MJF is changing his tune when it comes to TNA President Carlos Silva after blasting him earlier this year over a canceled indie wrestling match.
The issue started after a scheduled match between MJF and Nic Nemeth for Create-A-Pro Wrestling got pulled following a new policy put in place by Silva. The policy stopped TNA talent from wrestling AEW stars on independent shows due to concerns surrounding AEW Collision airing head-to-head against TNA Impact on April 2 during NCAA tournament coverage.
After the match was canceled, MJF publicly ripped Silva and accused him of lying while calling him a “dumb motherf***er.” Now, during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the former AEW World Champion admitted he may have overreacted after learning more about Silva’s background.
MJF explained that Silva believed AEW intentionally moved Collision onto the same night as TNA Impact, not realizing the show was simply preempted because of sports scheduling.
“The truth is he didn’t want AEW talent to go up against TNA talent because he thought that my boss intentionally put, I believe it was a Collision, on the same night as TNA.”
MJF went on to explain that AEW gets moved around every year during the college basketball playoffs and claimed Silva misunderstood the situation, which led to the decision to pull the matches.
“We were preempted. And he didn’t know that, so because he didn’t know that, he got offended. And then he pulled a couple of matches off.”
MJF admitted he was angry because he was excited for the match with Nic Nemeth and felt the decision hurt everyone financially involved.
“I was offended because, A: You’re taking a match away from me that I was looking forward to, I was looking forward to beating the sht out of Nic Nemeth, formerly known as Dolph Ziggler. And B: You’re taking money out of people’s pockets.”*
Despite the frustration, MJF said he has since heard positive things about Silva and now believes the TNA executive is simply learning the wrestling business on the fly.
“I’ve been informed that this guy’s getting smarter to the business, he’s fairly green, he’s fairly new, and he’s learning on the job.”
He closed by saying he has eased up on Silva after hearing he’s viewed as a good person backstage.
“I’ve been told that he’s a good guy, so I’ve pumped the brakes a little bit on ol’ Carlos Silva. He’s learning on the job.”
Silva officially became TNA President in February 2025. Before taking over the role, he worked as an executive for Anthem Sports & Entertainment and previously held leadership positions in MMA promotions like PFL and World Series of Fighting.
Do you think Carlos Silva made the right call by stopping AEW vs. TNA matches on the indies, or did he overreact to the scheduling situation? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.
