MJF is embracing the old-school tradition of a “traveling champion” during his second reign as AEW World Champion — and he says it’s something the wrestling business lost for a long time.
Throughout his current title run, MJF has brought the AEW World Championship to independent promotions such as House of Glory and other events outside of AEW. The appearances mark a deliberate effort to revive the historic concept of a world champion defending their title across different territories.
According to MJF, that tradition disappeared during the era when one company dominated the U.S. wrestling landscape. Speaking with Uncrowned while promoting this weekend’s AEW Revolution 2026 pay-per-view, the champion explained why bringing that concept back was important to him.
“The likes of Buddy Rogers, Harley Race, Jack Brisco, Dory Funk, these gentlemen would travel around, not just their local territory, but around all of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, and they would wrestle whoever was deemed the best of the best in that local territory or area,” MJF said.
He continued by pointing to how the industry changed when a monopoly formed in American wrestling.
“Another thing is we have lost the history and the tradition of our sport, because for a very long time, professional wrestling was a monopoly. It was WWE, and that’s it. The idea of seeing — I’m just going to use an example — John Cena at your local independent company was sacrilegious to a Vince McMahon. But to a Tony Khan, who both understands and respects the idea of a traveling champion, it’s not ridiculous.”
That freedom has allowed MJF to bring the AEW World Championship to a variety of independent promotions while representing the company as its top star.
But first, he has a major challenge waiting for him this weekend.
MJF is scheduled to defend the AEW World Championship against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match at AEW Revolution this Sunday night. If he manages to retain the title, he is expected to continue upcoming appearances for independent promotions as the reigning champion.
During the same interview, MJF also hyped the current depth of AEW’s main event scene, arguing that the competition at the top of the card is stronger than it has ever been in the company’s seven-year history.
“This is the most competitive the top of the card has ever been in the history of our seven-year-old promotion,” he said. “You have me, Hangman, Swerve [Strickland], Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Samoa Joe, Andrade El Idolo. Now you’ve got Brody King, who just popped up there and he fits like a glove, whether I want to admit it or not. You’ve got your Kyle Fletchers of the world, who are chomping at the bit, and your [Konosuke] Takeshitas, who are chomping at the bit. I mean, the list goes on and on — and that’s the scary part.”
AEW Revolution 2026 is scheduled to take place Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Make sure to join us here at WrestlingHeadlines.com on 3/15 for live AEW Revolution 2026 Results coverage from “The Golden State.”
