MJF discusses AEW, WWE rivalry and wrestling fan culture ahead of All In

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While I find he can get in a low-hanging fruit/cheap heat rut with his heel promos, Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s work representing AEW on the interview circuit is usually pretty even-keel. At least in comparison to the way Tony Khan and Chris Jericho did interviews in the company’s early days, or how Will Ospreay does them now. MJF will still passionately represent his employer, and make snide comments about the competition. But he’s also attempted to explain the value of a competitive marketplace to the most extreme WWE devotees, and asked critics of AEW to provide something constructive rather than “Fed is better. LOL”. Talking to Richard Deitsch ahead of All In this weekend, Max took an “all in the game” approach to WWE tactics others might call petty: “Prior to MJF vs. Samoa Joe [at Worlds End in 2023]… no professional wrestling event had sold out Nassau Coliseum — not a live event by us or WWE or anybody — since I believe the late 80s. I took a lot of pride in that. Then, magically, somehow, WWE decided to do Saturday Night’s Main Event in my arena after I sold it out. I thought that was interesting. “That’s business, baby. You have to keep moving and shaking.” Harkening back to his previous pro-competition arguments, Friedman isn’t sure what WWE and parent company TKO are worried about from TK’s “challenger brand”. But knowing the biggest pro wrestling company the world’s ever known is counter-programming AEW doesn’t change his approach: Do I think it’s ridiculous that they [WWE] are afraid of us usurping them? Yeah, a little bit. “Do I think it’s a little fucking funny that you’re running a show in Chicago the exact the same time we’re running a show in Chicago? Yeah, a little bit — but as I’ve stated before, it makes sense. I understand it. It’s a business tactic. I’m not mad at it, but the last thing you’re going to do is spit in my fucking face and tell me it’s raining, However, then the three-time AEW Men’s World champ turned his attention to the “sickos”, as Tony Khan calls AEW’s most diehard supporters: “If you like AEW more than WWE, and there are a lot of people that feel that way, that doesn’t mean you have to shit on WWE. “You don’t need to make thinkpieces online about why WWE sucks. Make thinkpieces about why AEW is better. Whatever those logical reasons are. Whether it’s because you get more bang for buck on pay-per-views or because our matches are better or because our rivalries are better or because MJF is better looking than any top guy in any promotion. “There are so many different things, but that doesn’t mean you have to attack the other side. Just put your side over.” It’s a sentiment that might hurt our numbers here at Cageside Seats, at least in the short term. But outside of that, focusing on the positives of what we enjoy as pro wrestling fans seems like a lot more fun. Check out MJF’s entire conversation on the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch here.

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CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: MJF on the ramp during AEW Dynamite - Beach Break on January 26, 2022, at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The stars of AEW are doing press ahead of the big All In pay-per-view in Wembley Stadium in London, and that means plenty of opportunity to stoke the flames of the ongoing tribal war with WWE. Generally speaking, MJF has been good about not playing into it too much. Just the other day, he openly talked about fully understanding WWE’s business first approach and even appealed to the “sicko” AEW fans to simply put their own product over and avoid trashing the other side. He did another interview with US Magazine, in which he said the following, which they called a “thinly veiled shot at other professional wrestling companies like WWE”: “We’re where you get to feel the most watching pro wrestling. You watch other products, they can be good. But are you walking away saying, ‘Holy s***, my brain just exploded’? I think that’s what we’re kings of. That’s what we do. I think that’s why in 2026, the pendulum has swung to the degree that it’s swung in the fans’ eyes, in the real wrestling fans’ eyes.” To me that reads more like he’s actually being true to his word, that you can put AEW over without necessarily trashing WWE (or any other company, for that matter). To that end, MJF deserves props for actually practicing what he preaches. At least this time.