW ‘feels hot’ at the moment.
