"He should have taken the grind," "TK ruins everything" - Fans are disappointed with top AEW star's booking

A top AEW star's hasn't been good since his return to the ring. Fans have now expressed their disappointment over the situation.

MJF is undoubtedly one of AEW's best homegrown talents. Within a short span of time, he has multiplied his fan base and established himself as one of the top stars in the industry. He has also been involved in many notable feuds against some of the biggest stars in the industry like Cody Rhodes, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, and CM Punk. In fact, it was his feud against Punk that made him a star.

Given the mic skills of both Punk and MJF, they were able to deliver some stellar promos during their feud. Following this feud, Friedman went on to win the AEW World Championship - a title he would hold for over a year. After finally losing the title, the Salt of the Earth took some time off to heal his wounds, only to return at Double or Nothing last month.

His first match since returning was against Rush. Now, Tony Khan has booked him to face Hechicero at Forbidden Door. A fan pointed out on X (formerly Twitter), how the popular star hasn't been the same since his feud with The Best in the World.

You can check out the tweet below:

Several fans then took to social media to comment on the above post and Maxwell Jacob Friedman's recent bookings by Tony Khan. The fans didn't seem to think too highly of the AEW President's recent bookings of the returning star and had their say on social media. You can check out some of their reactions in the screengrab below:

Screengrab of fan reactions [Pic credit: Screengrab of comments on @JobberNationTV's X Account post]

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Dutch Mantell believes Tony Khan ruined MJF's AEW return

MJF made a surprise return at AEW Double or Nothing last month where he confronted Adam Cole who had betrayed him several months earlier. He took out Cole and then got on the mic to cut a classic MJF promo in the ring.

Since his return, many critics and fans have commented about the way he has been booked. Speaking on his Story Time with Dutch Mantell podcast, the wrestling veteran criticized Tony Khan for the way he booked Friedman's return.

"I saw MJF's return, it wasn't anything to it. Nothing really happened. That's when they should have busted the big angle," said Mantell. [5:03 - 5:10]

You can watch the full episode of the podcast below:

Given his immense popularity, Maxwell Jacob Friedman's return in the Jacksonville-based promotion could have been booked better with a significantly improved storyline at Forbidden Door.