Former AEW champion surprisingly emerges as one of the favorites to win the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble

With it being a mere two weeks away till the Royal Rumble event, betting odds from the event have just been released, and surprisingly, a certain former AEW World Champion was among the favorites. This would be MJF.

Friedman is currently out of action as he recuperates from several injuries he has sustained in the last few months. His contract with the promotion also expired on January 1, 2024, but an update has yet to be released. He has not been officially re-signed and thus has been removed from the roster page, despite some reports saying he has quietly re-signed with AEW. This leaves his future up in the air.

BetOnline has released their betting odds for the upcoming Royal Rumble match, and surprisingly, MJF was ranked 7th in the favorites to win, despite not even being an official WWE Superstar.

Among those ranked higher than him include the likes of CM Punk, Gunther, and Cody Rhodes, the top 3 favorites to win.

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Tony Khan on MJF's future with AEW

All Elite President Tony Khan himself has already commented on MJF's future with the promotion. This was following his removal from the company's roster page.

On his recent appearance on the Going Ringside podcast, Khan addressed MJF's future, saying that he was a major part of the promotion's development in the last five years, and he has also grown to be one of the top stars in the business. TK then mentioned that he would love to have him back if talks regarding his contract go well.

"I can say that MJF certainly has been a great part of AEW for the first five years. And through those five years, certainly, he's been one of our great homegrown stars...and he's somebody we really value and I would love to have MJF in AEW in the future, should the contractual situation allow."

At this point, even Tony Khan himself is not confirming or denying MJF's future with the company, which could indicate that the possibility of WWE winning the Bidding War for him is still on the table. He could shock the world by abruptly appearing at this year's Royal Rumble.

Where do you think MJF signs with? Let us know in the comments section below.