AEW World Champion MJF has received high praise from a WWE Hall of Famer after recently crediting them with helping change the wrestling business for the better.
Speaking on the Shut Up and Wrestle podcast, MJF praised Kevin Nash, the late Scott Hall, and agent Barry Bloom for helping establish guaranteed contracts during their jump from WWE to WCW in the 1990s.
According to MJF, wrestlers continue to benefit from the impact that move had on the industry.
“People love to sh** on Nash and Hall. They made professional wrestling for professional wrestlers healthier,” MJF said. “Every wrestler should be very thankful for Barry Bloom, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.”
Nash responded to the comments on the latest episode of Kliq This, revealing that he appreciated the praise and had plenty of respect for the AEW World Champion.
“I think he knows how much I appreciate him. So we’ve had conversations. I think he’s super talented,” Nash said.
The discussion then turned to Nash’s legacy and the impact he had on the business beyond his in-ring career.
Asked whether helping to improve wrestlers’ pay would ultimately define his legacy, Nash joked that it would certainly not be remembered for anything he did from the top rope, before explaining his long-held philosophy on the business side of wrestling.
“I’ve said it from day one. When you break in, it’s like, why is it they call it the business, but when you treat it like one, you’re a motherf***er?” Nash said. “I’ve never went to work anywhere in my life, and the bottom line wasn’t about getting paid. I want to get paid.”
Kevin Nash Recalled Being Worked By MJF’s Famous 2022 Promo
Kevin Nash also reflected on one of MJF’s most memorable AEW moments, the 2022 worked-shoot promo in which the former AEW World Champion demanded that Tony Khan fire him.
The segment was convincing enough that Nash believed MJF was genuinely trying to leave AEW for WWE.
“When he did the one where he was telling Tony Khan, ‘fire me, fire me, Tony, fire me,’ they cut his mic off. I was watching it live, and I just thought, man, he must want to go to f**king New York,” Nash said. “And I went, ‘oh f**k, man, you got me.'”
MJF is currently in his second reign as AEW World Champion and remains one of the promotion’s top stars.
