"Did PR get a little upset that I didn't clear it with them? Yes. Does PR now have absolutely no choice but to just salivate at the fact that MJF is leaving his house to do an interview in regards to Arthur Ashe? Yes, because things have changed a little bit," he said.
"The ball's in my court, pal, that's what's changed. What does that mean? Let's talk now. I'm one of the biggest ratings, not just in AEW but in all of professional wrestling minute for minute. If you don't believe me, hit up Brandon Thurston, he's a great guy, puts up a lot of great information."
MJF was also asked about not having signed a contract extension with AEW and "The Bidding War of 2024."
"I go where the money is at, whoever is going to offer me the most amount of money is where I'm gong to go, that could be anywhere. Hell, if there's some financial backer out there that wants to start his own wrestling company and use me as the figurehead, that's where I'll go. It's that simple, that's all I care about is money."
Helwani also asked MJF about
reports over Double or Nothing weekend that he had purchased a plane ticket out of Las Vegas.
"I cannot confirm or deny there being a plane ticket. What I will say is this, I'm a businessman, I do what I have to do in order to ensure that what I need gets done. It got done, I'm back, I'm making a stupid, absurd amount of money now and I didn't have to sign a contract extension."
MJF was then asked where he went and what he did while he was away from AEW over the summer. He mentioned taking a two-week trip to Greece and Italy with his fiancé but spent the rest of it at home.
"I then went home and I stayed home. I did not leave my home because I did not [want] one single, solitary wrestling fan to see me out in the wild. Do you know why? Because they don't deserve to see me, unless I'm getting paid to be seen."
"I take what I do very seriously. If you want to see a star, pay to see that star. So I stayed in my home. I went to a gym inside of my home. I did not leave my home."
"I was committed to making sure that if any wrestling fan wanted to get a taste of MJF, MJF needed to get that money, and he did."
He also confirmed that he did watch AEW while he was away but felt the product had "a void" without him on it.
"I think, and I say this with love and respect, we have a lot of great stars. We have Chris Jericho, we have Jon Moxley, we have Bryan Danielson, hell, another great guy, there's this guy, very scary, intimidating looking guy, Brody King, I believe is his name, he seems like a top-tier guy. But if we're being honest with ourselves, the show felt like it had this big, fat, gigantic void and I firmly believe that I was that void and if you look at the numbers now since I've come back, it's very clear I was."
Helwani also asked MJF about Cody Rhodes signing with WWE.
"The American rollercoaster did what he had to do. He's a businessman, just like MJF."
"I do not blame Cody Rhodes for his decision, Cody Rhodes did what's best for Cody Rhodes and MJF always does what's best to MJF, so kudos for him."
MJF was then asked what he thought of Rhodes wrestling with a torn pec at Hell in a Cell.
"Incredibly brave, incredibly brave," he responded. Helwani then asked MJF if he would have done the same thing. "Absolutely not," MJF responded.
"Here's what would happen, I would ask for my money, I'd go in the ring, and then lay down on my back. Technically I competed," he continued.
MJF offered "no comment" regarding the melee backstage at All Out.
"I cannot comment on the press conference. All I can say is this, I don't deal in rumor and innuendo."
When Helwani asked why MJF couldn't comment on the press conference, MJF simply responded that he didn't want to.
"There was a lot of things said. It doesn't apply to me, it doesn't concern me and again, I'll tell you why, and I'm going to use numbers cause numbers don't lie. Numbers are facts and facts don't care about your feelings. When MJF goes out there, I pop a huge number. We just killed it in the ratings, second week in a row. Again, if people leave, come, go, stay, people are going to step up to the plate. We got massive stars in our company so I am not concerned in the least. I'm not going to comment on what was said because it doesn't apply to me but what I will say is, our company, again numbers don't lie, our company is great right now."
When asked if he felt that the altercation at All Out took away from his return to the company, MJF responded that he does not believe it did.
"Did you hear the reaction the following Dynamite? Did it sound like it took anything away from MJF?"
"When I watch the lock room and I watch the boys and I see how they react to certain situations, it's a team atmosphere. Everybody wants these three letters to be successful. The only three letters I care about are MJF, but everybody in AEW cares about AEW letters and I think it's palpable when you watch our show. I think you can feel it, you can feel that when people go out there they are giving it 110% because they want to not just raise themselves up but raise this brand new baby, because we're a baby, it's a three year old company. They want to raise this baby up like in the fricking Lion King on top of the rock."
"I read stuff online , I chuckle. It's ridiculous. Everybody wants this place to be successful. MJF wants MJF to be successful but the locker room wants AEW to be successful. It's a team atmosphere."
MJF would offer no comment when asked if he felt AEW needed CM Punk. He would continue to say his feud with Punk was one of the greatest in history, however.
"What I will say is, me and CM Punk had the greatest feud in the history of the company and I do honestly think it will go down as one of the greatest feuds of all time."
MJF appeared on The MMA Hour on Monday.
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transcripts for anyone that doesnt have time to watch
