#AEW’s MJF is the wrestling ‘pain in the ass’ everyone loves to hate

Maxwell Jacob Friedman thinks he’s better than you and makes sure you know it.

That simple approach and his throwback delivery has made the 24-year-old Plainview, Long Island native — known simply as MJF — one of the rising stars for All Elite Wrestling. His ability to draw raw emotions out of fans has led to some dangerous situations rarely seen in modern pro wrestling. He regularly receives death threats, fans have keyed his car, jumped the guardrail to rush him, waited outside the building to confront him or worse.

“At AEW, a fan tried to dress up I believe like a pilot and was trying to convince our security that they were supposed to fly me out on a private jet after the show,” Friedman said in a phone interview with The Post. “I can assure you that that guy was most certainly not my pilot, so there was once a fan who literally tried to kidnap me. I’ve seen it all. When I was in Mexico, people threw a car battery at me and urine at me. That’s because I don’t tiptoe around. I don’t hide how I feel.”

His gift of gab and skill in the ring has landed Friedman his first AEW world championship match against Jon Moxley at the All Out pay-per-view on Saturday (8 p.m., B/R Live) at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Fla.

The 5-foot-11, 216-pound Friedman — who at the age of 6 sang on the “Rosie O’Donnell Show” — wrestled, was the starting middle linebacker and was part of the choir at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High. He gave up a chance to play football at Hartwick College to be a pro wrestler. In 2015, he started training at Create A Pro Wrestling Academy in Hicksville. Friedman worked his way up, joining Major League Wrestling in 2017 before landing with AEW in 2019.

“He’s way, way ahead of schedule,” said legendary wrestler and wrestling producer Arn Anderson, who is Cody Rhodes’ on-screen manager in AEW.

Friedman, whose trademark line is “I’m better than you, and you know it,” grew up a fan of WWF luminary “Rowdy” Roddy Piper because of how he dictated the emotions of an entire room with his voice and iconic facial expressions. It’s something MJF has proven he can do. In his first-ever match, the audience wasn’t waiting for the next move but, as he said, the “next insult that was gonna come out of my mouth.” It’s a persona Friedman lives. It’s no act.

“He has got that character down and I’m not sure if it’s a character to be honest with you,” Anderson said.

Insults such as “pencil neck geek,” “white trash,” “dips–t” and “nimrod” are favorites of his. They go with his suit and signature Burberry scarf — a tribute to Piper’s kilt. In AEW, Friedman is flanked by his beefy bodyguard Wardlow, who will not hesitate to come to his aid, and MJF nefariously uses the “Dynamite Diamond” pinky ring he won last year. He will flaunt his character’s success and get personal in a way that makes some uncomfortable.

At last year’s Fyter Fest, a show AEW held in conjunction with a video game convention, he insulted some in the crowd’s mothers. He then got them to chant along with him for video games. He, of course, followed it with another insult, saying he once liked video games and “then I lost my virginity.”

“I just happened to be walking by a monitor when he started [a stage show at a Starrcast fanfest] and my God, I couldn’t believe the kid was getting away with the stuff that he was saying, that a herd of people didn’t bum rush the podium and cuff him and take him to jail,” Anderson said. “It was unbelievable how he was toeing the line.”

During a paid meet-and-greet in Chicago in March, Friedman flipped off a 7-year-old fan. A video of the incident spread on social media and hit mainstream news sites. While AEW apologized, Friedman’s response to TMZ was “F–k them kids. Cry about it.” When asked about the incident, he said he “was the victim in that scenario” because how dare the kid walk up and say, “‘MJF you suck.’ ” He takes pride in where’s he’s from, and says of Plainview, “we take no s–t.”

Friedman doesn’t like the term heel used for wrestling bad guys. He strives for more than that.

“Now whether that’s negative or positive it doesn’t really matter to me,” he said. “All that matters is the fact that I’m the first person people are thinking of when they wake up and I’m the last person people are thinking of when they go to bed.”

