As the former three-time AEW World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman he is etched in AEW history with the longest uninterrupted reign with the belt thus far. Despite his success, he’s barely 30 years old, which means the franchise star is still very much a work in progress.
“I learned so much from my first world title,” Friedman admitted in an interview. Pro Wrestling Illustrated. “I think it’s safe to say that the bulk of those 406 days is some of the best business our company has ever done.”
He then recalled being betrayed by Adam Cole, whom he described as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, and pointed out how the last two months of his reign had been isolated, but this was where he learned the most.
“I wanted to stay away from the mistakes I made and not repeat them again, and I feel like I did just that,” he insisted. “I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is trusting people has never benefited anyone in this profession.”
Friedman went on to claim that everyone in the industry who has let their guard down at some point has been disappointed, and while he agrees that’s not the best prospect, he says it’s the truth.
Friedman noted how there isn’t a tag team in the industry that hasn’t had to deal with internal conflict and betrayal, and then claimed that he ultimately let his guard down with fans wherever he was burned. “I let them in if you want. I think it was a big mistake and a mistake I will never repeat,” he said. “I don’t think the wrestling fans deserve me opening up to them at that level again.”
“I don’t care if people like me. it’s for the birds
Maxwell Jacob Friedman can be many things. but most fans would agree that he has a strong opinion of himself. However, she doesn’t seem to have been unfazed by the criticism and has explained how she feels about other people’s opinions of her.
“I don’t care if people like me. It’s for the birds. I’m good at it,” he boasted. “I think it’s really easy to tell what’s good faith and what’s bad faith.”
Friedman explained that if he sees someone criticizing AEW online and they have an avatar of someone like Alexa Bliss and all they’re doing is bashing AEW, he disregards their opinion.
“But if it’s somebody who’s really a grassroots fan of our company and somebody wants to see our company succeed, I really think it’s important to listen to people.”
While he admits he listens to people, Friedman still made it clear that he doesn’t always think criticism is right, even from the right people.
“I’m always right and most people are always wrong,” he declared. Either way, Friedman claims that when he reads a negative post, he will do so during training and use what he perceives as negativity for fuel. “If you’re upset about how I’m on TV and you post about it, just know that all you’re doing is feeding the monster.”
“The more negativity you say about me online, essentially what you’re doing is: you feed me your negativity and it just makes me grow and grow and grow,” she said.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Pro Wrestling Illustrated and credit ah/t Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
