The Biggest Pro Wrestling Stories of 2022 No. 5: The Rise of MJF

By Connor Casey

MJF was undeniable in 2022. Whether you love him, hate him or just love to hate him (he couldn't possibly care which), he ascended from being simply one of AEW's top prospects to its world champion in just one year — three months of which he spent relaxing at home. Trying to explain what makes Friedman work is simultaneously simplistic yet difficult. On the surface, he comes off as a classic pro wrestling heel brought to the modern day — egotistical, loud-mouthed, endlessly abrasive toward every fan and cowardly at every turn. Every victory is designed to enrage fans while every long-awaited comeuppance brings an entire arena to its feet. But Max still manages to separate himself from the pack in a few ways. In an age of social media and near-constant visibility, he never breaks the facade. His in-ring work is stellar, but he only wrestled nine times this year. His promos have been criticized as being too shouty, but he has a mastery of pacing and crowd control and while delivering biting insults with every sentence. 

Many of the seeds planted for MJF's ascendance finally bore fruit in 2022. His war of words with CM Punk in late 2021 led to one of AEW's best feuds to date over the first three months of the year. The finish of their hyperviolent Dog Collar Match immediately spun out into Wardlow defecting from his employer. Their match at Double or Nothing was a cathartic squash, but Friedman still managed to keep the conversation focussed on him thanks to a plane ticket out of Las Vegas and a scathing promo directed at Tony Khan the following week. 

He then completely disappeared from AEW, to the point where all advertising and merchandise featuring him vanished. And had it not been for the "Brawl Out," his masterful return at All Out would've been the dominant conversation of AEW's biggest annual show. Max even managed to toe the line between menace and anti-hero as he pursued Jon Moxley's AEW World Championship, all while rolling with the punches of plans involving Punk, The Firm and William Regal changing on what felt like a weekly basis. 

If there's any knock on Friedman's presentation, it's that he's a victim of his own success. His incessant need to never break character often makes it difficult to care about his angles, whether they be in front of the camera or behind the scenes. Did he really threaten to leave Vegas the night before Double or Nothing or did he play everyone (including members of the media) in order to stir up discourse so that he'd be able to instantly recover from getting squashed by Wardlow? How real were his contract issues with Tony Khan? How much of that "shoot" promo was agreed upon well in advance? Does he really plan to start "The Bidding War of 2024" or has Khan already backed up the Brinks truck and locked Friedman into a new deal? That last question is particularly troubling as it appears to be the direction AEW is going with its main event scene for the duration of 2023. And no matter how much Max claims what his current contract situation is, how can you, I or anyone else not named Tony Khan take him at his word? He is "The Devil" after all...

In a year as chaotic as 2022 was for AEW, MJF was one of its unquestionable highlights. Where we go from here now appears to be up to him.

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