Why MJF Isn’t Bothered By How AEW Fans View Him
MJF knows his role in AEW, and he’s perfectly fine with it.
For most of his six-year run in AEW, Maxwell Jacob Friedman has spent his time in the company as one of the most hated wrestlers there. The former AEW World Champion loves to run his mouth whenever he feels slighted, and he’s able to back it up in the ring as well.
At AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door in London, MJF will try to win back the AEW World Title from the beloved champion, “Hangman” Adam Page.
On the final Dynamite before Forbidden Door, MJF enlisted the help of Ricochet and the Gates of Agony to help him capture Mark Briscoe. Friedman and friends threatened to set Briscoe on fire, unless Hangman agreed to three demands.
- The title can change hands via disqualification.
- The title can change hands via countout.
- MJF does not have to use his contract to get his match at Forbidden Door.
Hangman agreed because he didn’t want his friend Briscoe to be put on fire, so now Friedman doesn’t have to pin Page to become AEW World Champion, and Max still has another title shot in his pocket.
While speaking to Vice, Max was asked about being a pillar of AEW and if it upset him that people view Hangman as the “main character” of AEW.
”No, because realistically, the only two pillars that people genuinely thought were pillars were me and Darby [Allin]. If we’re being honest here, look, I didn’t have much to work with in those early days. You know what I’m saying? Now, I most certainly do. Sammy Guevara is pretty solid, though. I just think he’s really dumb. I don’t feel slighted because the new terminology for me is that I’m the ‘main antagonist.’
Which, while I disagree with it, that’s what these fans think of me, and it is what it is. At the end of the day, they’re misinformed, they’re uneducated. But I do agree with the simple fact that since day one, since 2019, your two main homegrown guys have been me and the cowboy (Page).”
“You Want Me To Be The Bad Guy?” – MJF
Even though MJF headlined AEW’s biggest show ever, AEW All In 2023 at Wembley Stadium, as a babyface, the cocky star who appeared in Netflix’s “Happy Gilmore 2” has made it clear he enjoys being the bad guy.
“They refuse to say that I’m the best, even though nobody’s a better talker than me. Nobody elicits more emotion; nobody creates more intrigue. Nobody creates higher ratings. Nobody’s better in the ring than me. Nobody has better theme music than me. The list goes on and on.
But yeah, I think because they hate me so much, this is frankly the only way they can give me credit. So you want me to be the main antagonist? You want me to be the bad guy? Sure, no problemo.”
AEW-NJPW Forbidden Door takes place on Sunday, August 24th, in London, England, with this lineup so far:
* AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
* Lights Out Steel Cage Match: Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Darby Allin, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) & Gabe Kidd
* AEW Unified Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Swerve Strickland
* AEW Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm vs. Athena
* AEW Tag Team Championship Match: The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin vs. Brodido vs. FTR
* AEW TBS Championship Match: Mercedes Mone vs. Alex Windsor vs. Persephone vs. Bozilla
* AEW TNT Championship Match: Kyle Fletcher vs. Hiromu Takahashi
* Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. Kip Sabian & Killswitch
* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Nigel McGuinness
There will likely be some pre-show matches that have yet to be announced.