MJF has been focusing on improving his reputation within AEW.
At just 29 years old, MJF stands out as one of the most prominent and accomplished professional wrestlers not only in AEW but across the entire wrestling world. However, with his rapid rise to fame, especially at a young age, he has also faced jealousy and scrutiny. Since joining AEW in 2019, MJF—also known as Salt of the Earth—has frequently been involved in various backstage situations.
Fightful Select’s Sean Ross Sapp recently shared insight into MJF’s efforts to enhance his image backstage. Over the past several months, the former AEW champion has been diligently working to improve how he’s perceived by his peers.
Sapp commented, “It’s been a lot better over the past nine months and he’s been working hard on it. It wasn’t that big and there was a lack of good behind-the-scenes perception. I think a lot of that comes with top singles acts, top tag acts and main guys getting promotions at once.”
MJF has also been busy outside wrestling, recently filming Happy Gilmore 2 alongside Adam Sandler. The movie features a cameo from WWE star Becky Lynch, and both wrestlers showed mutual respect after collaborating on the project.
Since making his return to AEW television in March, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) has been part of The Hurt Syndicate storyline. He was teased to join the group and was officially accepted on the May 14th episode of Dynamite.
Fan Take: MJF’s efforts to improve his backstage reputation signal maturity and a commitment to long-term success, which can only strengthen AEW’s locker room unity. For fans, seeing one of the promotion’s brightest stars grow both in and out of the ring bodes well for AEW’s future storytelling and wrestling quality.
