MJF: Tony Khan ‘understands and respects the idea of a traveling champion’
Understanding the value of a traveling World Champion is one thing that differentiates Tony Khan from Vince McMahon.
During his second AEW World Championship reign, MJF has taken the belt to indie promotions like Limitless Wrestling and House of Glory. Bringing back this tradition of defending the World title outside of your home promotion was a goal for MJF, and Khan has given him the freedom to do so. It’s a custom that went away when McMahon had a monopoly over the wrestling industry in the United States.
“The likes of Buddy Rogers and Harley Race … Jack Brisco, Dory Funk, these gentlemen would travel around, not just their local territory, but around all of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, and they would wrestle whoever was deemed the best of the best in that local territory or area,” MJF told Uncrowned ahead of AEW Revolution.
“Another thing is we have lost the history and the tradition of our sport, because for a very long time, professional wrestling was a monopoly. It was WWE, and that’s it. The idea of seeing — I’m just going to use an example — John Cena at your local independent company was sacrilegious to a Vince McMahon. But to a Tony Khan, who both understands and respects the idea of a traveling champion, it’s not ridiculous.”
MJF is set to defend his title against Hangman Page in a Texas Death match at Revolution this Sunday. If he retains, MJF will be on track to head into upcoming appearances for One Fall Wrestling and Beyond Wrestling as champion.
In the Uncrowned interview, MJF hyped that the World title picture in AEW right now is better than it has ever been.
“This is the most competitive the top of the card has ever been in the history of our seven-year-old promotion,” he said. “You have me, Hangman, Swerve [Strickland], Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Samoa Joe, Andrade El Idolo. Now you’ve got Brody King, who just popped up there and he fits like a glove, whether I want to admit it or not. You’ve got your Kyle Fletchers of the world, who are chomping at the bit, and your [Konosuke] Takeshitas, who are chomping at the bit. I mean, the list goes on and on — and that’s the scary part.”
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles is hosting Revolution on Sunday. The MJF vs. Page match comes with a stipulation where, if Page loses, he will not be able to challenge for the AEW World Championship again.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.