MJF Says Things Are Going Well for AEW Right Now Because He’s Champion: ‘I’m the Main Character’

Speaking to Baby Huey with 107.7 The Bone, AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) discussed why things are going well for AEW right now, explaining that he’s the reason why and not because there are a lot of up-and-coming, fresh, young talents being showcased. Below are some highlights:

MJF on Swerve Strickland and the AEW Upper Card

“Swerve was in the matchup where I won the AEW World title. Swerve is incredibly talented. He’s incredibly agile. He’s incredibly fit. The man’s jacked. He’s a sly talker. All that to say, he can’t ****ing beat me. In what reality could he beat me? The answer is none. And there, by the way, there are other people. Andrade versus Bandido, there’s another example of a match that could potentially decide, you know, the second and third contendership. You know, I don’t know when Kenny Omega’s coming back, but he has a lot of wins, and if he does come back, I think he’s another person who’s clearly in that top five ranking there. You know, Kevin Knight also, I wouldn’t count him out just cuz he lost. He still has a lot of big string wins prior to that match there.

“You know what the problem is, Baby Huey? The problem is that the upper card has never been this stacked, and the deck has never been this stacked against me. All of these individuals want the world championship. How can you blame them? It’s the grandest prize of them all. But not everybody’s going to get a chance to wrestle MJF. Not everybody had a chance to wrestle [Ric] Flair. Not everybody had a chance to wrestle [Hulk] Hogan. Not everybody had a chance to wrestle [John] Cena. When you’re a tippy top guy, you tend to only wrestle tippy top guy, and Swerve’s great. But he’s not he’s not on my level. He’s not on the level of the devil. I mean, what are we talking about here, man?”

MJF on Why Things Are Going Well for AEW Right Now

“Because I’m the champion. Every single time I’ve had the championship belt in the history of this company, ratings have gone up, and ticket sales have gone up, and pay-per-view buys have gone up. These aren’t feelings. These are facts, right? And I’m very sick and tired of listening to feelings online. Now granted, apparently, the feeling’s restored. You want to hear a ****ing secret, Baby Huey? I’ve been the feeling the whole entire ****ing time. I’m the feeling. I’m the main character. I’m the franchise. I’m Maxwell Jacob Freidman, and I’m better than you, and you know it. Next question.”

His Thoughts on Speedball Mike Bailey

“I could beat the **** out of that little Canadian twerp. He like weighs 125 pounds soaking wet, man. And I heard he’s got a small *****. [Huey laughs] Why are you laughing? That’s horrible. I’m just throwing it out there. They call them Speedball. I call them no balls.”

On AEW Coming Together and Overcoming Its Dark Days

“Camaraderie is up, locker room’s up, everybody is coming together to try to beat the **** out of me. And sometimes the best way to form camaraderie is by hating somebody, you know, universally. And I’m fine with that. If me being as great as I am causes people to start working harder and being better at their job, by all means, please try to catch up with me. Cuz if you try to catch up with me hard enough, you’re going to be the best version of yourself. You’re never going to ****ing beat me, but you’re going to be the best version of yourself.”

For his next challenge, MJF defends his AEW World Title against former champion Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match tomorrow at AEW Revolution 2026. The pay-per-view event is being held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. It will be broadcast live on pay-per-view.

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Baby Huey with 107.7 The Bone, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.