MJF is adamant that he will test free agency.
It's no secret that MJF's contract with AEW expires on January 2024 and it's no secret that he plans on listening to offers from both AEW and WWE.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, MJF remained adamant that he'll test free agency and isn't worried about upsetting Tony Khan by constantly mentioning when his contract is up.
"When you're as talented and over and as much of a draw as me, if I want to, I could bite all of Tony Khan's fingers," said MJF when asked if he was worried about biting the hand that feeds him. "He knows where his bread is buttered. If that offended somebody in the locker room, and I know it does, oh well. Cry about it. Get more over than me. Oh wait, that's right, you can't. I'm literally the best talker in the history of the business, I'm one of the best wrestlers in the history of the business, bell to bell, because I don't just spam moves like I'm in a video game, no, I make people feel something because I'm going out there to win. I'm not going out there to show off, I'm not going out there to try and make sure I get all these people talking about my star ratings. If that happens and it's a byproduct of what I do, fantastic. I didn't get in this business to hit moves, I got into this business to make money. That's why I'm not afraid to talk about when my contract is up, January 1, 2024, and I'm not afraid to stir that pot. it's a constant reminder to Tony Khan, 'I need to step my game up,' and it's a constant reminder to WWE, who has extreme interest in me, 'We're going to need to make him a serious offer that he can't refuse.'"
When asked how he knows that WWE is interested in him, MJF replied, "I know for a fact, it's already been leaked several times, even if it wasn't leaked, I would have known. Legally, I can not discuss why."
January 2024 is a long time away, giving Tony Khan plenty of time to make MJF an offer before WWE can speak to him.
When asked if he would potentially sign early, MJF replied, "I'm not signing shit. No shot. It's not a test if you know you're going to win. I got the cheat code. I got the answers on a piece of paper. No, that's not something I consider, unless the number was absolutely astronomical, but even then, I'm not sure I consider it."
Asked what the "astronomical figure" could be, MJF replied, "That's not something I'm willing to discuss, but if you see what the top guys in our industry make, that's cool, but I want to make more than that."
MJF grew up a WWE fan and many wrestlers have always dreamed about being in the main event of WrestleMania. For MJF, that dream has passed.
"No, I was a child," said MJF when asked if he wants to live out his childhood dream of being in WWE. "Now, I'm not a wrestling fan anymore. I'm a professional wrestler. Keyword, professional. My whole deal is, I can't look at it that way. 'Oh boy, I hope I get to do WrestleMania. Oh boy, I hope I main event a pay-per-view.' None of that stuff means anything to me. All I care about is the bottom line. Right now, the most important thing is winning that AEW World Title. Not because, 'look at the lineage,' I could give a shit. If I win that World Title, what does that mean? It means you have to pay me more money. When I win, I get a bigger bonus, because it's a championship defense. This is the stuff people forget about. People don't understand that there are winner's purses. If yu win, you make more money, if you lose, you make less money. That's why we're wrestling. We're not wrestling for a sense of pride, if anybody tries to tell you that's the case, they're full of shit. I don't wrestle because I love professional wrestling, I wrestle because it makes me money. That's why I want to be the AEW World Champion. That's why the fact that Cody Rhodes is going over there, that's great, good for him, but I wouldn't leave there because of anything else but money. I would not leave where I'm at right now for anything else but money."
Finally, MJF was asked if Tony Khan has talked to him about re-signing.
"I'm not going to get into that, but I'm sure you can imagine that Tony Khan, who is a billionaire, a very intelligent man, he's doing everything he can to make sure that his heaviest hitter is sticking around," he said.
Tony Khan has previously said that he encourages WWE to have interest in MJF. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Elsewhere during the interview, MJF mentioned that he loves everything WWE is doing, even NXT 2.0. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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