WWE Rumor Roundup - Superstar rejected big offer to become world champion, Legend going through a tough phase due to health issues, Vince McMahon causes major backstage chaos - 30th November 2020

#1 MJF nearly appeared in WWE before AEW signing

MJF is considered to be the most promising young talent in all of pro wrestling. Maxwell Jacob Friedman is the most polished star amongst all the young prospects around the world, and he is destined to be one of the cornerstones of AEW in the future. MJF rose to fame with his work in Major League Wrestling (MLW), and there was a time when WWE was also interested in working with him.

During a recent appearance on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, MLW boss Court Bauer revealed that WWE wanted MJF to do a crossover appearance for the company back in 2018.

MLW was doing some business with the WWE back then, and Vince McMahon's company needed some indy talent, which would have been similar to their EVOLVE and PROGRESS deals. The WWE also seemed interested in signing him, which could have taken him to NXT.

WWE asked questions about MJF, and the people in the company were shocked to know that he was just 21 years old.

MJF wasn't sure whether to take WWE's reaction as a compliment or an insult. Bauer praised the skillset and appreciated MJF's efforts to use the fundamental aspects of pro wrestling to shape a modern version of a throwback character.

"At one point, we were doing some business with WWE in 2018 - we were going to. We were fairly friendly, I guess you could say, and there was talk about MJF possibly doing a crossover thing with them. We were taping, primarily at the time, out of Orlando, and they were-- NXT, of course, is down the road. So they start asking questions about him, and one of the things they asked was, 'So he's what, 26, 28, 29?' I'm like, 'No dude; he's 21.' They're like, 'What?' I'm like, 'Does he look that way, or just the experience? What is it,' and I remember telling MJF that. "He's like, 'I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.' I'm like, 'I don't know either.' He has certain qualities you just don't see in a lot of wrestling. A lot of wrestling, I think, as JR would say, 'Do you have the sizzle there or what?' And he kind of blends a lot of those qualities. Very much a throwback, but he doesn't think he's a throwback. He just takes those positive attributes and incorporates it into a modern character that works." H/t WrestlingInc

MJF is currently a part of The Inner Circle in AEW, and as stated earlier, the 24-year-old star is earmarked for the top spot in the company in due time.

MJF was involved with the WWE Tough Enough series in 2015 but was never signed by the promotion. MJF was also used as one of the security guards at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II in 2016 during Samoa Joe's entrance.