"He grew up watching WWE" - Major AEW star is tailor-made for its rivals, says Bill Apter (Exclusive)

The AEW roster features countless fans-turned-wrestlers, and many of today's in-ring greats grew up as pro wrestling fans. A certain top AEW star has been the subject of significant WWE rumors for a few years now, and that talk has continued into 2025. Bill Apter and another Hall of Famer just shared insight into a former World Champion potentially jumping ship.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman was once poised to carry All Elite Wrestling for years to come, and while his push has stalled a bit, the brash heel continues to fight his way back to the top. MJF himself previously teased leaving Tony Khan for WWE in a heavily hyped '2024 bidding war,' which seemingly never happened. The 29-year-old signed a new AEW deal last year and claims it's worth more than $15 million, and that when it expires, he will still be young for another so-called bidding war.

The Salt of The Earth would be a great fit in WWE, according to Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter. Teddy Long previously made the case for MJF dethroning Cody Rhodes next year. The 2017 Hall of Famer agreed with Apter on the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine, predicting WWE would do a lot of good with Friedman. Co-host Mac Davis asked Apter if he thinks MJF could be a champion in WWE.

"I don't know, maybe Intercontinental Champion or something like that? I think that he's a great character, his personality's that spoiled Long Island kid, and that's exactly his real personality. He grew up watching WWE as a Long Island kid, that's WWE territory. So, I think he would gel there really well," Bill Apter said. [From 2:20 to 2:50]

MJF is currently involved in a storyline with The Hurt Syndicate. His last match was the loss to Adam Page at AEW Revolution on March 9.

AEW Dynasty PPV updated lineup

All Elite Wrestling now has six title matches confirmed for its second annual Dynasty pay-per-view. Below is the updated lineup:

1. Title vs. Mask: ROH World Champion Chris Jericho vs. Bandido
2. International Championship Three-Way: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Mike Bailey vs. Ricochet
3. World Trios Championship: The Death Riders (c) vs. Rated FTR
4. TNT Championship: Daniel Garcia (c) vs. Adam Cole (No time limit, no outside interference)
5. Women's World Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Megan Bayne
6. World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Swerve Strickland

Dynasty 2025 will take place on Sunday, April 6, at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This will be AEW's first-ever PPV from the Keystone State.