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AEW seemingly won the so-called "bidding war of 2024" when the company retained the services of Maxwell Jacob Friedman last year. The Salt of the Earth has now clarified that it was actually him, not the Tony Khan-led promotion, who was the real victor in the situation.
The premise of MJF's record-setting AEW World Title reign was the star holding on to the belt as a bargaining chip ahead of his contract negotiations with All Elite Wrestling early last year. As 2023 drew to a close, speculations surrounding Friedman's pro-wrestling future began to make the rounds, with many predicting a potential WWE move.
The conjecture gained power after MJF lost his title to Samoa Joe at Worlds End 2023 and went on a hiatus following the betrayal of Adam Cole and the beatdown from The Undisputed Kingdom. However, the Long Island native returned to the company at Double or Nothing 2024, and revealed his intention of staying in AEW and even showed off a leg tattoo to emphasize his commitment.
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That was during Friedman's brief babyface run, however. Now back to his usual ways, MJF, while appearing on the SI Media podcast, claimed that he - not All Elite Wrestling, not even WWE - was the actual winner of the so-called "bidding war" for his contract, seeing how he had secured an incredibly lucrative deal for himself with the Jacksonville-based promotion.
"I won the bidding war. WWE didn’t win the bidding war. AEW didn’t win the bidding war. I won the bidding war because I’m making an absurd amount of money. By the time the contract is up, I will still be absurdly young, and then I will be able to, once again, make an absurd amount of money in the next bidding war. You know who is going to win again? Me."
Friedman continued to boast, in characteristic fashion:
"Now, All Elite Wrestling is winning for the simple fact that they get to have me on their television show. I am, without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest ratings draw the company has. I have been one of the top merchandise sellers since the inception. I have been a top guy in the company since the inception,” said Friedman. [H/T - Ewrestlingnews]
MJF recently had the aforementioned AEW leg tattoo removed as part of his rivalry with Hangman Page. Although his remarks may suggest his interest in a potential WWE run, Friedman signed a multi-year contract with All Elite Wrestling last year and is likely going to remain with the company for some time.
MJF dared Hangman Adam Page to a confrontation this week on AEW Dynamite
Last week on AEW Dynamite, MJF escalated his feud with Adam Page by viciously attacking the latter's mentor and long-time ally Christopher Daniels, leaving him a bloody heap backstage. The Cowboy responded by informing Friedman that he would come after the latter for retaliation.
The Wolf of Wrestling is seemingly not intimidated by Page, however, as he took to X/Twitter recently and called out the former AEW World Champion to a fight this Wednesday.
"Oh....... I missed this. YOU WANT A FIGHT HANGMAN?!?! I'm not hard to find. See you on Wednesday, P***y," Friedman wrote.
Check out MJF's post HERE.
It remains to be seen whether Friedman or The Hangman will walk out of their upcoming Revolution 2025 singles match victorious.
