AEW found itself in the middle of a political moment again on Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, and AEW World Champion MJF made it clear he sees absolutely no problem in moments like this and praised the promotion for providing fan freedom.
During an AEW World Championship Eliminator match between MJF and Brody King in Las Vegas, the crowd suddenly broke out into loud “F**k ICE” chants. Both wrestlers were still standing in their corners, and instead of rushing into the match, they paused for a few seconds and let the crowd have its moment before the bell rang.
The match itself ended quickly and unexpectedly as King took advantage of a distraction from Adam Page and pinned MJF in under two minutes. The upset win earned King a future AEW World Championship match against MJF at Grand Slam: Australia.
MJF Says AEW Allows Fans To Express Themselves Freely
The “F**k ICE” chant went viral and caught the attention of mainstream media, including NBC. One report described MJF as looking “startled” by the crowd reaction, which clearly didn’t sit well with him. MJF fired back on X the next day with his sarcasm.
“The world champion wasn’t startled. He’s better than you and you know it,” he tweeted.
NBC’s comment was about MJF’s facial reaction that cameras caught for a moment during the chant. Additionally, in a recent interview with Ross Tucker, MJF doubled down on AEW’s approach, praising the company for letting fans express themselves without censorship.
“Literally last night, we were in Vegas and they started a F*ck ICE chant. Now, I don’t care what side of the political line that you land on, there’s no other wrestling promotion that wouldn’t censor the fans. We don’t do that, we’re the listening company. So, if all the fans want to chant that, we’re going to let them chant that. I think that is inherently really cool and awesome. I think that’s what makes my company special. We don’t censor the fans. It’s nice, ” MJF said.
Whether people see the moment as controversial or powerful, MJF believes it shows exactly what sets AEW apart.
Read More: AEW’s MJF Unleashes Profanity-Laced Rant on WWE’s CM Punk
