"There is a lot of excitement" - Tony Khan claims top AEW star's return has been a 'massive needle mover' following recent backstage controversies
AEW President Tony Khan has certainly done wonders in bringing MJF back to the company, and has been very impressed with the results thus far, as he has recently called Friedman a "massive needle mover."
Maxwell Jacob Friedman made his long-awaited return to AEW at the All Out pay-per-view, winning the casino ladder match with the help of Stokely Hathaway's "The Firm" and staring down CM Punk to close out the show.
Since MJF's return, AEW Dynamite's ratings have risen significantly, with the show's most recent September 14th edition pulling the highest rating of 2022 so far.
AEW Dynamite rating for last night: 1,175,000
This is all without The Elite and CM Punk...
This prompted Tony Khan to give nothing but high praise to the drawing power of MJF during a recent interview on Rock's 105.3 "The Show."
"Since All Out, it's been very newsworthy shows and they've also been some of our best shows and best ratings. That's for a reason. AEW has put on some of our best matches. Right now, there is a lot of excitement in the company, not only with all the big championship fights, people are excited about the return of MJF. That's pretty huge. That's one of the main things we're focused on in AEW," said Tony Khan. [H/T Fightful]
Khan followed up by calling MJF a "massive needle mover" and crediting his return to the company as one of the main reasons why the ratings have been so strong.
"I will say that MJF's return has been a massive needle mover for AEW and has generated a ton of interest. Having MJF back on Dynamite has been great. That's another reason why we've seen a great ratings bump. He's a great star and a huge part of AEW," added Khan. [H/T Fightful]
Tony Khan was also asked about CM Punk and his status in the company
While The Elite is still serving suspensions and those who were seen as trying to de-escalate the backstage brawl between The Elite and CM Punk back from suspension, the wrestling world still doesn't know what the future holds for the "Second City Saint."
According to the latest reports, the ongoing third-party investigation led by the company's General Counsel, Chris Peck, is about to reach its conclusion soon.
Tony Khan had to put CM Punk, Kenny Omega and Young Bucks on the bench so he cooked up this card for Arthur Ashe. 🔥
Gonna be two of the best AEW TV shows of the year. https://t.co/l0PBSFey0Z
Tony Khan was asked about Punk's whereabouts. However, he kept his cards close to his chest.
"I can't really comment on any of that." [H/T Fightful]
What do you think will happen to CM Punk? Will he return to the company or retires from the business? Let us know in the comments section down below!