Tony Khan Explains Why He Brought MJF Back To AEW TV

AEW All Out 2022 was a newsworthy night to say the least, with the company crowning a new AEW Interim Women's Champion, a new AEW World Champion, and for the first time ever, AEW World Trios Champions. But of all the evening's biggest moments, the standout was the long-awaited return of AEWs biggest heel, Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

MJF shocked the world, winning the Casino Ladder Match earlier in the night as a mysterious masked man with the help of Stokley Hathaway and his faction, then later appearing to interrupt CM Punk's celebration after capturing his second AEW World title. Immediately after Punk pinned Moxley with his third GTS of the match, the screen went black, and a voicemail from AEW CEO Tony Khan began playing in the arena, with Khan saying he wanted Friedman to come back and would put him in the ladder match if he chose.

"I'm the one who asked him to come back, because MJF's a big star in this company, and this is one of the biggest events," Khan said when asked about MJF's return during the All Out post-show media scrums by Wrestling Inc. senior news editor Nick Hausman. "A year ago, CM Punk debuted here, and I thought it was right for the fans ... For the fans, I thought the best that would do as a company was bring MJF back."

The last time MJF was seen in an AEW ring, he was blasting Khan for overpaying ex-WWE talent back in June. It's unclear where this story will go from here, but the show did go off the air with commentary stating we'll find out more about the MJF/Punk situation this coming Wednesday on "AEW Dynamite."