Taz, an AEW commentator, manager and legendary wrestler, believes fans appreciate Friedman’s commitment to his character because “they’re playing along with him.” Many of today’s young wrestlers don’t want to insult the audience’s intelligence, according to Taz, or want to “feel like they are just like the audience” communicating with them on social media. Friedman’s approach is a “throwback.”

“This is kind of in-character as a heel, he looks down on the fan base,” Taz said. “He’s better than the fan base. You’re not worthy to tweet at me. You’re not worthy for me to message you back.”

Friedman can even get under Taz’s skin when they travel together. He said Friedman — whom he considers a good friend — might say something dumb checking into a hotel or trying to use the veteran’s preferred status to board a plane early.

“Two weeks in a row like he’s right behind me every time I go to the gate to get on the plane,” Taz said. “I’m like, ‘dude what are you doing?’ He goes, ‘No big deal. They’ll see us talking and they’ll think I’m like your kid or something or nephew or something.’ I’m like, alright. Then the next week he does the same thing, like he’s on my hip. I’m like, ‘bro, stop, get out of here,’ and he just starts cracking up.”

Friedman wants to be great and has a true passion for the wrestling business. That’s earned him a level of respect inside the AEW locker room where he is less like his character.

“There’s where he trips you up because he’s a very humble guy,” Anderson said. “He’s always very respectful. He’s always business. … So he’s oil and water from what he is on TV.”

Friedman takes pride in being a student of the game in pro wrestling. He rattles off Buddy Rogers, Ernie Ladd, Nick Bockwinkel, Tully Blanchard, Ric Flair, Chris Jericho and Anderson as his favorite performers. Taz calls Friedman “a historian on the industry” who is constantly seeking help from veterans. He’s loyal and a team player.

“We appreciate that because he cares,” Taz said. “He has passion for the business. No matter if people hate him or love him, it don’t matter. He is one of the more passionate young talents that I’ve witnessed in modern pro wrestling.”

That’s shown in his AEW work. He’s gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Jericho on the microphone and stolen the show in the ring with his match against “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry — the son of late actor Luke Perry — at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view in May. The MJF vs. Perry match earned 4 ¼ stars in the Wrestling Observer.

Anderson remembers walking with him earlier that night at Daily’s Place and Friedman saying: “I want tonight to be really good.” He saw it as a chance to prove to the audience he’s more than an exceptional talker.

“The reason why I went out there that night was to make a statement,” Friedman said. “I wanted people to see just how good of a professional wrestler I really am. And I think that was made very crystal clear.”

Next, he will get a chance to become AEW’s first men’s singles champion without ties to WWE. During his on-screen feud with Moxley — who was Dean Ambrose in WWE — Friedman is running a presidential-like campaign (MJF 2020) to become champion.

During a promo on TNT’s “AEW Dynamite” that looked more like a White House press briefing, Friedman said Moxley comes from the “the place of titans” in reference to Titan Sports, WWE’s former parent company. Friedman takes pride in who he works for.

“It’s great that they had their hand held sometimes by VKM, awesome,” Friedman said, referring to WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon. “But I didn’t. I didn’t come from that product. I didn’t come from that land. I am AEW born and bred. I will be AEW until I die. This is my company. This is where I started. This is the company that I’ll end in.”

Taz sees Friedman as someone who will be a multi-time world champion. Anderson believes the fans are not only waiting for MJF to win the AEW championship, “they’re expecting it.” Though he isn’t certain this is the time to end Moxley’s reign.

“He’s a pain in the ass there’s no doubt about that, but he’s our pain in the ass and he’s great,” Taz said. “He moves the needle. People react to him. People online react to him. He’s a ratings grabber.”

That’s exactly what Friedman is going for. He doesn’t care if he’s viewed in a positive or negative light. He just wants to be the best and let you know it.

“My ultimate goal is when I pass away for people to go, ‘That guy was the greatest professional wrestler in the history of our sport,’” he said. “That’s my only goal.”