MJF Next AEW World Championship Challenger Following Double Or Nothing

Published: 2 hours ago by SP3 | Last Updated: 2 hours ago by SP3

Born in Harlem, New York and now living in the Bronx, Sid Pullar III aka SP3 is a lifelong wrestling fan who has been covering the industry for over nine years as a podcaster and writer. His passion for the industry has been documented with over 3,000 videos on YouTube and 8,000 written pieces across multiple outlets, such as WrestleTalk, Sports Illustrated and more.

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MJF Next AEW World Championship Challenger Following Double Or Nothing

At the AEW Double Or Nothing 2026 pay-per-view, MJF defeated Darby Allin to win the AEW World Championship.

After becoming a three-time AEW World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman will have a long list of challengers coming after the richest prize in the company.

Coming off the heels of Double Or Nothing, it should be interesting who will step up to the plate as the next challenger against MJF in the weeks to come.

Here are seven potential MJF next AEW World Championship challengers following Double Or Nothing 2026.

7. Darby Allin

On the April 15 Spring BreakThru special of AEW Dynamite, Darby Allin defeated MJF in just over two minutes to win the AEW World Title.

Over the next five weeks, Allin went on a hellacious schedule, defending the AEW World Championship against anyone who came after him, such as Tommaso Ciampa, Brody King, Kevin Knight, PAC and Konosuke Takeshita.

After recording seven straight successful defenses, the hell that Darby put his body through came back to haunt him when he lost the title to MJF at AEW Double Or Nothing 2026.

Allin should not let this loss hold him back from going back after the AEW World Title now that MJF is a three-time champion.

6. Kevin Knight

On the April 29 edition of AEW Dynamite, Kevin Knight defeated MJF to retain the TNT Championship.

This led to Knight coming up just short in his bid to challenge Darby Allin for the AEW World Championship on the May 6 Dynamite and Collision.

After telling Darby not to let ‘The Jet” and the fans down, Knight did the unthinkable and turned heel by delivering the UFO Splash to Allin as he was strapped to a stretcher following his loss to MJF at AEW Double Or Nothing 2026.

“The Jet” challenging MJF for the AEW World Title would make a ton of sense considering his victory over him and wanting the top prize in the promotion as badly as he has been chasing the gold in recent months.

5. RUSH

Following a series of wins on AEW TV in recent weeks, RUSH issued a challenge to Darby Allin if he was able to survive Double Or Nothing 2026.

However, Allin dropped the AEW World Title to Maxwell Jacob Friedman in the Title vs. Hair Match.

RUSH and MJF have their own history with one another having faced each other back in 2024.

MJF defending the AEW World Championship against RUSH would give him a different kind of challenger than his past opponents for the title across his previous two reigns.

4. Mark Briscoe

Back at AEW All Out 2025, Mark Briscoe defeated MJF in a Tables N’ Tacks Match.

This led to Maxwell Jacob Friedman taking several months off from AEW television until he returned to win the AEW World Championship at Worlds End 2025.

Now that he is once again champion, MJF might have to run into Briscoe once again as a challenger for his AEW World Title.

Following his win over Tommaso Ciampa in an Anything Goes Match on the May 20 AEW Dynamite and Collision, Briscoe could be in line for a shot at MJF’s gold very soon.

3. Andrade El Idolo

Over the past few months, MJF has been running into Andrade El Idolo in a series of backstage segments.

The Don Callis Family member has proven himself to be a top contender for the AEW World Championship.

Earlier this year, Andrade has picked up wins over Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland, establishing himself as someone who could be in contention for a shot at the richest prize in All Elite Wrestling.

After all these interactions on the company’s programming, Andrade would make a ton of sense as the next challenger for MJF’s AEW World Title in the coming weeks.

2. Mistico

In 2025, Mistico became MJF’s latest rival in All Elite Wrestling as well as CMLL.

After their first meeting at AEW Grand Slam: Mexico 2025, MJF went on to defend the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship against Mistico in a Title vs. Mask Match at the CMLL 92nd Anniversary show.

In what proved to be one of the best bouts of the entire year, Mistico defeated Maxwell Jacob Friedman to win the title.

This could lead to Mistico becoming the number one contender to face MJF for the AEW World Title as soon as the upcoming Forbidden Door 2026 pay-per-view.

1. Kenny Omega

At AEW Dynasty 2026, MJF defeated Kenny Omega to retain the AEW World Championship.

After coming up short, “The Cleaner” was motivated to keep pursuing the AEW World Title from his former rival Will Ospreay following the event.

Now that Omega is back and picked up a victory alongside The Elite, Hurt Syndicate and Jericho in a Stadium Stampede at AEW Double Or Nothing 2026, it should lead to “The Best Bout Machine” trying to once again challenge for the top prize in AEW.

Omega putting something on the line like his EVP status or even his career might lead to one more clash with MJF for the AEW World Championship in the near future.