WWE backstage reaction to MJF's 2024 contract expiry claims

With little recent mention of the topic on AEW TV for much of the year, many fans assumed that MJF had re-signed with the company and the long-running ‘bidding war of 2024’ angle had been dropped.
However, on a recent appearance on the SI Media podcast, the AEW World Champion confirmed that he had in fact not yet committed his future to the company after all, saying:

“I’ve been saying the same thing (about my contract expiration date). I never lied. January 1st, 2024.
“When stuff like that gets leaked out, it makes me laugh because I remember something leaked out about Cody (Rhodes) having secretly re-signed and then he showed up (in WWE). Something got leaked out about, you know, CM Punk and Tony Khan or you know…
“I think fans leak out things that they want to be true. I love AEW, I wanna stay in AEW. After this pay-per-view (Worlds End), it’s time to assess the situation for a professional setting. So… not yet (I haven’t re-signed).

Following MJF’s statement, Haus of Wrestling contacted several people in WWE to gauge their reaction; however, many’s prior belief that MJF had already re-signed with AEW had not changed even following his comments.
One higher-up in WWE replied “storyline” when asked regarding MJF’s comments; while another stated that they believed that MJF had in-fact re-signed with AEW as far back as his return to the company at All Out 2022.
This same WWE higher-up then told Haus of Wrestling that they believed MJF was “locked in” to AEW and now on a huge deal following the speculated re-negotiation last year.

Top WWE star Cody Rhodes recently fuelled the fire of a potential MJF move to WWE in the future by stating his belief that the 27-year-old would end up in the company at some point.
In the same appearance on the SI Media podcast, MJF would address Cody’s comments, which you can check out in full here.