After being on the wrong side of not one, but two shocking moments earlier in 2026, AEW's MJF decided to be on the right side of a surprise, stunning everyone by appearing via video package at a New Japan event this morning to lay out a challenge for G1 Climax winner Ryohei Oiwa. And while it didn't seem hard to figure out what MJF's motivations were behind his challenge, the former AEW Men's World Champion made it crystal clear when he issued a statement to Fightful, who posted it on X late Wednesday morning."I have a statement to make for why I'm doing business with New Japan," MJF said. "It's a simple one that I'd like public. I want to prove New Japan isn't a real company. I want to prove I'm the master of the headlock. But most of all, I want to upset Puro Twitter."MJF has long since held a grudge against New Japan even after the promotion started working with AEW, particularly displaying prior to his Forbidden Door 2023 match with Hiroshi Tanahashi. He took further shots at the promotion during his promo, calling NJPW "second rate," while also mentioning the number of stars that had left NJPW over the last few years. While MJF was kinder towards Oiwa in the promo, he had previously taken issue with the G1 winners' use of a headlock to win the tournament, in part because of MJF's own use of the headlock takeover to win several matches against rival Darby Allin.While Oiwa accepted the challenge, it is unclear when he and MJF will collide, as Oiwa is set to challenge Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship this Monday at King of Pro-Wrestling. Should it take place soon, it will be MJF's first match since AEW All In, when he came up short in securing an AEW World Title shot in the Casino Gauntlet, which was won by his rival Andrade El Idolo.
