Tony Khan Says MJF Isn’t Well-Liked Backstage

Tony Khan is owning up to the heat surrounding MJF in the AEW locker room, and he’s not denying the drama.

During a conversation with Going Ringside, the AEW boss opened up about MJF’s rising Hollywood career, his controversial locker room reputation, and his latest show-stealing matches. Love him or hate him, MJF is making serious noise—on screen and in the ring.

Khan didn’t hold back when asked about MJF’s growing crossover into movies. With Happy Gilmore 2 topping the box office and MJF stealing scenes as Happy’s son, Khan made it clear that the guy knows how to entertain.

“Yeah, MJF’s a huge, huge wrestling star and now he’s becoming a star of movies. He got a great role playing Happy Gilmore’s son in Happy Gilmore 2. Happy Gilmore 2 is the most watched movie in America this year. And MJF’s a big part of the movie. If you remember his four—his very rowdy four sons—the main lead boy is MJF. He’s the most prominent one, and they’re supposed to be hard-hitting brawlers, and he’s definitely the tough guy of the four Happy Gilmore boys.”

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But when it comes to his presence behind the scenes, Khan made a brutally honest admission: most of the AEW locker room isn’t exactly lining up to hang out with MJF.

“MJF’s not the most popular guy backstage. You know, most of the wrestlers don’t really like him very much. So, I would say that among some of the villains of AEW, there is some camaraderie. And you know, a guy like maybe Don Callis or Okada—I think those guys are probably happy for MJF. But a lot of the fan favorites in AEW really don’t like MJF very much.”

Still, Khan isn’t about to dismiss MJF’s impact on the company. Despite the tension, the AEW President made it clear he respects the work MJF puts in, even if he doesn’t always agree with his shortcuts.

“That being said, everybody is very impressed with what he’s doing. He is a really hard-working guy, and I am very impressed with MJF. I think he’s an incredible wrestling talent. When he focuses on the wrestling, I think MJF is one of the best. But he always takes shortcuts. He’s always trying to cheat his way to the top. And I don’t even think he needs to, is the truth. He’s a really gifted wrestler and a student of wrestling—a student of the history of wrestling and a student of technical wrestling. And also, MJF is a student of acting now. And he’s doing a great job with it.”

Even while filming another movie, MJF is still racking up in-ring classics. Khan gave him props for recent back-to-back matches in two different countries.

“He’s filming another movie right now. And for AEW, the executives—we are proud of what MJF is doing. Even if he’s not the most popular guy with some of the fans or the other wrestlers, he’s a huge part of AEW and he’s working really hard. He just had two incredible matches last weekend in two different countries.”

“He had an incredible match Friday night at the CMLL anniversary show in Mexico City against Mistico. It’s one of the best matches I’ve ever seen. And then he went up to Toronto and had another classic, hardcore, hard-hitting fight in the tables and tacks match with Mark Briscoe at AEW All Out, which is one of the best shows we’ve ever done in AEW. So, kudos to MJF big time.”

Whether you cheer him or boo him, MJF is delivering—on the big screen and in the ring. Khan knows the locker room might not love him, but he’s betting on MJF anyway.

Do you think MJF’s backstage rep will catch up with him, or is his talent too big to ignore? Drop your thoughts in the comments and let us know where you stand.

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