MJF has offered some rare praise for Darby Allin.
In one of the most surprising moments of 2026, Darby Allin defeated MJF to capture the AEW World Championship in only two minutes at the Spring BreakThru edition of Dynamite in April. To make matters worse for the Salt of the Earth, Allin did it with a side headlock takeover, the same move MJF has used to beat him in the past.
Speaking to Justin Barrasso of Undisputed, Friedman said that while fans think he and Allin have great chemistry, he has nothing but hate for his fellow AEW Original.
“As far as Darby Allin goes, people say we have great chemistry. All I feel toward him is vitriol. I suppose that’s what makes us special. I’m the rich guy that some would call pompous–but I call confident. He’s this grungy little shithead who likes living in cars and skateboarding and he’s an oddball.
“Like Mick Foley said to him [at Double or Nothing], ‘Do it for the weird ones.’ He’s definitely a weird guy. But a lot of our fan base are weird people–so they can relate.”
Allin only held the AEW World Title for 39 days, but in that time he defended it eight times across Dynamite and Collision, before finally losing it back to MJF at Double or Nothing in a Title vs. Hair match.
‘Darby Allin’s Title Reign Is Going Down As One Of The Greatest Of All Time’ – MJF
Surprisingly, MJF went on to praise Darby Allin’s title reign. He expressed admiration for Allin committing to be a true fighting champion, although he quickly followed up by explaining how it was also “dumb.”
“They watch that dude wrestle some of the best in the world every single week, and as much as it pains me to say it, Darby’s title reign is going down as one of the greatest of all-time. It was so unique.
“People talk about fighting champions–man, you can’t take that away for him. Now was that stupid? Did he burn the candle at both ends, and by the time he wrestled me, he was half-dead? Yeah, it was dumb as shit. But I’ll give the kid credit. He has no brains, but he has heart.”
MJF has held the AEW World Championship for 45 days so far, but his reign could come to a screeching halt on the Beach Break edition of Dynamite tonight. The Devil will put the gold on the line against Kenny Omega, with the condition that if Omega loses, he can never challenge for the title again.
