MJF says he wouldn’t take less money for a ‘WrestleMania moment’
MJF says he would not take less money just to have a “WrestleMania moment.”
During a recent interview with Denise Salcedo, MJF said some wrestlers are willing to accept a pay cut in order to get booked by “the other place,” but made it clear that would not be the case for him.
MJF said:
“People will jump to the other place to get booked the same and or worse and be compensated for less. Why? I don’t know. If the answer is legacy, you know what I want my legacy to be? I want my legacy to be that my children are going to be able to afford to go to any school they want. They’re going to be able to afford to go to any restaurant they want. They’re going to be able to go on vacations. They’re going to be able to wear the nicest clothes. And that’s happening because I get compensated what my talent is worth.”
“I’m not going to settle for less compensation so I get to have a WrestleMania moment. That doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I can assure you, if you make a big enough name in All Elite Wrestling, your legacy is going to go a long way in this fan base. No one’s ever going to forget the name MJF.”
MJF continued to say that while he considers AEW president Tony Khan “a mark,” he also believes Khan is cognizant of how difficult it is to be a pro wrestler and compensates his athletes accordingly.
“I think it’s really important to pay your pro wrestlers, to pay your fighters, to pay your football players, your soccer players, your baseball players, what they deserve to be compensated.
Tony Khan, is he a mark? Yes. But he’s also caring and genuine and understands what we’re doing. We’re putting our bodies on the line for him to make money. So the least he can do is shill some of that back to us.”
MJF and AEW agreed to a new contract in 2024. While the deal has been described as long-term, the exact duration has never been publicly disclosed.
Up next for MJF, he is set to defend the AEW World Championship against Hangman Page on Sunday, March 15 at AEW Revolution. The match stipulation states that if Page is unable to defeat MJF for the title, he will no longer be allowed to challenge for the championship.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.