Chris Jericho believes MJF would be watered down in WWE, but he’s also confident that All Elite Wrestling will keep on trucking if he leaves at some point in the future.
“The Salt of the Earth” has been the source of controversy in recent months, as he continues to openly discuss his looming free agency and tease that he could sign with WWE once his AEW contract expires. The drama escalated the weekend of AEW Double or Nothing when he no-showed a meet and greet, and there was reportedly a plan ticket out of Las Vegas booked for him. He appeared as scheduled at the pay-per-view, and after a reported meeting with Tony Khan, he appeared on the following episode of AEW Dynamite, where he cut an unforgettable promo and asked Khan to fire him. MJF hasn’t been seen on AEW TV since, and his long-term future remains up in the air.
In an interview with Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT, Chris Jericho, MJF’s formal stablemate and later rival, weighed in on the situation. Jericho, who has spent over 30 years in the business, started by saying that if something doesn’t affect him, he stays out of it. Still, as one of the faces of AEW dating back to its formation, he had plenty to say about the rumors surrounding MJF. First, “The Wizard” focused on the latter’s reported issues with his contract.
“Only thing I will say is a contract is a contract,” said Jericho. “If every athlete in every sport wanted to be paid more now, then what’s the point of having a contract, you know what I mean? We’ll see how it plays out.”
The former AEW World Champion went on to say that MJF has plenty to learn, and he’s confident MJF will be back. He then noted that 18 months, the remainder of MJF’s contract, would be a long time to stay home and not get paid.
“MJF is 25 [actually 26],” said Jericho. “He has a lot to learn. He’s not as good as he thinks he is and like I said, it really is nothing to do with me but I’m sure he’ll be back. 18 months is a long time to stay at home and that’s Tony Khan’s prerogative. You’re under contract, you want to stay at home? You can stay at home and not get paid and that’s what happens.
“We see it happen in other companies and that’s just how it goes. If you didn’t expect that, then why did you sign your contract in the first place?”
As for the notion that MJF would be “watered down” in WWE, Jericho agreed and stated that “The Salt of the Earth” would be better off in AEW. That said, he acknowledged that performers sometimes need to take a gamble in order to get what they want, as he did when he left WCW to sign with WWE and later when he joined AEW in the first place.
“Oh absolutely [his character would be watered down in WWE],” said Jericho. “He’s better off staying in AEW. But, again, don’t stick your finger in the light socket. You tell a little kid not to do that and they’re going to do it to see what happens. I’m not going to tell anybody not to go elsewhere because I did it. I did it for years.
“I did it to come to AEW. I walked away from WWE. When I signed my AEW contract Vince McMahon said ‘Can you get out of it?’ – No, you told me to go here! Same thing happened when I left WCW to come to WWE. Sometimes you got to take a chance and if you believe in yourself and you feel you aren’t getting your dues, then you gotta go elsewhere.”
Finally, Jericho emphasized his belief that, from MJF to Cody Rhodes, no single person is bigger than the company, so if they leave, AEW will keep rolling with the people who want to be there.
RELATED: MJF Demands To Be Fired, Discusses His Issues With AEW On 6/1 AEW Dynamite
