Can MJF lead a ratings revolution for AEW?
This week on AEW Dynamite, wrestling's greatest heel may have just cut the promo of a lifetime. At a time when most people have one eye on their TV screens and the other on a mobile device, Maxwell Jacob Friedman can force you to put everything aside, sit up and take notice. He's got an amazingly commanding presence and a high level of communication skills.
The AEW star is arguably the best mic man of the modern era, with the ability to seemingly hold the audience's emotions in the palm of his hand. He can then twist them and bend them to his will in a way that most young performers cannot.
Whether it's confidence or arrogance, MJF has no fear. Absolutely zero. While that may be loathsome to the majority of the AEW fan base when he's performing, there's also a healthy respect there.
All Elite Wrestling has been mocked in the past for being a haven for 'smarks.' But in MJF's case? That's probably a good thing. 'Smart' fans can decipher what he's doing when he's dropping dimes on the crowd or his future opponent, and there's a certain appreciation for it.
AEW's resident bad boy has been the talk of the professional wrestling world over the past few weeks
Ever since the buzz from Cody Rhodes' departure died down, Friedman has used it to seize a major opportunity. He began openly complaining about his own contract and was having a war of words with AEW President Tony Khan. He made sure to mention WWE in the process, fueling the fire that he was leaving All Elite Wrestling when his deal expired.
I had the first match at ALL IN.
I was a part of the first match in the history of AEW.
I’m the youngest athlete to ever wrestle in the main event of an AEW PPV…Twice.
I'm a two time Dynamite Diamond ring champion.
I’ve beaten Jericho 3 times. https://t.co/ml2CwKmDNG
How much of these rumors/stories are true is grounds for conjecture, as it's starting to look like MJF has signed - or is about to sign - a lucrative contract to remain with the promotion.
Hopefully, that's true for Khan. If he ends up losing his best young star to WWE, it would be like the Boston Red Sox trading Babe Ruth to the Yankees. The AEW fans will start to think that the company is cursed.
There has been no word yet on MJF's future status, and that's likely just the way he wants it. It keeps people guessing, and it lets everyone know that you can never be sure of anything that comes out of his mouth.
Longtime fans constantly compare him to late Rowdy Roddy Piper. But in many ways, he is copying out of the playbook of comedian Andy Kaufman. As someone who was an intriguing entertainer, the Taxi star so infuriated Memphis wrestling fans that he became the territory's most hated villain.
Wow! 40 years ago today! The match that changed wrestling! Andy Kaufman vs Jerry Lawler in Memphis https://t.co/1PQwgbFsDR
At the same time that Kaufman was becoming a delta devil in Memphis, the crowd almost sickeningly and subconsciously admired this man from Hollywood for being able to push their buttons. He was able to blur the lines during the kayfabe era, but MJF is doing that today in an age of constant communication.
MJF displays a lot of those same qualities that Kaufman once did. He's figured out the game, and he's now manipulating it. The only question now is: In his current incarnation, can MJF lead All Elite Wrestling to a significant rise in ratings? Is his ability to 'talk them into the building' enough to build the entire franchise around?
Possibly... but it will have to be original. Tony Khan can't just dust off the old Austin-McMahon rivalry and copy and paste it into this angle.
He's got the right star to work with, so it's time to step up his game on this one. If MJF can arise from all of this online chatter and constant speculation as an AEW anti-hero, then he could lead a revolution to ratings glory.