UPDATE 5:47 PM ET (5/29)
The preview for Wardlow vs. MJF, which was pulled earlier on Sunday from YouTube, has been uploaded again to AEW’s YouTube Channel.
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UPDATE 4:15 PM ET (5/29)
According to PWInsider, as of 3:20 PM ET, MJF was not spotted backstage at the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas.
According to the same report, several readers sent word the an AEW YouTube video focused on MJF vs. Wardlow no longer appears on the company’s YouTube channel.
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UPDATE 8:30 AM ET (5/29)
PWInsider is reporting that MJF is still in Las Vegas. It is still being noted that none of this is a work. However, it also is being said that if everyone gets in the same page, it could be converted into one.
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UPDATE 11:45 PM ET
PWInsider is reporting that when MJF was scheduled to be at the Fan Fest event on Saturday, those in Las Vegas spotted MJF playing slots at Mandalay Bay instead.
The same report also notes confirmation of Fightful Select reporting that MJF did book a red-eye flight out of Vegas on Saturday night, which would mean he would appear tomorrow), a source close to the situation confirmed to PWInsider.com that a red-eye flight to Newark, NJ has indeed been booked, but whether he gets on the flight or not remains to be seen.
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UPDATE 10:45 PM ET
Several sources have said attendees at the Double or Nothing Fan Fest posted about MJF’s absence on social media.
F4WOnline on Saturday evening said they have independently confirmed that MJF’s absence as legitimate and not a work. AEW was unable to contact MJF.
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According to PWInsider, AEW star MJF did not appear at Saturday’s Double or Nothing Fan Fest in Las Vegas. It is being said that the word making the rounds at the event, is that he legitimately did not attend and that AEW was not able to get in contact with him.
Fightful is reporting MJF was nowhere to be found during the Fan Fest.
PWInsider also noted fans who had paid for MJF autographs and photos, AEW staff did their best to make good, including refunds and offering exchanges for autographs and photos with other talents.
There has been a feeling over the past several weeks that MJF and AEW have not been on the same page or wavelength as of late behind the scenes. There is said to be several sources that have stated MJF has been keeping more to himself backstage.
PWInsider indicates in their report, MJF has 18 months to two years left on his existing deal, and that AEW has wanted to talk with him about locking him into a newer deal as it is not unusual for AEW to tear up a current deal and lock their talents into newer, longer-term contracts well before their existing one expires. MJF is said, thus far has not been receptive to sitting down and talking. With this is has been said some in AEW have felt he was being disrespectful to Tony Khan. However, nothing has been confirmed yet Khan feels that way.
MJF has been increasingly vocal about his unhappiness with AEW on social media as well, including tweeting “F*** this place” in response to Tony Khan’s comments about him during a Double or Nothing media call several days ago, then deleting the tweet.
When asked about MJF’s status during the call, Khan said wrestling strives best when the real life intersects with what is on the screen, and there was no free agent market when AEW started. That has changed. Khan then said the match with Wardlow vs. MJF is a huge opportunity for Wardlow to become an official part of AEW and be something more than MJF’s thug. He further said that everything else MJF has brought to the conversation about his gripes, contractual discussions and other issues adds to the interest in the match.
MJF is scheduled to have a match against Wardlow at the Double or Nothing PPV. If Wardlow wins the match he gets an AEW contract.