MJF explains his issues with Darby Allin and why he feels it was important to establish the four pillars of AEW.
MJF, from almost the first day in AEW, was the clear breakaway young star that the promotion was looking to build its future around. Fast forward two and a half years, Maxwell Jacob Friedman has defeated Chris Jericho three times and beaten Cody Rhodes in major matchups as well.
Recently, MJF called himself one of the four pillars of AEW. Along with Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, and Jungle Boy, Max believes he is the top of the four talents that will anchor the promotion for years to come.
Never one to typically heap praise upon others, Maxwell Jacob Friedman explains in a new interview with Rasslin’ why he felt it was important to single out these four men.
I think it was really important, and this is going to shock people. I care about the success of my company. I truly do. I noticed that I wasn't really getting compared to them. I was getting compared to the top guys in our promotion.
"I thought it was important for me to remind people Yes, I'm one of the top names in our industry. Yes, I am the best 'heel' but people forget how young I am. I wanted to remind people, this is the class of guys who are going to be in the main event picture, right for the next 25 years, not five or three, 25 years."
He continued, "That's a very long time and that's why I thought it was very important to bring that to the forefront. I don't like Jungle Boy. I beat him. I don't like Sammy Guevara. I beat him. I'm not super keen on Darby either, I haven't beaten him, but apparently, he got attacked which is absurd. I have no idea about it. But the bottom line is even though I don't like these people, I'm still fully aware that these are the young athletes who I will be going up against for the next 25 years on top of the card."
Furthermore, MJF explains his issues with Darby Allin. Channeling Ric Flair's opinion from the early 1990s about Mick Foley, Max explained that he believes Darby Allin is a glorified stuntman.
"So the thing is, I respect Darby, but I'm not a fan of the way he goes about professional wrestling. I don't think he's a pro wrestler. I think he is a stuntman. I think he leans on thumbtacks on a skateboard, right? Tables, chairs, ladders, and the bottom line is I'm a much better technical professional wrestler than he is."
Elsewhere in the interview, MJF spoke about the potential that he may end up in WWE one day. Learn more here.
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