It sure sounds like MJF can ‘cash in’ and win the AEW World title tonight

The winner of AEW’s various multi-person “Casino” matches (Battle Royal or Ladder) has received a shot at their division’s top title. To this point in the company’s brief history, the match they get for the World, Women’s or Tag Team championship has been booked & promoted in advance. Which is to say, it’s never been like WWE’s Money in the Bank concept, where the winner can “cash in” at any point on any show.

Until the angle AEW is running for Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s return to the company, that is.

The explanation seems to be that MJF negotiated for the chip he won (or that Stokely Hathaway & The Firm, his “stable on retainer”, won for him) to be something he can use at any point on any show. Friedman hinted at it during one of his interviews this week, and while chatting with Brandon Walker on Rasslin’, Max’s boss confirmed that:

“Tonight on Wednesday night Dynamite Grand Slam, you’re gonna see a lot of the best stars there, and certainly MJF is gonna be in attendance in New York City looming over the championship picture since he returned at All Out and won the Casino Ladder Match, which means he’s gonna have a shot at the World title any time he wants. I will sanction that match.”

Later in the interview, Walker requests clarification on that: “Can he just walk up to you like tonight and saw, ‘I want a title match?’ How does that work?”

Here’s what he got:

“I think any time, any sanctioned event, we can certainly make it happen. In this day and age, it’s certainly a world, you know, with live television, PPV events, all these opportunities. It’s exciting to have a contender out there looming, and to have this big championship match tonight on Dynamite, certainly it’s that much more interesting to have two of the best wrestlers in the world, Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley, one-on-one for the World championship, and to have a great wrestler like MJF looming in the background as a top contender with a right to challenge for the title at any time — it’s a very interesting championship picture right now in AEW.”

While I doubt MJF will run in and hand the chip to a referee, that does sounds a lot like a certain green briefcase. Combine that with other TK remarks like telling Busted Open Radio he might “have a trick up his sleeve” for tonight’s show? It’s almost too obvious.

Is Khan giving away the end of tonight’s show, or just tantalizing us with possibilities? Will all future Casino chips be handled this way, or is this a special accommodation for MJF (and for the current circumstances)?

Stay tuned... including to tonight’s Dynamite, live from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.