MJF says all you have to do is listen to the crowd in Buffalo to see if he was hurt by CM Punk’s now-infamous All Out press conference.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, MJF was asked about the All Out press conference and how it affected his own return to the company. MJF said he cannot comment on that or the incident that followed, noting that he just doesn’t want to.
“Here are the facts. There was a lot of things said. It doesn’t apply to me, it doesn’t concern me, and again, I’ll tell you why, and I’m gonna use numbers because numbers don’t lie. Numbers are facts, and facts don’t care about your feelings. When MJF goes out there, I pop a huge number. We just killed in the ratings, second week in a row. Again, if people leave, come, go, stay, people are gonna step up to the plate. We’ve got massive stars in our company, so I am not concerned in the least.
“I’m not going to comment on what was said because it doesn’t apply to me. But what I will say is, our company is, again, numbers don’t lie, our company is great right now. We’re about to have an incredible show at Arthur Ashe. Massive. [Major] show at Arthur Ashe. We’re gonna have a huge Dynamite, we’re gonna have a huge Rampage, a new AEW World Champion is gonna be crowned, and your boy MJF is gonna be waiting in the wings. Do I cash in that chip? Do I not cash in that chip? Who’s to say? There’s a lot of interesting stuff going on right now, with a lot of massive stars in our company. So I choose to focus on that.”
Helwani followed up and asked if MJF felt like the press conference took away from the buzz surrounding his return. MJF scoffed at the notion and said all you had to do was watch Dynamite on the following Wednesday to get an answer.
“Did you hear the reaction the following Dynamite? Did it sound like it took anything away from MJF?”
MJF followed up by noting that he and Jon Moxley were in the ring to start that show and it was fitting, adding that any concerns others might have had were quickly dismissed.
“When my music hit, the concern went out the window. When the microphone went up to my lips, the concern went out the window. We’re gonna keep on chugging along.”
Helwani says that in some ways, it felt like the inmates were running the asylum in AEW. MJF disagreed with the thought and said that AEW is very much a team and working towards the same goal.
“I don’t know if I agree with that. Can they coexist, is there separation between church and state? Sure. I think that goes out the wayside because what there is at AEW, and to be honest, I’m not a part of the team. But I watch from the sidelines, I give them a little rah-rah because what I care about is me at the end of the day. But when you watch the locker room and I watch the boys and I see how they react to certain situations, it’s a team atmosphere.
“Everybody wants these three letters to be successful. The only three letters I care about are MJF. But everybody in AEW cares about AEW letters, and I think it’s palpable when you watch our show. I think you can feel it. You can feel that when spike go out there, they’re giving it 110%. Because they wanna not just raise themselves up but raise this brand new baby. We’re a baby. It’s a three-year-old company. They wanna raise this baby up like in the freaking Lion King, on top of the rock. You feel that, it’s palpable. So no, I read stuff online, I chuckle. It’s ridiculous. Everybody wants this place to be successful. MJF wants MJF to be successful. But the locker room wants AEW to be successful.”
Asked if he could compare the morale before and after All Out, MJF once again said AEW feels like a team and they will keep moving on towards their collective goal.
“Like I said, right now it feels like a team atmosphere. Still did [before]. I think there was, again, I don’t deal in rumor and innuendo. But let’s talk high school. We’re in the cafeteria. Two kids have a disagreement at the other table. Does everyone go, ‘Ugh, I can’t finish my meal now? It’s over.’ No, we eat it and we go, oh, okay, and we move on.’”
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