AEW World Champion MJF Is ‘Getting Smarter’ Says Bully Ray

Published: Apr 14, 2026 by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: Apr 14, 2026 by Dave Adamson

Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.

AEW World Champion MJF Is ‘Getting Smarter’ Says Bully Ray

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray has reacted to MJF’s latest AEW World Championship defense, believing that the world champion is getting smarter in the ring.

The April 12 AEW Dynasty pay-per-view marked MJF’s latest successful World Championship defense in his second reign, defeating Kenny Omega.

Speaking on Busted Open Radio, WWE legend Bully Ray shared his enjoyment of watching MJF work and the growth he has seen in the AEW star, saying:

“I’m enjoying the stuff that Max is doing because Max is getting smarter. Getting smarter and becoming more mature and learning the nuance and having to tighten your own screws and working a more psychologically sound match is what it’s all about.

“People f**king scream at the top of their lungs about “MJF is so great, he’s so great, he’s so great.” MJF is truly not going to be great, exceptional, hit his stride for a while.

“He’s still got a while left. He’s only, what, 30? He just turned 30.

“Last night was a good match against Kenny (Omega). I’ve enjoyed what Max is doing. I like watching Max grow, get smarter, become more polished. The in-between stuff; change up the way he speaks, change up his style. And, last night, we got to see Max work, in a way, to Kenny’s level.”

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The longest reigning AEW World Champion during his first run with the title, MJF started his second reign with in a four-way match at AEW Worlds End on December 27 of last year, defeating Samoa Joe in a match that also featured Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland.

MJF Sits Atop The Pillars Of AEW

The four pillars of AEW, stars who have been with the company since its earliest days, are considered to be MJF, Sammy Guevara, Jungle Boy (now Jack Perry), and Darby Allin. Or those four names, the first three would debut at Double or Nothing in 2019, with Allin making his first appearance at Fyter Fest in June.

Collectively, all four stars have gone on to impressive careers in AEW, but it’s MJF who has arguably risen above them all to become a face of the company without the sort of history that some of the former WWE, NJPW and international names came with.

An AEW star through and through, MJF continues to be very much the face of the company, regardless of what role he is fulfilling at any particular time, with praise coming from Tony Khan earlier this year, declaring the star to be at his best right now.

The success has also seen MJF parlay his talents in other fields in ways that his fellow pillars have yet to do, with roles in the movies The Iron Claw and Happy Gilmore 2 bringing him to a more mainstream audience.

As Bully Ray notes, MJF has turned thirty years old, with many years and opportunities ahead of the AEW star, wherever that future may take him.

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