Reason For MJF's Current Absence From AEW TV Revealed

MJF has been off AEW TV since he dropped the AEW World Championship to Kenny Omega on the special Beach Break episode of Dynamite on July 8 and Tony Khan has confirmed Friedman's absence is due to injury.

"He's a very young man and he's had some major injuries this year that he's been fighting through. That's a credit to him and I think it speaks highly of MJF. I would not be the person out here praising and saying all the nice stuff if it wasn’t true. In MJF's case, I absolutely think he's been one of the great things about AEW in 2026 and I'm looking forward to MJF's return to AEW when he's back, which he will be back very soon, I'm sure. I'm grateful that the injuries he sustained are nothing that would keep him out really, really long term," Tony Khan said on the pre-Redemption media call.

It was noted following Beach Break that MJF would be taking time off from AEW, although he is expected to be factored into plans for AEW All In at the end of August.

Tony Khan did not reveal the exact nature of the injuries that Friedman has been dealing with, but the three-time AEW World Champion suffered a hyperextended knee during an AEW World Title defence against RUSH in early June. MJF wrestled four more matches until taking time off after Beach Break.

While he seemingly won't be wrestling at Redemption, MJF was reportedly the creative driving force behind Kenny Omega vs. Kevin Knight taking place at the pay-per-view.

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