AEW Champion: “If I Leave, This Company Is F**king Done”
A current AEW champion believes the company would be done if he left.
As the two-time and current AEW World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman is known for being a confident man who isn’t shy, whether he’s cutting a promo on Dynamite or doing an interview.
When AEW launched in January 2019, MJF was a guy in his early 20s who hadn’t had national exposure in pro wrestling, but he was dripping in potential.
In the seven years since then, MJF has arguably been the MVP of AEW and the biggest homegrown star the company has produced, along with his Revolution opponent, “Hangman” Adam Page, who is also a two-time World Champion.
During his run in AEW, MJF has teased a possible move to WWE, but he hasn’t tested free agency and instead re-signed with the only major pro wrestling company he has worked for.
“All Elite Wrestling Is My Company” – AEW World Champion MJF
While speaking to Denise Salcedo, MJF made some interesting comments about his place in AEW and how the company would die without his presence.
“You can’t say never in wrestling. It’s pro wrestling. Somebody who I hate once said they would never go there, and they went there, so you never know.
But if you ask me my honest genuine opinion, All Elite Wrestling is my company. I’m the biggest star this company has. I’m the star this company needs. If I leave, this company is f*cking done, if we’re just being honest.
Nobody creates as much buzz as me. Nobody is as big of a draw as me. Nobody is as good as me in the ring or on the microphone, so I don’t think it would be conducive to the sport of professional wrestling, which frankly whether I want to admit it or not, I love very much.
If I want there to be an alternative, the alternative needs to have a tippy top act that has managed to get his name outside of the wrestling bubble. You’re looking at a guy who was in the most streamed Netflix movie of all time. You’re looking at a guy who’s got a Universal movie coming out in December, Violent Night 2, and I have a lot of things I can’t talk about at this moment that are also irons in the fire in Hollywood.
So things are big right now, and I’m proud to be, unequivocally, the reason that AEW is so successful in 2026.” (H/T Wrestlepurists)
The extremely confident MJF defends the AEW World Title against his biggest rival, the former 2-time AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page at AEW Revolution this Sunday, March 15th in Los Angeles. The Revolution lineup is below.
- AEW World Championship Texas Death Match: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. “Hangman” Adam Page – If Page loses, he cannot wrestle for the World Title again.
- AEW World Tag Team Championships: FTR – Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler vs. The Young Bucks – Matt & Nick Jackson
- AEW Continental Championship No Time Limit Match: Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Thekla vs. Kris Statlander
- AEW World Trios Championships: Don Callis Family – Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher, and Mark Davis vs. Místico and JetSpeed – Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight
- AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championships: The Babes of Wrath – Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Megan Bayne & Lena Kross
- Andrade El Idolo vs. Bandido
- Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King
- Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, and Roderick Strong vs. The Dogs – David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Clark Connors
- Everyone Banned From Ringside: Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir
ZERO HOUR PRE-SHOW MATCHES:
- TBS Championship: Willow Nightingale vs. Lena Kross
- AEW National Championship Blackjack Battle Royale: Ricochet, Tommaso Ciampa, 19 More Competitors