"He refuses to kowtow to what the fans want" - Mark Henry explains why AEW star was the best heel of 2022 (Exclusive)
Mark Henry has picked AEW World Champion MJF as the "Most Evil Heel of the Year" 2022 in the Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards.
In today's day and age, when most heels are cheered by at least a section of fans, MJF is an anomaly, drawing some of the most heated reactions. The AEW World Champion leaves no stone unturned to ensure the viewers buy into his character of an entitled and overconfident brat. The 26-year-old has the ability to get any babyface over just by standing inside the ring with them.
Speaking to Bill Apter of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Mark Henry stated that he was compelled to first choose Chris Jericho as the "Most Evil Heel of the Year" but didn't because he's immensely respected by fans.
Henry then picked MJF, saying he refused to pander to the crowd and conducted business in his own way.
"Chris Jericho hovers the line between being so well respected that's it hard for me to consider him as an ultimate heel because of the fact that people sing his song and love him so much. Like I'm gonna stick to the fact that I think MJF is the best heel in the business because that's who he is. He refuses to kowtow to what the fans want. He does what he wants," said Mark Henry.
The WWE legend also alluded to MJF's recent controversy at Revolution 2023, where he threw Tequila at a child's face. Henry mentioned that the AEW star might be the only one in wrestling who got punished for taking things too far.
"He might be the only wrestler in the world big-money draw who got punished for taking it too far in pro wrestling this year. So I'm gonna stick with Maxwell Jacob Friedman." (3:22 - 4:15)
Check out the full video below:
The voting lines for the annual Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards are open now! Make your picks here right now!
Ric Flair was unhappy with MJF's actions at AEW Revolution 2023
MJF's actions before his match against Bryan Danielson at AEW Revolution 2023 have drawn mixed reactions, with some praising him for his heel work while others think he took things a little too far.
Ric Flair falls in the latter category as he slammed The Salt of the Earth on his podcast, To Be The Man.
The Nature Boy thinks throwing a drink on a kid was an act to generate cheap heat and added that he never crossed the line during his days in the business.
"Yeah. It’s cheap heat. You want to do something to get heat and get the people excited, that won’t hurt anybody... That’s what I did all the time when I had long hair... I’m totally against throwing anything at a kid. You never know, if it had ice in it and that. The liability there? I’m sure Tony did a cartwheel at Gorilla [position]," Ric Flair said.
MJF just threw a drink on a little kid lmaooooooooooo #AEWRevolution https://t.co/NBllC5tSG0
During the Revolution 2023 Media Scrum, AEW President Tony Khan revealed he had a "serious conversation" with MJF about the incident.
Fans can find legends like Mark Henry, Bully Ray, and Tommy Dreamer take a deep dive into the wrestling business on Busted Open Radio every weekday.
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