On a recent edition of the Jim Cornette Drive Thru podcast, a fan wrote into the show to ask Bryan Last and his Camp-y co-host what he thought of a recent statement made by The Undertaker on his WWE's sponsored 1 deadMAN Show in Glasgow, Scottland, where the “American Bada**” put over the AEW World Champion, MJF, as the sort of performer he wishes he could wrestle now.
Though the clip being shared online by AIR didn't feature a response from Cornette other than some laughs, the question did make the rounds online and generated plenty of “What Ifs” among the internet wrestling community.
“I recently attended The Undertaker's 1 dEADMAN Show here in Glasgow, Scottland,” Bryan Last read to Jim Cornette. “In the Q&A part of the show, he was asked who from any company that is currently wrestling would he have liked to have faced in the ring. The answer he gave was MJF; talked him up as a future star and loves the fact that he's solid in the ring and lives his gimmick. He also took a shot at AEW, calling them a second-rate company which MJF needs to hurry up and leave.
While the reactions from this insight ranged from laughing at AEW to fantasy booking a WWE match at WrestleMania 40/41 between “The People's Jerk” and the “Deadman,” the most important opinion of all came from Maxwell Jacob Friedman himself, who got candid with his feelings on the WWE legend.
“Not many higher honors than being praised by The Undertaker,” MJF wrote. “Thanks, Deadman.”
Is there a world where The Undertaker and MJF could wrestle a match at WrestleMania or elsewhere? I mean, probably not, but hey, in the sport of professional wrestling, you never really know what can happen.
Tony Khan takes a shot at WWE for recent firing.
Speaking of The Undertaker calling AEW a second-rate company, Tony Khan, too, used some recent on-mic time to take a shot at WWE, namely for releasing “100 employees and 30 wrestlers” while in the middle of a boom period financially.
While Khan doesn't know where AEW will land when their current media deal expires in 2023, he knows definitely that he plans to keep the company a family business.
“I don’t think it would be fair to talk about possible bidders or outright speculation. Right now, we’re on Warner Brothers Discovery, and I find that in the entertainment business, there is not a lot of loyalty at times, and there should be. This is a family business, we’re not a public company. Even if I get punched in the face with circumstances, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to take it out on staff by cutting 100 staff or laying off 30 wrestlers. I really care about the people here, and I would do anything I can to protect the jobs and livelihood of the people who that work here. That’s a family business, and that’s the difference between a family business and a public company in a lot of ways. Not every family business has those principles, but we do, and that’s how I was raised. I feel there is not enough loyalty in the entertainment business. Yes, it’s no secret, and it is a business. We’ll be up at the end of 2024, and I would love to stay at Warner Brothers Discovery forever,” Tony Khan said on the WrestleDream media call via Fightful.
“It’s great for the fans to have wrestling on TBS and TNT. I do think there will be a lot of potential bidders. [FOX] would make a lot of sense in the future, but I don’t think it’s right for me to speculate right now because I’m at Warner Brothers Discovery, I love it here, and we’re going to be here for a while, and hopefully a really long time. They have given us these great opportunities. I see it all the time, and sometimes I’m on the other side of it as the promoter, on the other side of the negotiating table, and I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me, and it would not be right to speculation on other networks or people in the wrestling business. I have a great relationship with the people you named [Fox] because we worked together on the NFL, and that’s a great place for sports and wrestling, but I’m really happy at Warner Brothers Discovery, and my goal, all things being equal, would be to keep AEW here forever at WBD. Mr. Zaslav [WBD CEO David Zaslav] has been really kind to me and given me great opportunities, and all things being equal, or even a couple cents difference, I would take a penny or two less to stay at Warner Brothers Discovery. You don’t see that in media businesses very much, that kind of loyalty. I really appreciate everything they’ve done for me and continue to do.”
Dang, after being diplomatic about Jade Cargill signing with WWE, that is one heck of a shot at a company that really doesn't need to release anyone from a financial standpoint but consistently does so in order to goose a few more dollars off of their operating income ahead of earnings reports. Your move, Deadman.