AEW World Champion MJF recently appeared on Sirius XM’s Busted Open Radio to promote today’s All In pay-per-view event.
During it, MJF recalled signing with All Elite Wrestling in 2019.
“I cried like a baby back bitch. It was so intense because again, it was another moment where I bet on myself. I could have went the easy route. I could have went to the place that was very well established that everyone’s heard of. Everyone knows the three letters, WWE, as you should. It’s an incredible, amazing company that I still watch to this day. It’s awesome. No one knew what AEW was. No one. It didn’t exist. What I saw it as was an opportunity for me to make it something. I saw the opportunity to be the quarterback. I saw the opportunity to be the face of this promotion and I jumped on it.”
MJF was then asked whether AEW President Tony Khan remembers how it happened.
“Maybe not at first. I definitely was not a quote-unquote Chosen One. I wasn’t best friends with anyone in power. I wasn’t an indie darling. Frankly, I was Scrappy Doo, like, I was kind of Cody’s sidekick when the company first started if you think about it. I’ve built this all through hard work and determination. When AEW started, I got hit over the head by Joey Janela at a pep rally if you guys recall because Joey was the star at that point in time. I was this kind of undercard guy, maybe he’s got a shot. Cody seems to like him, eh, throw him out there. It’s crazy to think about now, but that was my spot and I’ll never forget the amount of times I looked in the mirror and I said, ‘You’re gonna get there. Just keep going’, because I’ve known what I’ve gotten, and I’m thankful and I’m grateful for the people that have been along for me on this ride, even the people that doubt it because now I’m seeing, which is a very hard thing to do in 2023 because everybody loves to hold on to an opinion, even if they know they’re wrong, deep down for whatever reason. Nobody wants to apologize and it’s okay to have a conversation. People just put their, you know, flag in the sand and be like, ‘No, this is it. Done’, and like, that’s insane, unless you’re talking about a great I am, then by all means plant that flag. But yeah, now I think everyone’s pretty much come around on MJF and everyone’s agreeing that I’m a main event. I’m a headliner. I’m a world champion. I’m literally the headliner for the biggest show ever and that’s not hyperbole.”
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription