AEW World Champion MJF escalated his war of words with TNA President Carlos Silva on Busted Open Radio, calling the executive's decision to block TNA talent from competing against AEW wrestlers on the independent circuit "disgusting."
"Let's talk about TNA and the fact that they are pulling young talent off of shows when they're barely paying them any money whatso-f*cking-ever and telling them, 'Hey, you can't wrestle because there is a guy from another promotion that is wrestling on this show,'" MJF said. "Does that help young talent grow? Does that help young talent become better inside the squared circle?"
"Moreover, does that help young talent put food on their plate and on their table so they can eat? What Carlos Silva is doing is disgusting and if anybody supports him or that company at this point, it is very hard for me to wrap my head around."
The remarks come one day after TNA's new policy torpedoed several high-profile indie bookings, including MJF vs. Nic Nemeth at Create-A-Pro's Monumental Moment show on May 1 and Ricochet vs. Leon Slater at WrestleCon's Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow on April 16. Per Fightful Select, TNA also blocked a planned MJF vs. Bear Bronson match for GCW in March.
Silva confirmed the pullbacks to Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp, citing "partner conflicts," an apparent reference to TNA's ongoing partnership with WWE. Per PWInsider, TNA's concern was that its wrestlers could look bad by losing to talent from outside companies on uncontrolled events. Sources close to the situation told Fightful the move appears to be trending toward a full ban on TNA talent facing AEW wrestlers anywhere.
MJF had already taken to social media ahead of Busted Open, calling Silva "actively a dumb motherf***er" and noting that TNA pays its talent "sh*t" while simultaneously cutting off their independent income.
