MJF - what does the future hold?

[RedTwoster]

This thread is inspired by comments by Jeff Jarrett - which you can read in full on Fightful or by listening to his podcast. 

I don’t want to misrepresent Jarrett - so to be clear, he acknowledges that his feud with MJF was terrible, and he made enormous mistakes by stepping in the gutter. But he also says this:

“When I really take a step back and look at all of it, there’s not one talent that has been — I won’t say worked with, because I hadn’t really worked with MJF. Have I been involved with it, yeah on a certain level. He always leaves everyone worse than when he started being associated on any level. I think he’s toxic, I think he’s selfish, I think he’s got a boatload of talent but I don’t think he was good for my career on any level.”

I’m not sure I agree that MJF leaves the people he works with worse off - but I also rate him much less highly than I once did, thanks to his inability to evolve his act.

But what do you think? Is he ‘toxic’? How has your opinion changed on him; if at all? 

[herbie747]

As an aside to your topic, I saw MJF last week on the Von Erich's Hollywood Demons episode, and he was in character the whole time being a heel and it came across so tacky and disrespectful IMO. This isn't an angle - it's a real story, so maybe drop the gimmick for 5 minutes and stop acting like an idiot.

 

 

[JLM]

Jarrett was working there. 
 

“Hey man, you’re going to say what you want to say and if you want to go in the gutter, I don’t wanna go there. It’s not good for me, I don’t believe it’s good for you, I don’t believe it’s good for the product.’ 

“He did that, he obviously took high offense to me wanting AEW gold.”

That’s referring to the story. They acknowledged that train wreck of a promo battle and tried to make it part of the angle that MJF dragged him into the gutter. Jeff Jarrett the character wanted AEW gold, he’s not saying Max torpedoed the segment because Jarrett was pressuring Tony to put the belt on him. 
 

Not to invalidate the discussion about MJF more broadly of course, but Jarrett was in character making those comments.

[FLips]

My interest in MJF went from “oh this guy can talk and wrestle!” to “his promos are awful and tacky but at least he can put on a good match” to “I don’t like watching this guy” over the space of his AEW career.

I’ve mentioned him as one I’d get over to WWE before and I stand by it. Drop the edgy promos and lean more into his actual character and he could be a star in WWE. In AEW though I think he’s done all there is to do and won’t adapt from calling himself a jew boy and swearing like a rebellious teenager.

Edited May 2, 2025 by FLips

[LaGoosh]

I can't think of anyone who has been hurt by a feud with MJF. He's had some bad feuds but he hasn't always been entirely to blame for them.

More generally he's a mixed bag. When he's good he's really good. But when he's bad he's fucking awful. It's a shame that character wise he's regressed since his return from injury. But this guy pretty much managed to single handedly make a match with Adam Cole of all people a believable and acceptable main event of one of the biggest shows in history so his talent can't be denied.

[Supremo]

This Hurt Syndicate thing has been a real return to form for MJF.

When he’s not the shittest thing since un-sliced bread, he’s one of the very best at this episodic, week-to-week stuff. Gives you through lines to follow and speculate on, weekly developments, mixed with great character work and splashes of comedy.

You could say, when it comes to being a weekly television character, he’s….*raises eyebrow*…The Pinnacle.

Considering how much I’ve hated some of his stuff these last twelve months, this current run gets three thumbs up from me.

[tiger_rick]

Agree with the two posts above. I think I rate MJF based on what he's been doing. He's clearly talented. Can talk great and works great and doesn't stray too much from the arsehole character he's built - even when he's a face.

I was also fed up of him a few months ago coming off some dogshit feuds that relied on some terrible shooty stuff that no-one needed to hear. His bad stuff is really bad but I think it's a small percentage of his work in the company overall.

I'd have not cared if he'd disappeared at that point but typical of him, it only takes something for him to sink his teeth into and he's back to being an enjoyable part of the TV every week. The will they/won't they with the Hurt Syndicate has been really good and continues to move along nicely. I don't really know what the end goal is but I'm interested either way.

[Guest]

Hangman put him right, and he's been good again ever since. He's a good wrestler, and an excellent in ring heel who's willing to show a lot of arse (just yesterday saw that excellent shot of him tapping his head to show how smart he is as Osprey leaps in behind him. Ace), but he's definitely defaulted to edgelord too much. Hangman completely no selling it helped, and he's always better when he leans into his deeper character a bit.

