"Blown away by him" - WWE Hall of Famer recalls his encounter with former AEW Champion MJF

Modified May 06, 2024 19:37 GMT

MJF poses in the ring at AEW Revolution 2023

AEW star MJF has been one of the fastest-rising pro wrestlers in the modern era. Recently, a top WWE Hall of Fame shared his surprising opinion of the multi-time champion after meeting him.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been out of action since losing the AEW World Championship to Samoa Joe at Worlds End pay-per-view in December 2023. While his future is still up in the air, the 28-year-old continues to be a trending topic among wrestling fans. The Salt of the Earth seems to be a natural heel, but his character walks a fine line as he is also beloved by many. JBL realized this even more after a car ride with the five-time Dynamite Diamond Ring winner.

After The Wrestling God praised Dominik Mysterio for his heel work on the Cheap Heat podcast, host Peter Rosenberg brought up how MJF knows how to be a great heel while also being a fan-favorite. He asked JBL if he's seen any of Friedman's work, and if there's anyone else currently doing strong heel work besides Dirty Dom. Layfield revealed how he recently met MJF.

"I haven't seen MJF much, I've seen just social media stuff. There's so much wrestling out there, and I'm still with WWE, so when I watch something it's WWE because you only have so much time to watch. I got to meet MJF over in England. I was blown away by him, what a great guy, and the questions he was asking [were] very intelligent. He was asking stuff about Roddy Piper, and being a heel. We shared a car ride together back to the airport... really smart, young guy. I'm a big fan of him, personally," JBL said of MJF. [From 19:27 to 20:03]

Layfield then praised Roman Reigns for his heel work. He remarked how there was a feeling that no one would ever have another dominant championship reign like Bruno Sammartino or Hulk Hogan in the modern era, but The Tribal Chief pulled it off in one of the most incredible things in the history of pro wrestling. JBL added that we are in historic times right now with Cody Rhodes following Reigns.