AEW: MJF on AEW Being In A Better Place After “Problem Children” Left, Thekla on Her Praise of Julia Hart & Skye Blue For Helping Her Navigate The AEW System, Mercedes Martinez on Her AEW Departure

MJF Comments on AEW Being In A Better Place After “Problem Children” Left

The New York Post held a recent interview with AEW World Champion MJF. One of the topics discussed included MJF’s thoughts about how AEW is in a stronger place now due to some of the “problem children” are no longer with the company. MJF also gave his thoughts about his belief how some former members of the AEW roster believed they were taking a step forward in their wrestling careers when they left but instead they ended up moving laterally or backwards.

“To put it mildly, I don’t have to name names, it’s not necessary to name names, but problem children tend to have a way of finding their way out the door,” he said. “And some of those problem children, in my opinion, they thought they were taking a step forward when all they were doing was taking a step laterally or backwards.”

MJF also gave his thoughts about the competitive atmosphere backstage in AEW being a reason for the company’s recent momentum.

“Everybody’s pushing each other to be the absolute best version of ourselves,” MJF said. “I’m pushing Swerve, Swerve’s pushing Hangman, Hangman’s pushing Kenny [Omega], Kenny’s pushing [Kyle] Fletcher, Fletcher’s pushing [Will] Ospreay and so on and so forth.”

MJF also gave his thoughts about recent storylines featuring multiple wrestlers pursuing the AEW World Championship being another factor in the company’s recent success.

“It’s a domino effect. And that’s why our show is so incredible right now. We are all biting on each other’s heels. We all want the spot. We all want the championship. To top it off, we all care deeply about All Elite Wrestling.”

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Thekla Comments on Her Praise of Julia Hart & Skye Blue For Helping Her Navigate The AEW System

Yahoo Sports’ Uncrowned held a recent interview with AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla. One of the topics discussed included Thekla’s praise of fellow Triangle of Madness members Julia Hart and Skye Blue for helping her acclimate to AEW immediately.

“Even though they haven’t been wrestling as long overall, they’ve been in AEW longer than I have. They gave me insight into how things work here and how to navigate the system. That helped a lot. Beyond that, Skye is vicious in the ring and has an ‘I don’t care’ attitude, and Julia has an aura that’s off the charts. I love surrounding myself with younger women who are complete bada**es.”

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Mercedes Martinez Comments on Her Departure from AEW

As noted before, Mercedes Martinez’s contract with AEW expired this past January and she departed from the company. Prior to her departure, Martinez had last wrestled for AEW and Ring of Honor in April of 2024.

A recent episode of Fightful’s In The Weeds podcast featured Martinez as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Martinez’s thoughts about her recent departure from AEW and how her tenure with the company came to an end.

“I don’t want to talk bad about a company at all. Tony (Khan) gave me an opportunity when I first got there and ran with the popularity, and it just fizzled out a little bit. Sometimes, when you have a bloated roster, so many talented female wrestlers just go down the totem pole. That’s what I felt. I pitched idea after idea and creative didn’t take to it for whatever reason. Was I frustrated with them? Not really. My thing was, if you don’t have anything for me that is going to elevate my career, that’s cool. I’m still going to pitch the ideas and do what I can. The last two years were a little bit homebound. I pitched the idea for me and Diamante to team. That went well for about six months and then it kind of fizzled out for whatever reason. The time stuff for female wrestlers in any promotion tends to be small, and I think that was the problem. They had this phenomenal roster of talented female wrestlers and they didn’t know where everybody was going to fit. I didn’t have to be on TV. I didn’t want to be on Dynamite or Collision. I was happy with Ring of Honor because that’s where you’re seeing a lot of up and coming wrestlers, which is what I wanted to do.

(I want to help) level up their game and teach them, but the cards weren’t there for me. I just stayed home. When they were ready to have me, I was ready to go. I made sure I got my reps on the indies so the rust wasn’t there. It’s one of those things where you can’t figure out because I have no idea why I wasn’t on TV or Ring of Honor for two years. I made a decision before my contract expired to kind of give them a way out. I said, ‘This is going to be my last year, and personally, I would rather do it on the indies and do it my way with my style of wrestling with no chains and the creative freedom on my own.’ I give all the props to Tony and thank him for the opportunity. I’m blessed for the opportunity he gave me. Maybe my style was too rough. Rugged and thugged [laughs].”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com