MJF On His Opportunities in AEW, Rivalry With Chris Jericho, What’s Next After Stadium Stampede

MJF is leading the Pinnacle into battle at AEW Double or Nothing against the Inner Circle, and he discussed his AEW run and more in a new interview with PWInsider. You can check out the highlights below:

On how he’s doing going into Double or Nothing: “I’m great. Obviously, I’m great. I’m the greatest of all time after defeating Chris Jericho, not once, but twice. I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to this because, quite frankly, I am so sick and tired of The Inner Circle and I say deep down, everybody is. We beat them clean at ‘Blood & Guts.’ I’ve beaten Chris Jericho clean, smack dab in the middle of the ring at Full Gear, and we’re going to beat them clean again, except this time, they’re not going to be able to come back up, annoy us and pester us. No, no. This time, they will have to break up forever, and it’s going to be, oh so sweet.”

On having a lot of opportunities in AEW: “No, no, no. Mike. Mike, for the love of God, taken them. I’ve taken every single opportunity. From the jump, I was not supposed to be, and I hate to say this, because I think I’m a salt of the earth guy, but I was not supposed to be the quote-unquote ‘number one villain’ in professional wrestling. That was not my spot to have. That was for the EVP’s. That was for the friends of the EVPs. That was not the old MJF. But what happened was, is I forced their hand. They had absolutely no choice. The first time you saw me on AEW programming, they handed me a microphone. They said, ‘Kid, if you’re so great, you keep flapping your gums on the back, and you’re so great, how about you cut a promo on Bret Hart and hang man out of page, in front of a sold-out crowd?’ Deal. And then, I walked out there, and I cut one of the greatest promos in the history of professional wrestling, and I was just getting started. And that’s when everybody said, ‘Oh, shit. He’s going to take my spot.’ And then, I did. That’s why I’m already a legend at 25. That’s why I’m already the greatest of all time. So no, I did not get an opportunity. I took an opportunity, Mike.”

On both teaming with and facing Jericho: “Look, I’m not going to lie here. I grew up idolizing Chris Jericho. Chris Jericho was a God to me, and being able to have tagged with him for as long as I did meant the world. I was able to learn from him. Whether he wanted me to or not, I would take his lane. I was able to learn from Chris Jericho. But if I’m being completely blunt, the tables have turned a little bit, where at first, it was a big-time, amazing, spectacular thing for me to be able to share the ring with Christopher. Now, it’s a big-time, spectacular thing for him to be able to share the ring with me because I’m the hottest thing going in professional wrestling. It was Chris. It was Chris for 30-plus years. Now, it’s MJF. So if anything, I think the real question is ‘Why do you keep allowing Chris Jericho to share the spotlight with you, MJF?’ And my answer is, because I’m a saltier type of guy.”

On the strong reactions to stuff he’s done like the Dinner Debonair and Blood & Guts: “I love it. I feel like I’m just an agent of chaos, at this point. I’m one of the most polarizing, if not the most polarizing thing, in not just professional wrestling, but all of the media. And I love that. I was despised when I flipped off that snot-nose Brad at a signing. I was on TMZ. I was despised after I cut the promo behind the podium on Jon Moxley. I was despised after Dinner Debonair. I was despised after Blood & Guts, and I’m going to continue to be despised, and people are going to continue to have split opinions about me. And the reason that I’m happy about that is because no matter what I do, people have to talk about me, and they can’t help it. I’m the most talked about guy in this business right now, and that’s pretty crazy, considering the fact that I’m in a company that’s not even two years old yet and I think that’s the power of me, as a performer, that I am able to bring such a massive spotlight to All Elite Wrestling. Honestly, I feed off of it. I love it. But the one thing, no matter what happens weekend and week out on Dynamite, that I am so glad has stopped, is the comparisons. I have almost not seen any comparisons since I debuted. When I debuted, I was compared to EC3 and Miz. And again, that’s not a dig, but that’s not a knock, which is why it sounds so interesting. I think both of those guys are tremendous performers, but now, nobody’s comparing me anymore because I’m impossible to compare. How do you compare perfection? It’s impossible, and it’s cool to see now, even though these people hate me and they do after. After they’re done burying me as a human being, they can’t help but put over the fact that I am the top villain right now in professional wrestling, and I’m damn proud of it.”

On finding chemistry with the other members of the Pinnacle: “It’s honestly been a breeze, man, because we all love pro wrestling and moreover, we all love old-school professional wrestling, and what’s old is new. Everybody else wants to go out there and perform, in my opinion, not professional wrestling, but ballet. And pro wrestling, I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times … pro wrestling is not ballet. Pro wrestling is physical. Pro wrestling is intense. Pro wrestling is damaging. And I like that. I like … not only in the ring, but I like grabbing a microphone and being real. I’m real in the ring. I’m real on the mic. So is Dax. So is Cash … So is Tully, and so is Wardlow. And that’s why we all get along. It’s because we take this very, very seriously, and we’re all very passionate. And that’s why we can call ourselves ‘Pinnacle’ in this group session because you can’t take your eyes off of us.”

On what’s next for him after Stadium Stampede: “Like I said, it’s gotten very frustrating for me. The fact of the matter is, I should be champion right now, Dictator Jon cheated. He used an illegal maneuver that he was not meant to be allowed to use in the matchup. The referee didn’t see it, and I lost a match that should have been seen and I should have been given the championship. Now, after that happened, I have gotten tied up ever since then with Chris Jericho and his gang of misfits. I should be a world champion right now, and when I am done with Chris Jericho and his misfits, as long as people stop pestering me and allow me to get into my legacy and what I was born to do, I will be the AEW World champion. And I will have a reign that will make the likes of Bruno Sammartino blush.”