On Sunday, Maxwell Jacob Friedman will enter the principle occasion of AEW Revolution towards “Hangman” Adam Page in anticipation of one of probably the most brutal matches of his profession. But at the same time as he prepares his physique for a Texas Death Match that may see him put the AEW World Championship on the road, he is impressed by the place the corporate is at is approaches the largest present of the spring.
While Page is usually considered as AEW’s fundamental character within the eyes of many followers, MJF has been an anchor for the corporate for so long as his cowboy counterpart has. Both had been integral elements of AEW’s launch in 2019, and each have seen the highs and lows of the promotion’s seven-year run.
And although the early years might have utilized extra legacy names comparable to Chris Jericho, Christian Cage, and Sting to offer the corporate extra fairness, the AEW World Champion MJF tells The Takedown on SI that at this second, AEW’s locker room is the very best illustration of what Tony Khan’s promotion may be.
“Right now, it’s about fresh faces. It’s about the new young guys. It’s about pushing the guys that are under 40 into emphasis. It’s about giving opportunities to individuals that want to be in All Elite Wrestling. If you don’t want to be in AEW, f**k off, go have fun elsewhere. We don’t want you here,” the two-time AEW World Champion stated.
“Everyone in that locker room right now wants to be in AEW, because it’s the most competitive locker room. It’s where the best wrestle. It’s where you get compensated the way you should be compensated for your talents. It’s where you’re treated like a human being. And right now, there’s never been a better team atmosphere in the history of the AEW locker room. Am I a part of that team? Abso-f**king-lutely not, I hang out in my own locker room. But it’s nice to see everybody getting along.”
AEW’s locker room has modified whereas getting youthful
For a interval of time, the backstage drama of the AEW locker room stole extra headlines than what was on the precise tv applications.
Most notably, CM Punk’s arrival and subsequent departure dominated the information cycle over a three-year interval, with the corporate even leaning into the drama on tv at one level. Several expertise would air their frustrations a couple of lack of TV time, and the likes of Rusev and Aleister Black would find yourself becoming a member of Punk in returning to WWE.
But Friedman tells The Takedown on SI the present well being of the locker room is a credit score to expertise who need to be there, checking their egos on the door and investing in making AEW the very best it may be.
“There’s no bullshit. There’s no more cancers. There’s no more a**holes that think they’re too cool for school. There’s no more shmegegges that think they should be elsewhere,” Friedman stated, with out naming any people specifically. “Everybody in this promotion wants to be in this promotion, and if you don’t, you get weeded out pretty damn fast because we’ll beat the s**t out of you and send you packing.”
Sunday’s fundamental occasion, which can see Page put his potential to problem for the AEW World Championship ever once more on the road, is precisely the kind of bout MJF feels the AEW locker room can showcase to assist it stand out as we speak.
The mixed age of Friedman and Page is 63 years outdated. In distinction, WWE’s two fundamental occasions for WrestleMania will see CM Punk (47) and Roman Reigns (40) sq. off, and his outdated mentor Cody Rhodes (40) battle Randy Orton (45). The holder of the “Triple B” acknowledges that WrestleMania’s model makes the present its personal animal and did not need to evaluate the 2 promotions a lot, however is proud that Sunday’s fundamental occasion embodies the present state of AEW.
“If they want to have those guys on the top of the card, and wrestling fans are upset that those guys on the top of the card are in their 40s and 50s, that’s not my place,” he stated. “But what I will say is the guys on top of the card in our promotion, the alternative, are not in their 40s and 50s, and that’s just the truth.”
MJF believes one ladies’s star stands out within the AEW locker room
Though by no means one to shy from praising himself, Friedman did level out a number of people he believes have been important to AEW’s youth motion.
MJF famous that individuals like “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight, Kyle Fletcher, Queen Aminata, and Gabe Kidd are all turning into gamers within the firm’s present taking part in area. However, he believes one expertise specifically has demonstrated the promotion’s shift to emphasizing brisker faces with excessive upside.
Harley Cameron might be in motion on Sunday, defending her AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship alongside Willow Nightingale towards Megan Bayne and Lena Kross. Her ascent from comedy hand to main participant within the AEW ladies’s division over the past two years has been a spotlight of the corporate’s youth motion, and MJF thinks she is on the cusp of turning into one of AEW’s high stars.
“I’d be shocked if Harley Cameron’s not world champion one day,” he stated. “I think that she’s just a triple threat, and she’s got it all going on for her. And she’s tremendously, tremendously, tremendously entertaining.”
Friedman drew parallels between his talent set and hers, and stated that Cameron has the one high quality that you could’t educate somebody in coaching.
“That answer is ‘it.’ There are certain things that you can train for, and learn, and figure out as you go along,” he stated. “Like, for example, bell to bell, Harley Cameron is the most improved female wrestler in the world today. This is a fact. I’m so proud of her. I think that it’s so clear how hard she’s worked to become who she is in the ring.
“However, let’s be trustworthy. If you need to be a tippy-top skilled wrestler, you gotta have ‘it.’ And you may’t clarify ‘it.’ You cannot seize ‘it.’ You cannot discover ‘it.’ ‘It’ is ‘it.’ I’ve it in droves, and I’m telling you, that woman has it in droves. And it is solely a matter of time.”
If you employ any quotes from this piece, please H/T The Takedown on SI. We can have extra from our dialog with Friedman on Sunday.
