With MJF injured, Samoa Joe must win the AEW World Title and drop it to a former SmackDown star

Current AEW World Champion MJF has been leading a busy schedule in recent months, and his body has felt the effects of this. Friedman has suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder, raising questions about whether he will be able to continue carrying the company like he has been recently.

However, all hope is not yet lost for the promotion, and there is an interesting new direction Tony Khan could venture into.

MJF is scheduled to defend his world championship against Samoa Joe at the Worlds End pay-per-view at the end of December. It only makes sense to book a title change at the event, freeing up Friedman to properly recover and allowing the Samoan Submission Machine his time in the limelight, even if only momentarily.

As great as he is, Samoa Joe does not seem to be the guy Tony Khan wants to build his programming around, but a fellow former WWE star might fit this role like a glove. Swerve Strickland is currently riding a fast-flowing wave of momentum, and fans around the world are eager to see what The Mogul Embassy leader can do at the top of the card.

That is why AEW's next direction could be to crown Strickland as the company's World Champion, using Samoa Joe as a transitional titleholder.

Hopefully, MJF won't be sat on the wings for too long. But for the time being, Tony Khan could trust Swerve Strickland to hold down the fort.

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How severe is MJF's injury

To this point, not too much has been revealed about the severity of MJF's ongoing injury. He has supposedly opted to do rehab and stem cell treatment as opposed to surgery.

According to WCW veteran Crowbar, who is currently a practicing physical therapist, many factors could impact how long AEW's resident scumbag is on the shelf:

Friedman is AEW's longest-reigning World Champion, so to see his legendary run with the belt come to an end due to injury would be a great shame. That being said, the priority in this case is that he is fit and healthy before returning to action.