MJF Says Aleister Black Was The Biggest Offender In Using AEW As A Stepping Stone To WWE

MJF explains how the AEW locker room has changed over the years.

Many in AEW speak about the camaraderie in the locker room, saying it’s the best that it’s ever been after some rough times.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, MJF was asked why the locker room is in such good shape right now.

“I attribute that to the fact that there are no longer people in the locker room who look at my company as a stepping stone; they look at it as a legitimate company. We had a lot of guys, I shouldn’t say a lot, but we had some guys that came in and they were like, ‘I’m going to show up, be top guy, and go back to Vince.’ Really, motherfucker, you’re going to leapfrog me? Good luck, pussy. Not going to happen on my watch, and it didn’t. No one is nearly as good as me, Hangman, Swerve, Kenny, Ospreay, Samoa Joe. A lot of guys came in and thought they could “brother brother” themselves to the top and it didn’t happen. We no longer have that in the locker room, and it’s a breath of fresh air. I no longer have to look at anyone in the eye and think to myself, ‘This guy doesn’t want to be here.’ Everyone in my locker room wants to be here. People had to get weeded out,” he said.

Asked for names, MJF replied, “The biggest offender? I think it’s pretty obvious that’s Malakai Black (Aleister Black in WWE). I don’t know the guy on a personal level. Do I think he’s a bad guy? No. Do I think he was a mark for ‘Oh, I need my Mania moment.’ Yeah. There were a couple of guys like that, and they got weeded out. They went over there and some found out the grass isn’t greener. Perhaps, for them, the grass was greener. The majority of guys that were like, ‘I’m going to use AEW to go to WWE or back to WWE,’ you’re going to see a lot of those guys get asked for a 50% pay cut or get released. It’s unfortunate because if you show up to our company and work hard, there is no need to burn bridges. I’m not shitting on him, I’m simply telling you what I was told by the majority of the locker room about this specific individual.”

Aleister was in AEW from 2021 to 2025 before returning to WWE. He was released after a year with the promotion.

Elsewhere during the interview, MJF commented on AEW being an alternative brand. You can find his full comments here.

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