Though they hadn't shared the ring since March of 2022, it felt like it was only a matter of time before CM Punk and MJF would share the ring once more in order to see who was the real AEW World Champion.
Sure, MJF held the title, and rightfully so, as he won the belt fair and squared off of Jon Moxley at Full Gear, but as Punk routinely pointed out on Collision, he never actually lost the title in a “real” way, as he had to vacate the belt due to the “Brawl Out” after All Out and never got another chance to wrestle for the strap before being fired with cause for his backstage interaction with Jack Perry at All In.
Asked about CM Punk in a special interview with SI Media's Jimmy Traina, despite the ultimate outcome, the feud MJF did manage to have with “The Best of the World” deserves to be considered among the best.
“One of the greatest feuds,” MJF said. “I’ll just say this, the greatest feud of the modern era was me versus CM Punk, I think, and that happened on AEW television.”
Asked if he was disappointed to learn that his feud with CM Punk was effectively over, at least in AEW, MJF said no, noting that he's happy for his former foe and hopes he excels in his new home.
“No, I was happy for him. Listen, if he’s happy, I’m happy. I think he’s a h*ll of a talent, and at the end of the day, it’s a business,” MJF noted. “For some reason with wrestling, it’s looked at differently than any other sport. I see guys get traded to different teams all the time. That’s just life. So he did what he felt was best for him, and the company did what they felt was best for the company. So I just hope he’s happy. I wish him the best of luck.”
Would it have been cool to see MJF and Punk have their third, fourth, fifth singles or even more matches as a member of AEW? Yes, yes, a million times yes; the AXW Championship storyline Punk was working on was unfortunately never finished and really could have been a fantastic feather in MJF's cap regarding the historical significance of his reign. Still, in professional wrestling, nothing is forever, and at some point, the duo may find themselves co-workers once more, even if that would mark a pretty incredible development for either performer.
MJF vows to retain his AEW World Championship at Worlds End.
When MJF broke the news that he suffered a pretty significant shoulder injury at Full Gear in Los Angeles as part of his main event match with “Switchblade” Jay White, it left fans wondering if he would even be able to compete at World's End, the brand new AEW Pay-Per-View that was explicitly booked for Long Island in order to capitalize on the “Salt of the Earth's” popularity in his home town.
Asked about his recovery by Solomonster, MJF noted that he's far from 100 percent physically, but he's still going to give it 110 percent in the ring, as he wants to roll into 2024 a champion.
“I got PRP done and something called EPAT where what they do essentially is, it's almost like shock therapy straight onto the muscle,” MJF explained via Fightful. “I'm not going to lie to you, I cannot lift my arm all the way up north south. Point blank. Probably not something I should be discussing publicly. I'm kind of being known for being honest to a fault. I can't lose this belt. This world title reign, it means too much to too many people. Most specifically, it means too much to me. I'm going to go in there guns blazing, I'm going to give it 110%. I've wrestled Samoa Joe before, hardest match of my reign. I believe I've had 11 title defenses, I also hold the world of most title defenses of any world champion in the history of the company. Of every single match I've had, the one where I was in the most physical danger was Joe at Grand Slam. I know what I'm heading into, but I'm going to win because I have to win.”
Will MJF be able to find a way to pull a rabbit out of his hat and win it all in Worlds End, taking his title into a third calendar year? Or will Samoa Joe, one of the most physical wrestlers in the world today, use his unique offensive skillset to dominate his injured former tag team, taking advantage of one of his signature maneuvers, the coquina clutch, to either force the AEW World Champion tap or force the referee to call the match because the current title holder is physically unable to perform? Fans will have to tune into Worlds End to find out.