Summary

MJF shared a wild story this week about a backstage incident at an AEW event, saying a man posing as a pilot told him he had been booked on a flight home after the show.

Speaking on The Adam Friedland Show, MJF said the moment initially sounded believable because he had previously flown on the company jet. He said the situation quickly changed once he thanked Tony Khan for arranging the flight, only for Khan to tell him no such travel had been booked.

MJF said QT Marshall then got involved, questioned the man about who hired him, and security stepped in. According to MJF, the man could not produce a pilot's license and was detained.

Quote from MJF

"A pilot walks up to me and he goes, 'Mr. Friedman, I'm gonna be flying you out back home after the show's proceedings.' Which, to be fair, I've flown on the jet a couple times with my boss up to that point anyway.

I find my boss [Tony Khan] after this pilot says this to me, and I knock on his door. He opens the door, he goes, 'Max.'

I go, 'That's me. I want you to know how much this means to me, the fact that you're trying to fly me back home to my dad as soon as possible after he had the heart attack.' Because he did know, my boss Tony did.

And he goes, 'What the f*ck are you talking about?'

And I go, 'The pilot just told-'

He goes, 'I didn't f*cking book you a jet to go back home tonight.'"

MJF later continued:

"So now I go back over with one of my bosses, like one of the EVPs in the company, QT Marshall. And QT goes, 'So who you say hired you again?'

He goes, 'Tony Khan.' Tony Khan's my boss.

'Okay, are you sure about that?'

And then security comes and they grab this guy. And, and QT goes, before the guy leaves, he goes, 'Wait a minute, wait a minute. We'll let you stay if you show us your pilot's license.'

And the guy, I sh*t you not, does this: 'Ah, I left it at home.' Get the f*ck out of here!

So then they f*cking throw, like, I guess they like throw the guy in whatever you call it, the brig or whatever. They take him f*cking downtown.

We still don't know how he got backstage.

So, to be fair though, our security team has changed since then. But it probably was the building security, not even AEW security fault. But they asked this guy, 'What were you planning on doing?' And he was honest. He said he was going to f*cking abduct me.

An adult man."

What the story says about AEW backstage access

MJF's account puts the focus on how someone was able to get close enough backstage to present himself as part of the travel setup for a top AEW star. Even with MJF noting that the company's security setup has changed since then, the story stands out because it involved the reigning world champion and a situation serious enough for security to intervene immediately.

It also explains why the anecdote landed as more than just an odd locker room story. Once Tony Khan told MJF no flight had been arranged, the situation shifted from confusion to a potential safety issue in a hurry.

Sources

As reported by NoDQ.