MJF has addressed handling crowds at the end of long AEW pay-per-views and how many matches he thinks would hit the “sweet spot.”
A criticism often levelled at Tony Khan is the booking of pay-per-views. While the action is often praised, some see his booking of 10 or more matches at every big event as excessive.
As a two-time AEW World Champion, MJF has been in the main event of his fair share of PPVs, and during the latest edition of Late Night Grin, he admitted that the audience can be exhausted by the time he makes his entrance in the main event. However, he takes pride in being able to make the fans get emotionally invested regardless of the time.
“Thanks for putting 15 matches on, Tony. You’re a f**king mensch. By the time I get out there, you can literally hear a person fart. They’re dead. They’re f**king exhausted. They don’t want to be there anymore.
“MJF’s music hits, ‘Alright, we gotta lock in.’ And I give those fans in that live audience no choice but to get emotionally invested, right? And that’s something I’m so proud of because if you put any other top guy from any other era outside of this one in the position that my boss f**king puts me in, over and over and over again, they would f**king kill somebody.”
The Salt of the Earth believes that he isn’t the only star who is “that damn good,” and named some of his adversaries as being on the same level.
“I’m just that damn good so it doesn’t matter. Kenny Omega’s that damn good, so it doesn’t matter. Will Ospreay is that damn good, so it doesn’t matter. Hangman [Adam Page], [Samoa] Joe, Mox, the list goes on and on.”
How Many Matches Would MJF Book On A PPV?
When it comes to how many matches he would put on a PPV card, MJF believes that eight is the ideal amount, but he also gave credit to Tony Khan for making longer shows work and giving fans their money’s worth.
“If you ask me if I would prefer to be on a card that had f**king six matches or 30, my answers going to be f**king six.”
“I gotta give Tony credit, as much as it pains me: He makes sure you get your bang for f**king buck, man. You’re leaving belly full. We’re putting a f**king spoon up to your mouth and you’re like, ‘Please stop.’ And we’re like, ‘F**king open your mouth!’ And then you open your mouth and we put it in and you go, ‘Oh, well I guess I could’ve ate a little bit more. That’s fair.
“Now, I do think, and I’ve talked about it openly, I personally feel eight is the magic number, I really do.”
During the same interview, MJF said he pitched a “Wednesday Night Wars” documentary to Tony Khan in honor of Dynamite defeating NXT when they regularly went head-to-head.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the original source and give an H/T to Slam Wrestling for the transcription.
