AEW Star Admits He Was Tentative To Wrestle During Championship Reign

Published: Mar 6, 2026 by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: Mar 6, 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

A two-time AEW World Champion, MJF has compared his previous run to the one that he is currently experiencing.

MJF first held the AEW World Championship from November 19, 2022, until December 30 the following year, amassing a record-setting 406 title reign.

With his second reign starting at Worlds End in December of last year, MJF has compared his first and second title run.

Speaking to KVIA ABC-7, MJF reflected on his ‘tentative’ attitude of the past, admitting that he didn’t feel the need to prove himself in the ring during his first AEW World Title run.

Noting that he is now driven by wanting to prove himself as the GOAT, MJF said:

“I’m definitely a different wrestler now. I was a lot more immature back then. I know it’s hard to believe because I’m a very mature guy.

“I was kind of, not afraid but more so tentative to get in the ring back then. I didn’t feel the need to have to prove myself and get in the ring.

“But now more than ever… My goal is to go down as the greatest of all time. That doesn’t happen by accident.

“Now look, I’ve put on some of the greatest matches, moments, promos in the history of this sport, but if you want to be considered the GOAT, you need to be able to be willing to put it all on the line more so than not.

“If I want to prove I’m unabashedly the best professional wrestler in the sport today, there’s only one way to do that, and that’s by defending my title against the best of the best.”

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WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray has previously stated that MJF is the star that AEW should be built around.

Along with his two AEW World Championship reigns, MJF has also held the International Championship and is a former ROH World Tag Team Champion (with Adam Cole).

If you use this transcription or any portion of it, please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.