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MJF Announces 2 Wrestlers Have Joined AEW

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Jan 17, 2026 10:55 EST
MJF walking to the ring on AEW Dynamite

MJF recently welcomed two wrestlers officially to AEW.

As scheduled, the ‘Salt of the Earth’ defended his AEW World Championship at Limitless Rumble on January 16 against Alec Price. Their bout stretched just under 25 minutes and ended with Maxwell Jacob Friedman retaining the title.

After the match, he spoke to his opponent and his tag partner, Oliver Jordan, confirming that they had been signed by the Florida promotion.

In doing so, he hugged both Price and Jordan, but also warned them about the consequences of coming after his title.

On the eve of his match with Alec Price, the 29-year-old spoke to Justin Barrasso of Undisputed, where he spoke highly about the strides Price had taken since he had last seen him.

Independent professional wrestling is now more important than it’s ever been. I’ve seen a lot of these guys and gals come into major wrestling promotions, and they look greener than Luchasaurus’ sh*t-stained underwear.

I look at a guy like Alec Price, who was just starting to get hot when I was getting out of the independent scene, and I could see right away that the guy could talk and he could wrestle. I love his tag partner Jordan Oliver, too. But Alec, he was smaller than my f**king left calf. Now he put on size, and he’s added even more attitude and charisma.

MJF Defended His AEW Championship On Dynamite

MJF faced the unpredictable Bandido on the January 14 episode of AEW Dynamite, where he defended his title against the ROH World Champion.

A week prior, both superstars came face-to-face during a post-match segment, which ended with the masked luchador getting the best of the title-holder.

MJF controlled the majority of the match with his offenses, even unsuccessfully attempting a Heatseeker in the process. Bandido, on his part, maintained his fast-paced style of wrestling and tried to execute his 21 Plex finisher, too.

In the end, it was the champion who emerged victorious after making his opponent pass out by applying the LeBell lock.

After the match, MJF gave Bandido the props for his performance, even calling him a future AEW Champion before attacking him again.