In an era where kayfabe is all but dead, Maxwell Jacob Friedman lives and breathes every bit of the persona he portrays on television. After recently flipping off a 7-year-old during a meet-and-greet session, on-screen rival, Cody Rhodes would comment that AEW wrestlers have the freedom of expression to represent themselves in the public however they see fit.
Tom Gilmartin, the father of the boy who MJF gave the one-finger salute to at C2E2 understands that Maxwell Jacob Friedman likes to remain in character, but feels that the situation should be different for children who don't understand as well as adults do. Tom would bring this directly to Cody Rhodes on Twitter, suggesting that talent be kept in check when meeting with children at events such as this.
Parents, watch your kids or @The_MJF will straight 'em up. pic.twitter.com/tLxY5pk2cw
— The OP Lance Romance (@LanceVision) May 27, 2019
Cody, who has always been a big proponent of letting the wrestlers “play their music their way” simply stated that MJF is MJF and you should expect no different than what you see on television when you see him in public.
Actually, no. This was a paid meet/greet where you specifically chose the individual. We would never send MJF on a free publicity activation for this very reason, he’s immature and doesn’t represent the brand.
— Cody (@CodyRhodes) March 4, 2020
TMZ reached out to Maxwell Jacob Friedman for comment on this issue to which Maxwell would sick to his guns and say, “fuck them kids.”
Cody would later reach out to the father on Twitter extending an offer for will-call tickets the next time they're in the area and promising to personally stop by and say hello to him and his son. The father has since deleted his Twitter account.
Hey Tom. Just give me your name and city and we will have some will-call tickets for the next time we are in your neighborhood, plus I’ll personally come by and say hello during the show.
— Cody (@CodyRhodes) March 4, 2020
Perfect! We have some return dates soon, just remind me when we get close. Sorry about the situation.
— Cody (@CodyRhodes) March 4, 2020
Maxwell Jacob Friedman recently defeated Cody Rhodes at AEW Revolution on February 29th live on pay-per-view.
