When the clock strikes midnight, and it officially becomes Sunday, November 20th, MJF very well may be the new and reigning AEW World Champion. That's right, since officially joining AEW on a five-year contract in 2019 and making his debut for the company at Double or Nothing in the Casino Battle Royale on the pre-show, MJF has a chance to compete for the AEW World Championship in only his second title shot with the promotion when he will wrestle Jon Moxley in only their second professional match against each other.
If he wins, MJF will become only the sixth champion in AEW history, joining a club that only features Moxley – three times – Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, and CM Punk twice. He'll likely have an expansive run, bringing some much-needed consistency to the top of the card after a tumultuous series of events that were kicked off by Punk's leg injury on the fallout edition of Dynamite following Double or Nothing 2022, and take that next step in his transformation into the top star in AEW history.
And if he fails? Well, MJF is still better than you – and you know it – and will continue to be one of the faces of the next generation of professional wrestling; a generation that is slowly but surely taking away the spotlight from the likes of John Cena. Speaking with Anne Victoria Clark of Vulture, MJF was asked about what he wants to do as one of the focal points of said ascending generation of professional wrestling, and as per usual, his answer was fascinating.
“Look who I’m talking to right now,” MJF said. “Anne, this is my power. I’m talking to Vulture right now — a place that I think is fair to say doesn’t do much commentary on my sport. I went on Pardon My Take, the No. 1 sports podcast in the world. I’m about to be in a major motion picture.”
“I think what you’re going to see is stability with the AEW World Championship if I win it. I think we are in the dawning of a new era. It’s the MJF era. We have the era of the Ric Flairs, the Dusty Rhodes, the Hulk Hogans, the Stone Colds, the Rocks, the Cenas. It’s my time. I say that with gumption and with honesty. It’s my time, and it’s my turn to make everybody talk about pro wrestling and make it the cultural Zeitgeist again in the world, because at one point it was, and pro wrestling is bubbling again, and we’re getting real close. All we need is a leader, and I’m ready to be that guy. I am ready to usurp anyone and everyone that thinks they’re up next, because guess what? No, you ain’t. I am. I am ready to do more for this business than anyone has in a decade.”
Considering MJF is making the media rounds almost as much as Tony Khan ahead of Full Gear, has a part booked for Iron Claw, the A24-produced film about the Vin Erich family, and has a spot borderline locked up on Dynamite moving forward regardless of the match's outcome, it's safe to say the former member of MLW's Dynasty isn't going anywhere any time soon.
MJF details how “Pete Lightning” helped him become an AEW star.
Elsewhere in his interview with Vulture, MJF was asked about his early run in CZW, where he went by the name Pete Lightning but still possessed many of his now-signature AEW mannerisms. Was there a difference between the MJF fans love – or, at least love to talk about – today and the Lightning character?
“There was no difference,” MJF said. “I used to wrestle five times a week when I was on the independent circuit — I would get in a car with some of the other guys at Create a Pro, and we would drive to Blackwood, New Jersey, for Dojo Wars to wrestle in front of five people with five teeth among all of them.”
“The promoter at the time told me that he wanted to change my name to Pete Lightning. I told him to blow me. He told me, “Do it, or I won’t consider you to be on the main CZW [Combat Zone Wrestling] shows.” I was like, “Whatever,” so I did it. I changed nothing about myself – I was just MJF, but they decided to call me Pete Lightning, and I drove to that part of New Jersey and wrestled every single Wednesday for, I think, a full calendar year. Then I was brought up to the main roster of CZW, which when I look back at it now was a f*cking joke, because I was better than all of them on day one, but unfortunately, I had to prove my stock by being Pete Lightning.”
When asked if he'd ever considered working under another name or a different gimmick, MJF shook it off, declaring that his authenticity is the key to his character.
“That’s the thing. I’m not one,” MJF said. “There’s so many people that are gimmicks — and I’m not just talking about in the wrestling industry. I’m talking about in the real world. Politicians are gimmicks, man. Some actors are. Some athletes are. Football players. Baseball players. UFC fighters. Like I said, I think the reason that I have such an animalistic magnetism to wrestling fans is because it’s very obviously me.”
Considering just how little has changed about MJF's presentation since he was working indie matches across the East Coast, it's safe to say this is the person he really is, for better or worse.
Follow Us
Subscribe