Hey y’all, it’s rumor time!
Vacation means he’s better than you
Well, we don’t know that three-time AEW World champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman is going on vacation. But as many expected after he dropped the belt to Kenny Omega at Beach Break last week, it does sounds like he’s taking some time off.
Fightful Select got that impression when they checked with their AEW sources about plans for Redemption on July 26. The outlet wasn’t told outright that MJF will be off television, so they of course weren’t told why or for how long. It could
be related to the knee injury he was working through, or some other issue. It could his next Hollywood project. Or it could just be some downtime for a guy who’s stayed busy representing the company in and out of the ring during his two 2026 World title runs. Any of those things could explain why Friedman reportedly requested his match with Omega be moved from Redemption to last Wednesday’s television.
Whatever it is, it’s not expected to be too long. Fightful was told Max is still factored in to plans for All In’s return to London’s Wembley Stadium on Aug. 30. That’s where we’re expecting Owen Hart Cup winner to challenge Omega.
More rumors!
- Speculation about Jordynne Grace’s WWE future intensified the answer to a question about her from a recent Fightful Q&A. Sean Ross Sapp said Grace is “at TV sometimes.”, but WWE has “no vision for her. He finished by saying Creative has ”no idea what to do with her”, and pointing out Grace “hasn’t been on Main Event in like a month either”. Sapp’s co-host Jon Alba was “really curious what happened” after the former TNA standout “came in with a ton of hype”.
- Often controversial former UFC fighter and current Real American Fresstyle wrestler Colby Covington told Brian Mazique he’s “had some calls with Triple H and and the WWE, so that’s a potential possibility in the future”, but right now Covington is focused on RAF.
- On a recent Q&A WrestleVotes said Club WWE has been ready to launch but “a small hiccup” slowed its rollout. Votes cautioned against reading anything into the delay, saying “It’s still coming. They’re not going to pull the plug on this. This is not the John Cena Classic, or [something where] they’ve got no idea what’s going on. Club WWE is there. It’s set.”
- Commenting on “slow news day” coverage of her divorce from Keith Lee after revealing it yesterday, Mia “Michin” Yim posted that she and Lee “are still friends and got nothing but love for each other” before encouraging those offering their thoughts on their personal life to “go outside, get some sun, drink some water, and have a good day.”
- JD McDonagh looks cursed for his Saturday Night’s Main Event showdown with Danhausen this weekend, at least based on how heavily Danhausen is favored at outlets like betonline. Favored to a lesser degree are CM Punk & Cody Rhodes (over Sami Zayn & Gunther), Lyra Valkyria (over Bayley), and Fatal Influence (over Brie Bella & Paige for the WWE Women’s titles).
- While we’re checking upcoming WWE props, we’ll tell Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Liv Morgan are all favored to varying degrees in their SummerSlam title defenses over Seth Rollins, Rhodes, and IYO SKY, while Penta is a significant underdog against Chad Gable. Oba Femi is a big favorite in his trilogy fight with Brock Lesnar, and The Bloodline are slightly favored over LA Knight, Solo Sikoa & Royce Keys.
Use the comments below to talk AEW and MJF, Jordynne Grace and WWE, or any/all of the aboe. Plus, always remember you can use The Feed to start conversations and share your takes with other wrestling fans!
