"To be the best"- Konnan weighs in on top star potentially returning to claim the AEW World Championship
Konnan believes MJF will be shooting straight for the AEW world title upon his highly-anticipated return.
MJF was last seen on the June 1st edition of Dynamite, where he left the wrestling world bewildered. The 26-year-old cut a blistering promo on Tony Khan and essentially walked out of the company. The Salt of The Earth has since not been mentioned at all in the AEW programming.
It's worth noting that the former Pinnacle leader has seemingly vanished since then. He has not been in sight on any social media or wrestling-related platforms.
Fans have been wondering about MJF's much-awaited return to the Jacksonville-based promotion. Given his history with CM Punk, speculations of him returning at All Out are in the air.
Speaking on the Keepin' It 100 podcast, WCW legend Konnan opined that Friedman would be marching straight in to claim the AEW World Championship.
"I think because of their past history, it should be Punk...but if he returns, he says he returned to be the best and won't settle for anything else less and he wants a shot at whoever is the champion and that should be his first big match," said Konnan. [From 1:10 to 1:20]
I'm still reeling over that MJF pipebomb promo from last night. I've watched it 10 times by now.
That "signing ex-WWE guys" line was a massive stinger to AEW. It was so brutal it has Dave Meltzer worried it'll hurt the company in the long run.
Do you agree with Meltzer? https://t.co/lUqhivnnkJ
Konnan believes MJF is going to be a beast
Friedman's last match was against Wardlow at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in May. Wrestling his former bodyguard, the Pinnacle leader was left decimated with ten thunderous powerbombs in the middle of the ring.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman has gone on a meteoric rise since making his AEW debut in 2019. In just three years, the 26-year-old established himself as one of the finest heels this business has ever seen.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnSKripted, Konnan spoke highly of MJF for having the acumen to learn from Chris Jericho.
"I got along great with MJF in MLW. You can tell that MJF is like a sponge, picking up everything Jericho's doing because MJF's gonna be like Jericho. He's gonna be a beast," he added.
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“Tony (Khan) did say that after this show (All Out) they will be at 100% & they will be the strongest unit — that they have ever had, 100%.
He wouldn’t say what 100% means, but to me 100% means MJF, & I already knew MJF was coming back soon.”
- Dave Meltzer
(via WOR) https://t.co/vBYhsjqosv
The wrestling fraternity has been pondering upon various theories concerning Friedman's next move. It will be interesting to see if The Salt of the Earth returns to Tony Khan's promotion soon.
Will Maxwell Jacob Friedman jump ship to WWE or return at All Out? Only time will tell.
Please credit Keepin' It 100 and give a H/T to Sportskeeda when using any quotes from this article.
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