Maxwell Jacob Friedman is having the biggest year of his professional career. The 26-year-old wrestling prodigy looks to make history Saturday night and win the ‘big one’ just miles from his hometown of Plainview, NY.
MJF will challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship in the main event of AEW Full Gear. Win, lose or draw, the match itself is a testament to everything he’s achieved so far. He may not be the biggest or strongest man in AEW. He may not be a technical wizard like Bryan Danielson or Claudio Castagnoli. However, fans can’t get enough of MJF.
He’s great one the mic, one of the best in the business today. However, MJF says it’s his authenticity that resonates most with the audience.
During an interview with Vulture, journalist Anne Victoria Clark asked MJF if he’s ever considered portraying another ‘character’ in AEW. Friedman corrected her immediately and told her he’s not playing a character. He said ‘gimmicks’ are not confined to pro wrestling. In every walk of life – politics, professional sports, Hollywood – people are ‘turning their personalities up to 11’ to get attention.
Like I said, I think the reason that I have such an animalistic magnetism to wrestling fans is because it’s very obviously me.
– MJF
Fans Love MJF’s Authenticity
MJF says fans love him because he speaks his mind when others are scared to do so. He’s not afraid to cross any lines or offend anybody. Society is more sensitive than ever, which allows him slice through the noise and stand out.
Social media is a huge part of today’s culture. Wrestlers face an onslaught of negativity from people they don’t even know, but MJF doesn’t let any of that get to him. If he doesn’t know you or wouldn’t come to you for advice in real life, he’s not going to be offended if you don’t like him.
“I think that’s a big issue with my generation,” he said. “If I read every single positive thing people had to say about me, I would be the most egotistical person in the world, because people are nonstop talking about how I’m the greatest professional wrestler of all time, so you just have to walk away from your phone every now and then.”
MJF is considered a heel for the most part, but there’s no question that he’s won people over and gets cheered a lot at AEW shows. He
“Again, I just think people love authenticity, and I think the name of the game is authenticity. In a fake world, people want to see real people, and there’s nobody realer than me.”
– MJF