MJF didn’t have a problem with CM Punk calling himself the real AEW World Champion.
MJF won the title by defeating Jon Moxley, who captured the vacant championship after CM Punk was stripped of the gold. When Punk returned to AEW in June 2023, he started calling himself the “real” AEW World Champion. Some fans expected to see Punk and MJF clash over the title, but they never had the chance. AEW terminated Punk’s contract on September 2.
In an interview with WrestlePurists, MJF shared his thoughts as to why he never confronted Punk and he highlighted the importance of Punk’s title to the Collision brand. (H/t Robert DeFelice of Fightful for the transcription)
“I never commented on it,” MJF said. “I’ll tell you why. I am not exactly a company man. I almost got our company thrown off of Turner after I called Tony a f—cking mark. So I won’t sit here and tell you I’m a company man. I’m definitely pro-professional wrestlers. The fact of the matter is that Collision is really important.
“Collision’s success is super important. So, at the time, having a guy of that stature having something that everybody in that show could be fighting for because, realistically, as much as Tony Khan wishes he can clone MJF, I can’t be everywhere at once. I didn’t have an issue with it. I thought it made all the sense in the world. Yeah, so to me, I wasn’t sweating it, frankly.”
MJF Reflects On His Rivalry With CM Punk
MJF also discussed his memorable feud with CM Punk and noted that it wasn’t just business. He stated that it was life, and he said some things he meant.
“To me, it wasn’t business. It was life,” MJF said. “I know it was life to Phil, too, and I think that’s why that rivalry is going to go down as one of the best of all time, and I’m proud of it. Am I proud of some of the shit that I did during that time period? I don’t know. I kind of got pushed to the edge, so I’m not going to just f–ing sit here and tell you that I didn’t mean anything I did because I did. I’ve grown a lot since then, both as a professional wrestler and a person.
“I think when I’m an old man and, God f—king willing, I find a woman to put up with my bulls-it that will let me impregnate them, and I’m sitting there with my kids, I can be like, ‘Hey, check out this Dog Collar Match. Check out this moment here,’ because I feel like it’s a rivalry that will stand the test of time.”
The full interview can be seen below:
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