Mick Foley weighs in on the value of MJF.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is unique. In a time of social media where everyone understands that professional wrestlers are simply playing a character when they walk through the curtain, MJF remains committed to blurring the lines.
Never shying away from who fans see on television, MJF is often rude to fans everywhere he goes, even at conventions when fans are excited to see him. There are no exceptions to this, regardless of circumstances.
Mick Foley, who is the very antithesis of the characters he played on television, has always prided himself on being kind to fans, even in an era where it was not commonplace for a heel to act courteous to fans. Mick Foley briefly touched upon Maxwell Jacob Friedman and the way he treats fans on the latest episode of his podcast, Foley Is Pod. Mick Foley believes that Max is unnecessarily cruel with his jobs in an era where because, so much of the wrestling industry is exposed, perhaps it's not necessary to hurl insults like, “your dad should have worn a condom” to 10-year-old children.
However, despite Mick Foley having a different viewpoint about how wrestling fans should be treated, Mick Foley still believes that Maxwell Jacob Friedman could very well be the subject of a major bidding war and even believes that he could be a top guy in WWE, if given the opportunity.
Mick Foley commented on an interaction he saw at a Starrcast convention between MJF and a young fan in a wheelchair.
“I see those things [that MJF does] and I'm like [groans]... The kid loved it. He gets it, but I'm not sure everyone does,” Mick Foley said. “I just don't know, if you're as talented as you are — look, the days when I used to get on a flight with Abdullah the Butcher and a flight attendant would come over, Abdullah would get these eyes, and she would go to check, and then the woman would withdraw and walk away as quickly as she could. Abby's idea was, ‘That's how you get over. You spread the word, one by one, that person is going to talk to somebody else.”
Mick Foley then recalled an instance where he saw an opportunity to get his character over in a similar way while still working in the Sportatorium in Dallas, Texas.
“The Sportatorium was largely a building made out of corrugated tin and so, the tin would be off of the roof of the walls and everything so I knew, if I head-butted the corrugated tin, I would put huge dancing to it. But, every six inches, you don't have the corrugated tin, you have hard beams and so, probably four times out of five, I would succeed in putting a dent in the Sportatorium and on the fifth one, I would ring my bell. No doubt in my mind, at the time, that was a ratio worth following up on because people were going to go back to their fans, the other people there, and say, ‘This guy just put a huge dent in that thing,’ and that was just the way the business was conducted. One by one, the word gets out.”
Back to Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Mick Foley would say that, even though he definitely appreciates the dedication to the character, he just isn't sure if such harsh digs are needed in 2022 because he's not sure if the insults hit everyone on the same level.
“I appreciate it in some ways that he wants to be a consummate heel, I'm just not capable — you know, kids that are 10 years old, I don't know if you need to say, “Your dad should have worn a condom.” I don't know if that goes down well with everyone. I guess, you could argue, at this point, that you know what you're signing up for but, I don't know if everybody does,” the WWE Hall of Famer said. “I like the guy, I've only met him on one occasion, he was great. I realized he had a world of talent. I thought what was going to hold him back was that I didn't know if he could assert himself as a tough guy, and he's certainly done that. So all of those questions have been answered.
“When when his contract comes up, I'm sure that he would be a major jewel in the crown of Mr. McMahon and of course, Tony Khan is going to try to — But he doesn't — I don't think he needs to write ‘F— you’ on a $400 title belt, but then again, I'm the guy who talked to a girl in a wheelchair in 1988,” Foley concluded.
The situation between Maxwell Jacob Friedman and AEW CEO Tony Khan is tense at the moment to say the least. MJF has not been seen on AEW programming since the Wednesday following AEW Double or Nothing 2022 where he stood in the middle of the ring and called Tony Khan a “fucking mark” while begging to be fired.
Tony Khan, since then, has continuously refused to comment on MJF’s situation. However, one person that has spoken up is Wardlow, who, as of now, is the last person to wrestle Maxwell Jacob Friedman in AEW.
Wardlow, in keeping with the spirit of Maxwell Jacob Friedman blurring the lines, has stated that his former associate is legitimately “a piece of shit.” Read his comments at this link.
Should you use any portion of the quotes above, transcription credit should go to Fightful with a H/T linking back to this article.
