AEW’s star MJF has come from out of nowhere to be one of the top wrestlers in the world. His impeccable in-ring work keeps fans entertained during all of his matches, even if he does cheat to win every so often (literally every match). However, it is on the microphone where MJF truly shines, captivating his audience as they follow on with every work, eager to hear what he’s going to say next and which of their states many sports teams he is going to insult.
He has many legendary promos in AEW in the past three years. I’d argue MJF has more brilliant promos in his AEW career than WWE has had over the past 10 years. He is simply that good on the microphone. It is impossible to pick just one instance of his fantastic promos, so here is a short list of all his best;/
His promo ability is why MJF would be the perfect candidate to sign for WWE. He himself is no stranger to that – he regularly speaks about the “bidding war of 2024” between WWE and AEW once his contract expires. When the clocks strikes midnight on January 1st, 2024, all bets are off and both companies will be sending truckloads of money to his house in Long Island, New York, trying to sign MJF to the longest and most lucrative contract they can.
He has always spoken about being a fan of the WWE – his favourite wrestler as a child was CM Punk after all – and it has always been an aspiration of MJF to sign for the WWE. He famously sent in a video tape for the last season of WWE’s reality show Tough Enough, attempting to earn himself a million dollar WWE contract and the chance to train with the stars of NXT in the WWE Performance Centre.
While he did not make it onto the show, being only aged 18 at the time, his audition video remains on the WWE Youtube page. Whilst in the video he went by MJF – although it was Maxwell Jacob Feinstein in this case – he was credited as Maxwell Freidman in the videos title.
He cut an impressive promo, showcase all the arrogance that his character would expel during his time in WWE. However, the company passed on him, not signing him to a deal nor inviting him to compete on the show.
However, this was not his only opportunity at a contract with the company. MJF revealed in a recent promo on AEW Dynamite that William Regal wanted to sign him to a deal 7 years and it was his eventual rejection that caused him to turn to the dark side and become the maniacal MJF we all love to hate.
On AEW Dynamite, it was revealed that MJF signing for WWE almost became a reality, but William Regal blocked the move after being disappointed by the young star. British legend Regal was the head trainer in NXT at the time and was continually scouting new talent for the company, with MJF impressing him while backstage at a WWE event where he worked as an extra.
Regal told the young star to keep him updated with matches and promos to keep an eye on his development, but after three months decided that enough for enough and binned of MJF. This turned out to be the motivation he needed to become a star in wrestling, even though the move tempted MJF to kill himself due to the disappointment.
The move turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for MJF, as it gave him the drive to become a top star in AEW and made him one of the highest paid wrestlers in the industry.
Was MJF Ever In WWE?
No, MJF was never in WWE. William Regal rejected the chance to make him a star in his version of NXT, although he did give him the opportunity to appear as a background extra on a WWE Pay Per View. He appeared as Samoa Joe’s bodyguard at NXT Takeover Brooklyn II, although he has been backstage in the promotion a number of times as an extra, starting when he was just 18 years of age.
So he did appear as an extra in WWE but was never officially signed. Only time will tell if WWE sign MJF in 2024 when his contract ends or if he has ambitions to stay and become AEW Champion over the next few years. Tell us what you think about his future destination and if MJF to WWE would be something you would like to see.
Alternatively, click below to read about when Kenny Omega signed to WWE and the reason behind him leaving the promotion to go to wrestle in Japan.