it’s rumored that Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) continuing to push that his AEW contract expires early next year is nothing more than an angle, and it’s believed by WWE officials that MJF actually re-upped with AEW through 2027. Additionally, it’s rumored that there have been “zero talks” between MJF and AEW. During a recent interview with Jimmy Traina for the
SI Media podcast, the AEW World Champion addressed those recent rumors, claiming he never lied about his contract status. Meanwhile,
Haus of Wrestling also has an update with internal details on WWE’s response to MJF’s latest comments.
Speaking on the earlier report from Haus of Wrestling, MJF told Traina, “I’ve never lied. January 1, 2024. When stuff like that gets leaked out, it makes me laugh because I remember something got leaked out about Cody having secretly re-signed, and then he showed up. Somebody got leaked out about, you know, CM Punk and Tony Khan, you know, actually fine, everything. You know?” MJF continued, “I think fans leak out things that they want to be true. I love AEW. I want to stay in AEW. After this pay-per-view, it’s time to assess the situation from a professional setting.”
Haus of Wrestling reports that several people within WWE had a similar reaction to MJF’s latest comments as to their feelings before the champion made them. One WWE higher-up responded that MJF’s latest comments are a “storyline.” It’s been reported before that MJF never breaks character while doing his media interviews, so it would potentially make sense why he’s continuing to push his move to free agency publicly despite the still unconfirmed reports that he may have re-signed to AEW in a new multi-year deal.
Additionally, Haus of Wrestling notes that another WWE higher-up said they heard that Friedman re-signed with AEW as early as last year, believing it happened at AEW All Out 2022 when MJF revealed himself as “The Devil” in charge of The Firm. The WWE higher-up also said that Friedman is “locked in” at AEW and got a “huge” contract with the company when he re-negotiated his deal with Tony Khan in 2022.