MJF Admits To Having ‘Zero Confidence’ In Being A Fan Favorite

AEW

AEW World Champion MJF has admitted to having “zero confidence” in being a fan favorite for the first time this year.

Since the inception of All Elite Wrestling, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, better known as MJF, has been one of the top heels in the entire wrestling business.

Throughout 2023, the AEW World Champion has gone from the most despicable man in AEW to one of the most beloved babyfaces thanks in large part to his friendship and partnership with Adam Cole.

While many fans and Cole himself expected MJF to turn on his new best friend, Friedman has instead embraced the love and support of the fans to become “Our Scumbag.”

Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, MJF reflected on this character transformation he has went through this year. He said:

“It’s just me being myself,”

“One of the biggest indictments of this sport is that people claim professional wrestling is this archaic, one-dimensional thing.”

“People love to throw the terms babyface and heel around, but look at the history of it.”

“Why do we cheer the good guys? Why do we boo the bad guys? This was a progressive, very slow change.”

“To me, that’s so much more relatable–and so much more realistic. I think people know how hard it is to change, and that’s why I’m connecting with people on the level that I am.”

MJF continued on to explain why he had zero confidence in being a fan favorite, saying:

“I had zero confidence in this,”

“For the longest time, when I walked through the curtain, my only goal was to make people viscerally hate me.”

“I never wanted people to like me. Getting liked is hard because it opens the door up to be rejected.”

“So when the fans started chanting my name, it really shook me. There was even a wave of MJF support when I won the belt.”

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘No.’ And that was out of fear. And I’m still scared, but it’s a lot less.”

MJF is set to defend the AEW World Championship against “Switchblade” Jay White this Saturday, November 18 at AEW Full Gear.

Before that match, Friedman will defend the ROH World Tag Team Championships on the Zero Hour pre-show against The Gunns.

Also scheduled for this Saturday, Hangman Adam Page will face Swerve Strickland in a Texas Death Match and Jon Moxley will challenge Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship.

For the full lineup for AEW Full Gear 2023, click here.

Want to watch Survivor Series 2023 live with the WrestleTalk crew? Join Sullivan, Luke, Dan Layton, Pete and more at the WrestleTalk Survivor Series Watch Party at the Long Arm Sports Bar & Pub in London. Get your tickets here before they sell out!!

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