MJF has put himself on the map in AEW, but he won't truly become a household name until signing with WWE. That feels like the right next step for the former AEW World Champion, but rumour has it he's signed an extension with AEW which will keep this rising star in a company on the decline.
A photo of MJF meeting WWE Superstar John Cena at The Iron Claw premiere went viral earlier this year, and the Leader of the Cenation has finally revealed what he told the up-and-comer when they met for the first time.
"So the whole totality of the thing is I knew he was going to be there. I don't think the old me would have associated with him just because of how WWE I was," Cena reveals in the video below. "I still am WWE, but there is room for competition and competition is great and just because you don't wear the company brand I have doesn't mean you're a bad performer."
"Sports entertainment is a finicky business, and again, there's a lot of chances to make moments. This is one of their top performers for AEW and I don't know if I'm going to be the target of a moment. I'm just going to support my friend in a movie. He couldn't have been nicer. He couldn't have been more cordial. We met each other and I got pulled away to take some pictures and then we were about to go do everything else before I even got to you, and I was like, 'Hold on. Give me two minutes.'"
"I shook his hand. I said, 'Man, I'm so sorry. Excuse my ignorance, I didn't know what to expect from you today. You are a class act. I can't believe you're as professional as you are. That's just my ignorance. I'm sorry I had that judgment. I want to thank you for being so special. Thanks for making my night,'" Cena added. "Then we got back and I was able to talk to him more and I kind of was like, 'Maybe we can get you to play for the right team one day,' and all that.
"There's no denying the fact that he's doing good work and I don't think that I should ignore that. Honestly, I was floored by his professionalism. Where it would have been an easy target at a wrestling movie premiere to have yourself a moment, and we did have a moment, and it was one that the internet paid attention to."
"It was one where I was hoping that this person that I met, I could once bet on like, ‘Man, oh, we just get you over here. That'd be awesome,’ but it was great," the 16-time WWE Champion concluded. "It was great to meet a professional, classy, driven young man."
We'd be shocked if MJF didn't take Cena's advice on board and even more shocked if WWE isn't interested in signing him to a deal. Ultimately, money talks, and if AEW President Tony Khan was willing to throw as much money at one of his top stars as possible to keep him around, then a WWE debut could still be a ways off.
MJF is currently sidelined with an injury, so we don't know when or where he'll next appear. As always, stay tuned for updates as we have them.