Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been teasing going to the WWE for a few months on AEW television and social media. He has a great wrestling mind and he’s shown he’s one of the best heels in the business with his recent resurgence.
It felt like he was growing stagnant for a while, but working with CM Punk helped give him a rebirth and he’s rocking it once again by doing what he’s always done — study the best of the past and tweak it to work for him.
Because of that and how he stays in character anytime he’s in public, we find it hard to believe he was sincere in his recent praise for the WWE and Executive Producer Bruce Prichard.
Prichard is the creative force behind Raw, Smackdown, and NXT 2.0, with Vince McMahon’s watchful eye and approval.
High praise
MJF spoke with Ariel Helwani and he had nothing but praise for the WWE product and Prichard while claiming there is a lot of interest in him for when his AEW contract ends in 2024.
Special thanks to fightful.com for the transcript.
“Well, Bruce Prichard and me, this is a shoot, Bruce Prichard and me go way back. When he was in MLW, he was one of the lead producers there and he would watch me do promos and he was floored by me. Absolutely enamored by me. I was the prettiest girl at the ball. We would just sit down and shoot the shit. I love Bruce. I think Bruce is a hell of a guy and has a hell of a mind. I think he produces incredible television. So yes, I’ve talked to Bruce multiple times. As far as have I been reached out to, legally it’s not smart for me to answer that question but what I can say emphatically is that there is an absurd amount of interest in me. Tony Khan knows that. Tony Khan claims he’s not afraid of that and that’s good, so I hope you’re not afraid to shell out a lot of fucking money.”
Of course, when it comes to why AEW is the better product he explained it’s because they gave fresh faces a chance and, of course, they have him.
“See, I think WWE is doing great. I love everything WWE’s doing. I just think we are fresh and we have fresh faces that people haven’t seen before. I think right now everything that Vince [McMahon] and Bruce Prichard are putting out there is absolutely incredible. I love it. I love NXT 2.0. I love Raw, I love SmackDown, I love what Roman’s doing. I think Roman’s putting out some great work. Paul Heyman, fellow member of the tribe, absolutely killing it. Sorry about what’s going on with Brock [Lesnar], you deserve better than that. I think they’re putting out a great product. I think the big difference, quite frankly is that AEW has MJF. That’s the biggest difference-maker you could possibly have.”
This screams of him either trolling the WWE, putting his best foot forward, or that the fan in him is still alive and strong. While he was turned down during his tryout for Tough Enough, MJF never stopped dreaming.
When he was asked if he was kidding about liking NXT 2.0 as it’s struggling at best with fans, he professed his appreciation for what they’re doing.
“I genuinely love WWE programming. It’s great. There’s so many charisma machines on that program. I think it’s a great show. They had a makeout competition this past Tuesday; gripping television. How could you not like a makeout competition? I practically had a makeout competition with that hot redhead a couple of weeks ago. Who doesn’t like a good makeout sesh? So, I’m enjoying it. I think Bruce is doing a hell of a job and at the end of the day, quite frankly, there’s a lot of guys there that are developing and trying to figure out who they are as human beings. Not who they are as acts, but who they are as human beings and it’s fun to watch these young guys develop and figure it out.”
MJF is so good that it’s hard to tell how much of this is true or not, but his professed love seems a bit over the top for us given the general feel fans have about the WWE.
What do you think? Was he trolling the WWE or being a legitimate fan? Let us know in the comments below.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
