MJF showed up for his match at AEW Double or Nothing, losing to Wardlow in a satisfying and logical end to their ongoing feud. But that seemed in doubt for a bit over the weekend, and Tony Khan shed no light on the reported drama after the pay-per-view.
Khan was asked about MJF during the post-show media scrum, but it was clear that was one topic he wasn’t willing to discuss.
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Khan said. “I’ve got a lot of stuff from the pay-per-view that I can comment on, but I’m not going to comment on that.”
MJF’s status for Double or Nothing became the subject of much intrigue on Saturday, when he failed to show up as scheduled for a meet and greet session as part of AEW’s Fan Fest. That was followed by reports that there was a plane ticket out of Las Vegas in his name, raising questions about whether his earlier absence was an elaborate work or the latest signs of his unhappiness with his AEW contract.
Once the Double or Nothing pre-show began and he was still being advertised, it was likely that at the very least, AEW expected him to perform. He did just that, though he never got on the microphone — a rarity for one of the best talkers in the business — and he briefly ran around with his arms spread when he took the ring, an apparent reference to the Saturday speculation.
There remains a chance that the whole situation is a real issue that AEW is playing close to the vest, either to use as storyline fodder down the road or simply to keep the continuing dissatisfaction of one of its brightest young stars from exploding even more. But questions will continue to be asked, and every upcoming episode of Dynamite is going to have some of them floating around in the back of viewers’ minds.