MJF Had 'Zero Confidence' In His AEW Babyface Turn

If you’d have said at the start of 2023 that MJF would become the most beloved babyface in All Elite Wrestling then you would have been laughed at, but it’s true, and it’s due to the efforts of MJF himself.

Despite effortlessly becoming ‘our scumbag’ on AEW TV, MJF admits that he had ‘zero confidence’ ahead of his turn, saying the following to Sports Illustrated:

“I had zero confidence in this,” MJF said. “For the longest time, when I walked through the curtain, my only goal was to make people viscerally hate me. I never wanted people to like me. Getting liked is hard because it opens the door up to be rejected.

“So when the fans started chanting my name, it really shook me. There was even a wave of MJF support when I won the belt. I remember thinking to myself, ‘No.’ That was out of fear. And I’m still scared, but it’s a lot less.”

MJF’s burgeoning on-screen friendship with Adam Cole was the catalyst behind the turn, with the two winning the ROH World Tag Team Championships at All In to a monster pop.