Few things are better than watching a good heel or face tear into their opponent with well-placed insults and insinuations. They get the fans fired up and add a necessary energy to the matches. With the advent of social media, another level has been added to wrestler’s characters as they continue to spread their banter for all to see on a daily basis on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or whatever works best for them. Because of this, a new term can be added to the old carny lingo of face and heel: troll. Yep, trolling has become an art form in and out of the ring, so it’s only right to have 2020 Wrestling’s Biggest Troll Showdown between WWE’s one and only Sami Zayn and AEW’s incomparable MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman).
Let’s look at our first contestant.
Sami Zayn
Few can say something genuine and make it sound like a backhanded insult, but Sami Zayne does it with an ease of a hot knife slicing through butter. Whether it’s calling the fans out for their wanton bloodlust that gets him tossed into a trash receptacle or insulting someone, then trying to weasel out of it unsuccessfully like with Keith Lee and Matt Riddle, he always has something to say.
I’ve often compared him to one of my all-time favorites, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and I still feel he’s in the same league. Every time he comes out, we know he’s going to say something to get under the skin of the fans, and he never fails to deliver. What more could we ask as fans?
Of course, like all the great mouths in wrestling, he needs backup. As “the Liberator,” he’s brought Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro together, and the trio have quickly gelled into a fun trio.
They may not be the Heenan family yet, but give them time.
The one downside for him in this showdown is he doesn’t carry his character over to social media very often, if at all. Everything I’ve seen, he’s a loving, caring person that strives for equal rights and better treatment for everyone. Not quite true troll material, but it only makes his in ring performances all the more poignant.
MJF (Maxwell Jacob Friedman)
MJF’s picture should be in the dictionary next to the word troll.
Seriously.
He’s every bit as sharp and cunning as Sami Zayn, but his style makes it difficult to compare them. He too has others backing him up, mainly Wardlow, as he’s proven to be a major pain in Cody Rhodes’ backside since turning on him.
But beyond the feud, his skill on the mic is unmatched. We know he’s going to say something scathing and lie every time he opens his mouth, and he doesn’t disappoint. There are no boundaries for him as he eviscerates and embarrasses his targets with an ease of a surgeon.
He slices and dices and raises the bar higher every time he opens his mouth.
Unlike Sami Zayn, he doesn’t use his talents for calling out people he sees doing wrong, he simply calls them out and dares them to face him. With Wardlow at his side, it takes someone with nerve to do so, and this only makes him a better troll.
He’s a bully that has someone do the dirty work for him, making him the perfect target for fans to boo. But it’s his interactions on social media that make him a troll. He often interacts with fans and other wrestlers, as his exchange with Josh Briggs shows.
And the winner is…
Just kidding. It’s up to you guys to determine the Troll Showdown between WWE’s Sami Zayn and AEW’s MJF in the poll below, and thank you for joining up on The Overtimer today. See you around the squared circle again.
