MVP Says He’d Turn Down an AEW World Title Run

MVP has made it clear that if AEW ever offered him a run with the AEW World Championship as a career send-off, he would turn it down.

Speaking on his podcast, the veteran talked candidly about how far his role in wrestling has shifted over the years, admitting that his enthusiasm for regular in-ring competition has faded even though he is still willing to wrestle in the right spot. MVP said the shift away from full-time competition happened gradually, accelerated by injuries suffered during his run with the Hurt Business alongside Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin.

“Everybody can’t go on forever and ever. Father Time is undefeated, and I’m fortunate that, accidentally, I transitioned into a whole new role,” MVP said. He explained that he leaned so fully into being the group’s mouthpiece that people forgot he was still an active wrestler until injuries slowed him down to the point his in-ring appearances stopped altogether.

Since arriving in AEW, MVP said his rare matches have become something closer to a special attraction than a regular occurrence. “So even now with AEW, when I lace up the boots, it’s an attraction,” he said, noting that fans still react with surprise and excitement whenever he wrestles.

Even so, MVP was blunt about where he stands physically. He acknowledged wrestling is an ego-driven business but said he’d rather be honest with himself than chase one more run for pride’s sake. “Physically, my ability to wrestle at a high level is deteriorating because of time,” he said, adding that his explosiveness and — just as importantly — his desire to have regular matches simply aren’t what they used to be.

That doesn’t mean MVP is done stepping into the ring altogether. He said he’d be ready if Tony Khan wanted to reunite him with Lashley and Benjamin for a trios or tag match, framing it as something he could still deliver on given the right circumstances.

Where he draws the line is at the AEW World Championship. MVP said that even if Khan offered him a title run as a gift for his career on the way out the door, he would say no, because he doesn’t believe he could put on the level of matches the championship deserves against AEW’s younger talent. “Physically, I can’t go like that anymore, and I don’t want to work that hard,” he admitted.

It’s a rare moment of a wrestler publicly ruling out a run with a promotion’s top prize rather than angling for one, and it underscores how MVP has recast himself in AEW — less as a championship contender and more as a valuable voice, mentor and occasional attraction alongside Lashley and Benjamin. At 52, MVP has long embraced longevity through evolution rather than forcing a spot he no longer wants, and his comments suggest that whatever remains of his in-ring career will be on his own terms, not chasing gold for the sake of a farewell moment.

Whether AEW ever calls on him for one more multi-man match remains to be seen, but MVP has made his stance on the World Championship unmistakably clear.