AEW's MJF on NXT's Adam Cole, Wrestling Mount Rushmore and Top Quotes of B/R AMA
Ahead of All Elite Wrestling's TNT debut of Dynamite on Wednesday night, Maxwell Jacob Friedman sat down for an AMA session with Bleacher Report.
Emulating the "Monday Night Wars" of the 1990s and early 2000s, AEW will go head to head on Wednesdays with NXT, WWE's developmental promotion. Friedman discussed who from their current roster he'd enjoy facing in the ring.
"I think Adam Cole," MJF said. "I think we're both very similar because we're both very talented and prodigies in the sport. I just want to prove I'm a little better."
He added Rowdy Roddy Piper is the one legend from any era he would've loved to wrestle.
Friedman elaborated on the perceived battle between AEW and WWE, arguing his and his colleagues' focus isn't on competing directly with WWE: "I have two things to say to that: I don't look at this like a Wednesday Night War. We are starting a revolution. We are giving people an alternative. I am putting the company on my back and there are a lot of things on TV that you can counter program and that's what we are doing."
Not surprisingly, MJF didn't stay humble when asked about his professional wrestling Mount Rushmore: "Me three times and then Cody."
Ric Flair is almost universally considered one of the greatest to step inside a wrestling ring. He could deliver a mat classic every night, and nobody was better on the microphone during Flair's prime.
MJF declined to compare himself to The Nature Boy, but not for the expected reason: "The only reason I'm going to say no is because Ric Flair wasn't a prodigy at 23. You know that, I know that and the person living in their mobile home knows that."
"Minshew Mania" has swept the country after Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew replaced Nick Foles in the opening week of the NFL regular season. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan and his son Tony have provided some of the financial muscle behind AEW, creating a link between the team and AEW.
Friedman is all aboard the Minshew bandwagon, calling the rookie his "spirit animal."
Tune into TNT on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET to catch all the action of All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite.
