AEW Champion MJF says tribalism among wrestlers ‘just doesn’t exist’
According to MJF, the tribalism that exists between AEW and WWE fans on social media is not replicated in the actual locker rooms.
MJF told Rolling Stone Australia that bad blood between AEW and WWE talent “just doesn’t exist.” Some wrestlers might take pride in being with a certain company, but they don’t have any hatred toward the competition.
“As far as [wrestlers like] Adam Copeland, Jon Moxley, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, these guys aren’t turning around and saying ‘F that other company.’ They’re not in real life. I’m sorry. They’re just looking for a place to hang their hat,” MJF said.
“And then you have certain guys who feel very passionate about the company they’re in, and they would never want to leave, you know? Everybody’s different. Everybody looks at professional wrestling different. Some people look at it as, I love professional wrestling, but I love money more, so I’m gonna go to this place. Some people care more about the creative side of things and feeling free as both an entertainer, an artist, and as a professional athlete. What I will say is there’s no bad blood between the boys in the companies. It just doesn’t exist.”
MJF has called tribalism “dumb” when talking about the subject in the past. In the Rolling Stone Australia interview, he credited the existence of AEW for helping make the wrestling industry a healthier place where people can make more money than they did before. He feels wrestling is more culturally relevant right now that it’s been at any point since the Attitude Era.
“Forget the fans, I don’t care about the fans. But the fact that the wrestlers now have places to hang their hat more now than ever is really cool,” MJF said. And the fact that when we started that, we became that alternative, we forced WWE or TNA or MLW to go, ‘Oh man, we have to pay our talent more money because there’s a new show in town,’ I think that’s incredible.”
MJF is the current AEW World Champion. His interview with Rolling Stone was to promote’s AEW’s upcoming trip to Australia, which will include stops in Sydney and Brisbane. Grand Slam Australia 2026 is taking place in Sydney on February 14 before Brisbane hosts a house show on February 15.
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.