[Statto]

Yeah agreed on that. 

He dropped the belt to Joe and went away, and AEW got better for his absence (IMO) to the point I really thought both sides would be better off if WWE won the "bidding war of 2024" - it would have been fresh turf for him (with a bit more of an enforced filter) and AEW would continue to benefit from his absence.

Then he came back and was the worst thing on Dynamite not wearing a plain white t-shirt, until Hangman made him watchable again. And he's carried the form into the Hurt Business angle.

Edited May 2, 2025 by Statto
Form not former

[HarmonicGenerator]

2 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

But this guy pretty much managed to single handedly make a match with Adam Cole of all people a believable and acceptable main event of one of the biggest shows in history so his talent can't be denied.

This is what I was going to say. A lot of the time I don’t like his stuff, but when he’s on form he’s really, really good. I didn’t bat an eyelid when he and Cole were the main event at Wembley - it felt right.

[Chili]

My opinion hasn't changed on him, he's still good and Jarrett is doing a carny work there. They should have done a far FAR better job if he was going heel again, why and be less subtle. The Adam Cole re-feud was a miserable experience, but the Hangman stuff brought him right back. They're not done with that either if you ask me. He's ok at the moment purely because trying to see the end of the Hurt Business angle could go a few ways which is interesting.

[SuperBacon]

I've never been a huge MJF fan, but can see he's good, and I think most of that comes down to that he isn't accessible for a casual viewer (of which I am) which he'd massively benefit from in WWE.

This is of course my problem and not his, as I don't really watch a lot of wrestling, but every time I've seen him, it feels like that there is an impenetrable layer to his feuds that require an extensive knowledge of loads of previous things or call backs (again, my problem not his) and that is always really off putting. And this isn't really me trying to say anything about long term storytelling or anything like that, just my observation whenever I've tuned in and seen him.

I feel like him being reined in on some of these aspects would really help him hone in on what he is, as again when I see him, he's a bit all over the place with what it feels like he is trying to achieve.

Having said that, his match vs Danielson is one of my favourite I've seen in AEW and he contributed hugely to my enjoyment of it.

[LaGoosh]

I'm really glad MJF didn't go to WWE. Despite the massive variation in quality of his output I don't think out of any of the best stuff he's done that he would have been able to do much of it in WWE. They would absolutely rein him in but they would rein in all his best qualities as well as his bad.

I can't wait to see an inevitable MJF/Swerve feud. Both are great at thinking outside the box, character work and taking big creative swings, I think it's going to be something really special whenever it happens.

 

Edited May 2, 2025 by LaGoosh

[d-d-d-dAz]

It's hard for me to criticise MJF, as I was completely bought into MJF/Cole and not only did I buy it as a Wembley main event, I think I could make an argument that up until that point in the feud it was my wrestling fandom peak as a grown adult.

It's also why ill never give up completely on Cole, no matter how cold he is now.

But MJF to me, occasionally suffers not from a lack of light and shade to his character (we've seen he can do funny and he can do serious), but his inability at times to play between those lines. He doesn't really have a 'medium' setting, he's always 100% on one way or another.

I find sometimes he'll flip a switch suddenly. He goes from 0-60 in the blink of an eye mid-segment and out of nowhere he's swearing and and he's threatening to kill someone or he's making really personal jibes or whatever, without it really feeling earned.

I still like him, I still think he's capable of being great but I think if he could be a bit less jarring, and earn those big 'ooh' moments rather than just chucking then out for a reaction, I'd like his act even more.

I don't fully buy that he'd have flourished in WWE. I think for MJF to really work he still needs to - occasionally - be allowed to reach those edgelord moments. For me, he just needs to be a bit more considered and sparing in terms of when he uses them, and find more natural ways of getting there.

But still, very much Team MJF and believe he's in the best place.

Edited May 2, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz

[TheScarlettChad]

He's always been an edge lord. What's changed? His promos were always lazy, full of lazy insults, Methanie was the height of comedy I'm sure. He should go to WWE so he can learn how to cut a promo without relying on edgelord garbage.